Which John Smith is telling the Truth?
Author: Mark Stout
Grade Level: 5/8
Materials:
 John Smith Short Biography.
 True Relation. Excerpt adapted from John Smith. (1608).
 General History of Virginia. Excerpt adapted from John Smith. (1624).
 Both sources from Wineburg, Martin, and Monte-Sano. (2011). Reading
Like a Historian.
HCPSS Curriculum Connections
This task would be completed during the 5th grade unit, Colonial America.
In 8th grade, this task would take place during the initial Historiography unit.
Curriculum Objective(s): The student will be able to describe key historical events
within the early settlement of Colonial America.
Historical Thinking Skills Assessed:
 Sourcing
 Close Reading
Background for the Teacher
John Smith is famous as a leader of the Jamestown colony, as an explorer and
cartographer, an author, and a businessman who promoted the colonization of Virginia.
He has been widely praised for his strong leadership, skills as a captain, and for his work
in documenting detailed information about the New World. He was also an accomplished
author, whose publications promoted colonization of North America by England.
Much of what we know about him comes from Smith himself, who was also known as a
self-promoter. Students will be examining two accounts from John Smith that give
conflicting information about a famous event – his encounter with the powerful Native
American chief Powhatan. Students may have some familiarity about this event from the
popular Walt Disney movie Pocahontas, although the film is historically inaccurate.
Students should focus on the sourcing information in the documents, which provide clues
about which source could be considered more reliable. With secondary students, teachers
may also want to spend time talking about Smith’s actual relationship with Pocahontas,
and on her relative fame in American and Europe after his original encounter with
Powhatan.
Context Setting -- The Hook
 Begin the task by asking students to share what they may already know
about John Smith. Who was John Smith and what did he do?
 Have student read the short biography and compare their prior
understandings to what they learned in the reading. For secondary students,
teachers may want to provide a more sophisticated reading. What did you
learn about John Smith that you did not already know?
Document Analysis
 Explain to students that they will be reading two documents that have been
adapted from their original form to make it easier for students to understand.
Preview the documents, focusing on the difficult and archaic vocabulary
terms.
 In pairs, have each student read a different source. After reading, have them
summarize each source to each other.
 Ask the students to share their observations about the two different sources.
 Next, have each student read the other source, noting that the same author
wrote each description about the same event.
Corroborating Evidence and Constructing Interpretations -- Close Analysis
 Direct the students to the Document Analysis Graphic Organizer.
 Working as a team, have the students work through the documents and
respond to the prompts. Remind the students to examine the sourcing
information about each document very carefully.
 It might be helpful for the teacher to do a read aloud/think aloud of the
sourcing information at the bottom of each document. Teachers should help
students understand the different original dates of each source.
 With secondary students, focus on the potential motivations that Smith may
have had, depending on who his potential audience was in each case.
Without saying this directly, selling colonization in the New World versus
selling a book. It also might be important to ask the students to consider why
Pocahontas may have been included in the second and not the first
document.
Thoughtful Application
 Individually, have students determine which source they believe to be more
credible. They should be able to provide evidence to support their
conclusions.
 Each student should write a short speech explaining which “John Smith” is
telling the truth. They should provide evidence to support their conclusions
in the speech.
 Have students volunteer to read their speeches to the class. After hearing
others share, ask the students to review their own choice. By a show of hands,
how many students changed their opinions.
 If the teacher wishes to score this, collect student speeches. Grade student
speeches using the sourcing category of the Historical Thinking Skills rubric.