Jamestown, Part 1 Lesson Plan: Global Connections
*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Jamestown Part 1 Lesson Plan.
This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Jamestown, Part 1, and supports the standard of understanding the causes and effects of European colonization. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.
Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Ask students:
- Why might Europeans have been eager to colonize other parts of the world?
- What do you think settlers needed in order to be successful in establishing a colony?
Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE
- Read the description on the Jamestown, Part 1 topic page.
- Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
- Have students read one of the five Related Reading articles. Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.
Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS
Students take the Jamestown Part 1 Challenge and Quiz, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.
Step 4: EXTEND and DEEPEN
Students express what they learned about Jamestown while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.
- Make-a-Movie: Produce a persuasive commercial that answers this question: Why should people settle in the first English colony in Jamestown?
- Make-a-Map: Identify the effects of an alliance between the Powhatan and the settlers.
- Creative Coding: Code a flag to represent early days in the Jamestown colony.
More to Explore
Jamestown, Part 2: Learn what happens once the alliance between the settlers and the Powhatan breaks down with this BrainPOP topic.
Time Zone X: British Empire: Play an interactive timeline game challenging students to put historical events in chronological order.
Teacher Support Resources:
- Pause Point Overview: Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas.
- Learning Activities Modifications: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
- Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.
