Monday, February 27, 2012

"Beginnings are always messy." ~ John Galsworthy


Jamestown: The First Permanent English Settlement in the "New World"


Grades 5 and 6 are beginning a new Social Studies unit on Colonialism which will occasionally include visiting this blog to access websites. This week students will be introduced to Jamestown--America's first English colony, through story and by watching the National Geographic Special titled, "Nightmare at Jamestown." Students will then have the opportunity to take notes, engage in discussion on some pretty controversial information, and complete worksheets based on these activities. Beginning Friday, March 2, we're going to embark on a cyber-journey through Jamestown by visiting an awesome site called "Jamestown Rediscovered." We'll visit tour stops and answer questions at each site. (Most of the text from this tour is taken directly from signs on the island of Jamestown.) Students will be given worksheets to fill out with the following questions on them The websites are as follows:

The Land

What did the land look like when the settlers first arrived?

James Fort

Where was it located and what did it look like?

Excavations

Check THIS out! It’s a guided tour of James Fort. EXPLORE, then name three parts of the fort you found interesting and write a sentence describing/explaining each one.

Statue of John Smith

Just who WAS John Smith?

Pocahontas Statue

Who was she and what role did she play in the history of Jamestown?

Glass House

Wondering what THIS is? Check it out! (Then describe its function.)

Jamestown Church

How many were there? Write brief descriptions of each.

Graveyard

Fascinating! Information about burials and headstones. . . What did you find out?

Hunt Shrine

Who does this shrine honor, and why was he important?

Memorial Cross

Find the interesting fact about THIS large wooden cross.

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Visit these next sites and answer the questions for extra credit:

Name two things the early colonists ate.

Name three items you see, and use two sentences to describe each item.


FOR LOTS OF INFORMATION AND REALLY INTERESTING PICTURES, CHECK OUT THIS BLOG


Several students were given the winter break to complete Explorers Notebooks since they were out at various times in the last few weeks. They promised me that they'd be done and ready to turn in today. I will say, I'm having to chase them down. Hmmmmm... Rest assured they had ample opportunities to gather the necessary materials. I hope they did!

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