Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Why Did Some Colonial Virginians Seek Independence?
To understand the reasonings of those colonials who sought independence from England, young historians are divided into content groups that examine documents related to either the Boston Tea Party, the Yorktown Tea Party, Tea Overboard,...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Colonial Tobacco Economy
Tobacco as money? Middle schoolers investigate how eighteenth-century Virginia farmers used tobacco as a cash crop to buy tools, livestock, and household goods. They also examine the connection between tobacco production and the slave...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
How Do We Know about Colonial Life?
Young history sleuths examine an inventory of the belongings of a Virginia colonist and use deductive reasoning to determine what the document reveals about colonial life. They then use a Venn diagram to compare the inventory with a...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Tea Overboard
While less well known than the event in Boston, the Yorktown Tea Party was equally decisive in turning community sentiment against Great Britain. To gain an understanding of why the colonists objected to the Tea Act, young historians...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Life of a Private Lesson Plan
In order to understand the challenges the Continental Army faced during the American Revolution, class members analyze primary source materials including a soldier's journal and an officer's letter, and watch a short reenactment video.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Making a Patriot Inquiry: Are Independence, Freedom, and Liberty the Same Thing?
As part of a study of the American Revolution, class members engage in an inquiry-based lesson that has them watch a scene from the play Slave Spy, examine multiple primary source documents, and then discuss the similarities and...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
How Did Relations between Britain and the Colonies Change after the French and Indian War?
What does the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Following the war, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 in an attempt to limit the colonists' western expansion. To understand how the proclamation, the...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Why Did Some Colonial Virginians Continue to Support the King?
Not all colonials supported the American Revolution. A resource from the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown ask young historians to investigate the reasons why some colonial Virginians were loyalist and continued to support King...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
What Was Everyday Life like in Colonial Virginia?
What was everyday life like in Colonial Virginia? To find the answer cooperative groups work collaboratively to read an informational handout and complete a graphic organizer. The speaker of the group then shares their new-found...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
What Was Everyday Life like in Colonial Virginia?
After reflecting on jobs people perform in the present day, scholars discuss what they believe jobs would have been like in Colonial Virginia during the American Revolution. Small groups then perform a jigsaw using informational packets....
![History Is Fun: Powhatan's Challenge and Opechancanough's Action [Pdf] Article](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "History Is Fun: Powhatan's Challenge and Opechancanough's Action [Pdf] Article")
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Powhatan's Challenge and Opechancanough's Action [Pdf]
Describes the interactions between the Powhatan and the English, the different leadership styles of the brothers Wahunsonacock and Opechancanough, and the events leading up to the Powhatan War and Opechancanough's defeat.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Jamestown Day
2013 marks the 406th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colonial settlement. Learn about how Jamestown Day is now celebrated in Virginia, including the sailing of a recreated ship, archaelogical digs and a variety of cultural...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Jamestown: Lesson Plan: How Do We Know What We Know?
This cross curriculum lesson plan encourages independent thought and investigation as learners examine images related to the cultures that combined at Jamestown settlement. Encourages the use of art to understand history. An informative...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Cultures at Jamestown [Pdf]
A six-page discussion of the mix of cultures that converged in the colony of Jamestown and the challenges this presented. These cultures were the English settlers, the indigenous Powhatan people, and the African slaves. Despite many...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: The Life of John Smith [Pdf]
A one-page biography of John Smith who was a leader of the Jamestown Colony in its early days.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Jamestown Questions and Answers [Pdf]
This document presents important questions about the Jamestown settlement, along with detailed answers. Topics include the Native American Powhatan Indians and their interactions with the settlers, the purpose of creating the settlement...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Life at Jamestown [Pdf]
A 16-page history of the establishment and growth of the colony of Jamestown. Covers the early challenges, the starving time, the Virginia Company, the conflict with Powhatan, the beginnings of the tobacco economy, the introduction of...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Life at Jamestown [Pdf]
An extensive collection of resources for learning about the colony of Jamestown. Includes essays, lesson plans, biographies, the economics of tobacco, information about laws, leadership, and a culminating project where students design a...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Early Industries in Virginia [Pdf]
Discusses the many enterprises undertaken by the colonists in Virginia to try to make a profit. They were not successful until they began to grow tobacco.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Company Charters and Challenges [Pdf]
When the Virginia Company of London began planning for its new colony in Virginia in 1607, leaders developed a 'wish list.' Over a period of seventeen years, King James I granted several charters to the Company, establishing an English...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: The Virginia Company of London [Pdf]
A one-page description of the Virginia Company of London.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: John Smith [Pdf]
A two-page biography of John Smith, who was one of the most important leaders of the Jamestown colony.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Tobacco and Labor [Pdf]
A clear explanation of the system of indentured servitude that supplied Virginia tobacco plantations with the labor force they needed in order to manage their crops. Explains how such servants were able to earn their own land, and how...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Young Pocahontas [Pdf]
A two-page biography of the early life of Pocahontas, and her later years living among the English.