Pocahontas Lesson Plan: Individual’s Contributions

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

* Click to open and customize your own copy of the Pocahontas Lesson Plan. 

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Pocahontas, and supports the standard of analyzing the impact of contributions made by diverse historical figures.  Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of  projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students if anyone has seen the Disney movie Pocahontas and/or read or heard stories about her.  Have them share what they know. After students share, ask what they think is true or not true about the stories they know. 

Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND

  • Read aloud the description on the Pocahontas topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
  • Pair students and have them read one of the two Related Readings articles, then share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY

Students express their understanding through one or more of the following projects, which also address essential literacy skills. They can work individually or collaborate. 

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a movie that is a tribute to Pocahontas for the role she played in the relations between the Powhatan Confederacy and the Jamestown settlers. (Essential Literacy Skill: Determine central ideas)
  • Make-a-Map: Describe the different roles Pocahontas played in her lifetime, including translator, peacemaker, and ambassador. (Essential  Literacy Skill: Summarize key details)
  • Creative Coding: Code a sorting game challenging players to identify between true and false facts about Pocahontas’s life. (Essential  Literacy Skill: Summarize key details)

Step 4: REFLECT & ASSESS 

Reflect: Students reflect on what they’ve learned about Pocahontas. Prompt them by asking questions such as: 

    • How did Pocahontas bring peace to Jamestown?
    • Why do you think so few people know the true story of Pocahontas?
    • Why is it important for us to still talk about Pocahontas today?

Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the Pocahontas Challenge.

Step 5:  EXTEND LEARNING

Time Zone X: Thanksgiving: This interactive timeline game challenges players to put historical events in chronological order.

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of interactions between Native Americans and European colonists with these topics: Jamestown Part 1, Jamestown Part 2, and Thanksgiving. 

Additional Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Related:

    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, 9-12, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3