Curated OER
America’s Early Colonies: John Smith and Jamestown, Va
John Smith's 1616 letter to Queen Anne of England offers ELLs an opportunity to learn about a bit of early American history. The four-page packet includes the full text of the letter. In addition, the packet includes a worksheet that...
National Woman's History Museum
Pocahontas: The Truth vs. The Legend
Young historians study primary and secondary source materials to try and separate the true story of Pocahontas from the myths, fictional tales, and conflicting accounts of her life.
Annenberg Foundation
Placing Artifacts in Time
Can history distort the true story behind famous people? Scholars analyze the many faces of the Native American Pocahontas. Incorporating technology and historical thinking skills, they uncover the many different sides to the Pocahontas...
Curated OER
The Settlement of the Chesapeake
Focusing on the Virginia and Maryland settlements in the 1600's, this presentation is a complete and thorough resource during a unit on Colonial America. It includes pictures, maps, and interesting discussion points for you to address...
Curated OER
Jamestown Colonies and the Powhatan Indians
Eighth graders discuss the Jamestown colony and the Powhatan Indians. In this colonial history lesson plan, 8th graders talk about conflicts between the Native Americans and the colonists. They read a biography about Pocahontas to help...
Curated OER
Jamestown Journey Part 3
Fourth graders study the economy of Jamestown. In this early settlers lesson, 4th graders read about the trade between the English and the natives in Jamestown. This lesson is part of a larger unit and coincides with the novel The Double...
National First Ladies' Library
Will the Real Pocahontas Please Stand Up?
Learners explore the life of Pocahontas and Powhatan Indians. After studying information on a given website, students compare and contrast what they read about Pocahontas and what they previously thought of her. They explore life in a...
Curated OER
Jamestown Journey Part 1
Fourth graders work to solve one of the major problems facing the Jamestown settlers, the best location to settle upon arrival in Jamestown. Students discuss and review the past European and American events that lead to the...
Curated OER
Jamestown Journey Part 4
Fourth graders review their prior knowledge from the previous lessons of this unit on Jamestown. After reading a novel, they examine and discuss the life of Pocahontas. Using the internet, they answer comprehension questions and write...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Native Americans and Onomatopoeias
Fifth graders read the Native American tale, "The Frog and the Crane," focusing on the use of onomatopoeia in it. In groups, they brainstorm list of words that are examples of the device. Finally, 5th graders write their own stories...
Curated OER
Pocahontas (Matoaka)
Students explain how Pocahontas contributed to the people of Jamestown. They relate her actions to the core democratic values. They also infer about the effect of her actions.
Curated OER
Pocahontas
Students, after studying about Pocahontas, identify ways they can deal fairly with others. Given various scenarios, students demonstrate proper social skills. They describe their contributions of peace to their family, school and community.
Curated OER
I Helped the English Settlers
In this early America worksheet, young scholars complete the sentence "I helped the English settlers because..." that is in a dialog bubble. A picture of what appears to be Pocahontas is on the page.
Curated OER
The Pocahontas Show
Eleventh graders complete background reading of Europeans and the Native American Indians. They work in groups and represent an area of European colonization and create a "character" to represent their colonists on a class talk show....
Curated OER
Revisiting Pocahontas
Students discuss the characteristics that make a historical resource reliable. As a class, they brainstorm a list of examples of possible historical resources and why they are important. In groups, they discover the consequences of...
Curated OER
The Merits of Pocahontas Examined
Learners continue their examination of the life of Pocahontas. In research teams, they create brief reports of their findings and share them with their classmates. They take notes which could be used in their presentations. As each...
Virginia History Series
Virginia History Series: English Settlements in Virginia (1584 1699) [Pdf]
Take a historical walk through the colony of Jamestown. Learn about the main people who influenced the development of this colony, read a list of names of the original settlers, read about the struggles of the first settlers, explore...
Other
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities: Virginia Indian Heritage Trail [Pdf]
This 92-page guide has accurate information on tribes and sites in Virginia. It has tribal histories, biographies of well-known historical figures, photographs, and suggested readings.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Placing Artifacts in Time
This is from an American history course designed for teachers to enrich their knowledge and their teaching practice. This interactive focuses on how history views Pocahontas. It looks at how historical events are re-interpreted as time...
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Pocahontas
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students use primary source documents to investigate central historical questions. In this investigation, students use evidence to explore whether Pocahontas actually saved John Smith's life and...
Other
Historic Jamestowne
The website for the historic Jamestown Colony. Has archaeological exhibit on a young girl they called Jane, who died during the Starving Time in the winter of 1609-1610, and one on the marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe. There is also...
University of Maryland
Howard County Public School System: Which John Smith Is Telling the Truth? [Pdf]
Young scholars will read two accounts of John Smith's meeting with Powhattan and evalute which one is likely to be more accurate based upon the reliability of the sources.
PBS
Pbs: Nova: John Smith's Bold Endeavor
A historian discusses the relationship between John Smith and Pocahontas, and, more broadly, the competing expectations of the Indians and English colonists in terms of the relationship of the two groups.
Library of Congress
Loc: John Smith, Leader of Jamestown
An overview of the life of John Smith, and his relationship with Pocahontas, who supposedly saved his life. Features a portrait, a photograph of the John Smith Memorial, and a fresco from the early 1900's.