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Handout
Other

North Carolina History Project: Virginia Dare (1587 ?)

For Students 4th - 8th
Tells the story of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World. She was the granddaughter of John White, Governor of the colony established on Roanoke Island in 1587. While White was on a trip to England to replenish the...
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Article
University of North Carolina

Carolina Alumni Review: Where the Colony Went: This Could Be a Big Clue

For Students 4th - 8th
This article describes how the patches on a map drawn by John White, Governor of the lost Roanoke Colony, came to inspire someone's curiosity and were discovered to hide a location that the colony may have relocated to. This map is known...
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Article
Other

Totally History: Virginia Dare

For Students 4th - 8th
Explains the history of the lost Roanoke Colony and the various theories about what may have happened to the colonists. Virginia Dare was the first English child born in the New World, yet no one knows what eventually happened to her.
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Handout
Curated OER

National Park Service: Fort Raleigh: Roanoke Revisited Unit 5: Lost Colony of 1587

For Students 4th - 8th
A summary of the history of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, followed by links to more extensive information.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Colonization & Revolutionary War: Roanoke: The Lost Colony

For Teachers 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the lost colony of Roanoke. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Unit Plan
National Center for Families Learning

Ncfl: Wonderopolis: Wonder of the Day #1324: What Happened to the Lost Colony?

For Students 3rd - 6th
A video and article about the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Has an audio feature that highlights text as the article is read aloud. As well, individual highlighted words link to pop-up definitions and are used in a word definition game. [1:59]
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Handout
Other

First Colony Foundation: The Roanoke Colonies

For Students 4th - 8th
The First Colony Foundation is an organization that conducts research into the English colonies that Sir Walter Raleigh sought to establish on Roanoke Island in North Carolina. This page presents a history of what is known about the...
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: North Carolina

For Students 3rd - 5th
Help discover more about "the story of the lost colony of Roanoke Island." Why did the Wright Brothers fly at Kitty Hawk? Learn more about North Carolina from the Library of Congress website.
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Primary
Other

The Colony at Roanoke by Ralph Lane 1586

For Students 9th - 10th
A first-hand account written in 1586 by Ralph Lane of the settlement at Roanoke.
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Article
Other

The Independent: Carolina's Lost Colony

For Students 4th - 8th
The mystery of what happened to the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island has endured over the centuries. A clue has, until recently, lain hidden in a map created by John White that is housed in the British Museum. Archaeologists began digging...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Settling a New World: The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "Settling a New World: The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island" by National Park Service, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a...
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Article
Other

Herald Tribune: Venice Man Told He's a Descendant of 400 Year Old 'Lost Colony'

For Students 4th - 8th
An interesting article that discusses a possible genetic link between a man named Lawrence Berry who could be a descendant of the lost Roanoke Island colonists. It explains some history of the colony, possible theories about the...
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Handout
Other

Lost Colony: England's Expeditions to the New World 1584 1590

For Students 4th - 8th
A short history of the attempt to establish a British colony on Roanoke Island which ended with the mysterious disappearance of the colonists.
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Activity
The History Cat

The History Cat: Roanoke: The Mystery of the Lost Colony [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 8th
Read about the lost colony of Roanoke, examine the evidence, and devise theories as to what may have happened to the colonists in 1590.
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Handout
Other

Shadowlands: The Lost Colony of Roanoke, 1588

For Students 4th - 8th
Presents five popular theories of what may have happened to the colonists at Roanoke. Useful as a starting point.
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Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: Art of the Stamp: Roanoke Voyages

For Students 9th - 10th
View the artwork for a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1984 to commemorate the voyages to Roanoke Island. Includes a short passage on Sir Walter Raleigh's commissioning of the famous expedition that represents the beginning of English life...
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: The Mystery of Roanoke

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart can be a great springboard for discussion about the lost colony of Roanoke.
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Article
Other

North Carolina Ghost Stories and Legends: Virginia Dare, the White Doe

For Students 4th - 8th
Describes the establishment of the Roanoke Island Colony and the story of Virginia Dare, the first English person born in the New World. After the colonists vanished, a legend developed around Virginia Dare, that she would appear as a...
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Handout
Siteseen

Siteseen: Land of the Brave: Walter Raleigh Facts

For Students 9th - 10th
Overview and biographical facts on the life of Walter Raleigh who established the Virginia colony of Roanoke Island.