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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America’s Early Colonies: John Smith and Jamestown, Va

For Teachers 7th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Pocahontas: The Truth vs. The Legend

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
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.
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Interactive
Annenberg Foundation

Placing Artifacts in Time

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
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...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Settlement of the Chesapeake

For Teachers 8th - 11th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown Colonies and the Powhatan Indians

For Teachers 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown Journey Part 3

For Teachers 4th
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...
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Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Will the Real Pocahontas Please Stand Up?

For Teachers 1st - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown Journey Part 1

For Teachers 4th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown Journey Part 4

For Teachers 4th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Language Arts: Native Americans and Onomatopoeias

For Teachers 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pocahontas (Matoaka)

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pocahontas

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Helped the English Settlers

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Pocahontas Show

For Teachers 11th
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....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Revisiting Pocahontas

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Merits of Pocahontas Examined

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
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PPT
Virginia History Series

Virginia History Series: English Settlements in Virginia (1584 1699) [Pdf]

For Students 6th - 8th
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...
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Handout
Other

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities: Virginia Indian Heritage Trail [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Professional Doc
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Placing Artifacts in Time

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Pocahontas

For Teachers 9th - 10th
[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...
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Website
Other

Historic Jamestowne

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Lesson Plan
University of Maryland

Howard County Public School System: Which John Smith Is Telling the Truth? [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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.
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Primary
PBS

Pbs: Nova: John Smith's Bold Endeavor

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: John Smith, Leader of Jamestown

For Students 9th - 10th
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.