Jamestown Colony and John Smith
Grade Level: Fifth Grade
Abstract: Students will learn about the Colony of Jamestown and its survival. They will
identify the contributions John Smith made to the success of Jamestown Colony.
Through historical fiction, non-fiction, and secondary sources students will discover
hardships and methods used throughout the development of Jamestown Colony.
Focus Questions:
What was life like in Jamestown in 1610?
When and why did the Virginia Company set sail for Jamestown?
How did John Smith help the Jamestown Colony survive?
How does Jamestown, the first English colony in North America, relate to other colonies
or states?
What were some of the problems at the new settlement of Jamestown?
Benchmarks



SS 5.1.4 Locate and
compare the origins,
physical structure, and
social structure of early
Spanish, French, and
British settlements.
(Individuals, Society, and
Culture)
SS 5.1.5 Explain the
religious, political, and
economic reasons for
movement of people from
Europe to the Americas.
(Individuals, Society, and
Culture)
SS 5.1.6 Identify and
discuss instances of both
cooperation and conflict
between Native American
Indians and European
settlers, such as agriculture,
trade cultural exchanges,
and military alliances, as
well as later broken
treaties, massacres, and
conflicts over control of the
land. (Individuals, Society,
and Culture)
Assessment Task
Key Concepts
Students will:

Relative Location
Create a web of information about
the beginnings of Jamestown.
(SS 5.1.4, 5.3.4)

Interpretation

Sequence

Communication
Summarize the beginnings of
Jamestown after analyzing the
diagram of the fort and listening to a
paragraph with information about
Jamestown. (SS 5.1.6, 5.3.10)
Locate and label the first successful,
permanent English settlement,
important waterways, and bodies of
water. (SS 5.1.4, 5.3.4)
Benchmarks



SS 5.1.8 Identify the early
founders of colonial
settlements and describe
early colonial resistance to
British rule. (Individuals,
Society, and Culture)
SS 5.3.4 Locate Native
American Indian and
colonial settlements on
maps and suggest reasons
for the locations of these
places. (Individuals,
Society, and Culture)
SS 5.3.10 Using historical
maps, locate and explain
the conflict over the use of
land by Native American
Indians and European
colonists.
Assessment Tasks

Share and discuss movie
content about Jamestown
and John Smith. (SS 5.1.5,
5.1.8)

Create a character web of
John Smith. (SS 5.1.8)

Identify in order the story
and images of The Starving
Time. (SS 5.1.6, 5.1.8)

Analyze information
through discussions, media,
and text. (SS 5.1.6)
Key Concepts
See page one
Instructional Resources
Carbone, Elisa. Blood on the River. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc., 2007.
Smith, Robert W. Spotlight on America – Colonial America. Westminster, CA: Teacher
Created Resources, Inc., 2005.
Traugh, Steven. Voices of American History Colonial America – A New World.
Huntington Beach, CA: Creative Teaching Press, Inc., 2002.
DVD with Study Guide
Colonial Life Jamestown 1607. Wynnewood, PA: Schlessinger Media, 1998.
Internet Sources
Hyndman, Wendy S. Our Colonial Heritage. Colorado Unit Writing Project, 2003.
http://www.ckcolorado.org/lessons/3rdgrade.asp
Before the lessons begin students should have already read Blood on the River by
Elisa Carbone.
Catalog of Lessons
Lesson 1: A Colony Begins
Review and discuss the book Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone. Use the map in the
book to locate Virginia. After locating the map discuss what was read about John Smith
in the book. Have students summarize material learned from the book by brainstorming
about the beginnings of Jamestown. Pass out an information chart titled “A Colony
Begins.” The first column will contain the following seven topics: boats, company,
gentlemen, soldiers, commoners, laborers, and leader. The next two columns, facts and
importance, will be blank. Have students complete the fact column with facts about each
topic. Then based on the facts learned have students tell the importance of each topic by
completing the remainder of the chart.
Lesson 2: Jamestown Colony
Have students read p.160-161 in their social studies textbook, Horizons. It will show a
diagram of Jamestown. Review what they have read. Then show a transparency of the
fort at Jamestown. Read a paragraph about Jamestown to the students. Remove the
transparency. Have students write a paragraph summarizing the beginnings of
Jamestown. Display a rubric for the paragraph on the overhead, or give a copy to each
student.
Lesson 3: The Southern Colonies
Use the book titled Spotlight on America: Colonial America. Pass out North Carolina
founded in 1653, page 12, and South Carolina founded 1670, page 13. Read together and
discuss. Pass out a copy of “Thirteen Colonies Map.” Have students label this “The
Southern Colonies” on the lines left of the Great Lakes. Have students locate and label
the following: The first permanent and successful English settlement in Virginia, the
English name of the river the Jamestown settlers built their fort near, the major body of
water located near James River that provided a waterway access from the Atlantic Ocean
to the James River, and the five southern colony states.
Lesson 4: Colonial Life—Jamestown
Watch the DVD, Colonial Life –Jamestown. Ask students to come up with three
important images or words and two questions they would like to have answered after
viewing the movie. Put students in groups of three or four students to discuss images,
words, or questions. In each group have students share and discuss images, words, and
questions they generated from the movie. As a group have them decide which ones to
share and discuss with the class. Answer any questions that the students have, and
discuss important information that students did not include. Use the DVD focus
questions as a guide and a follow-up.
Lesson 5: John Smith
Provide students with books and handouts on John Smith. Have them take notes. Lead a
discussion about John Smith allowing students to refer to their notes from their books or
handouts. Include what kind of a person he was and some of the major contributions he
made to the success of Jamestown Colony based on sources they have used. They may
also want to include facts they have learned from the book, Blood on the River by Elisa
Carbone. Discuss why they think Jamestown was more successful than Roanoke. Give
each student a picture of John Smith. Under the picture have students title it “Captain
John Smith.” Have students complete and share a character map on him. Then based on
characteristics that John Smith possessed, have students create an advertisement for a
leadership position in Jamestown Colony.
Lesson 6: The Starving Time
Review information from all sources covered thus far. Lead a discussion about what
happened to the colony when John Smith was gone. Distribute paper. Have students
divide paper into six equal boxes. Have students label the paper “The Starving Time”
with the subtitle Jamestown 1609-1610 underneath it. Have students number the six
boxes. Using Spotlight on America: Colonial America, pages 42, 56-58, A Readers
Theater: Starving Time, have students practice and perform. Present to the class. When
all performances are finished, students will retell and illustrate the story of the starving
time using their six boxes.
Lesson 7: A Success
Gather students on the floor. Display several items in the center of the circle. Explain
that several of the items contributed to the success of Jamestown. Divide students into
groups. Each group must together decide which items contributed to the success of
Jamestown. Pass out one large word card with the title “The Success of Jamestown”
printed on it to each group. Then pass out smaller blank word cards and several strands
of yarn to each group. Students will write and illustrate the items on the blank cards that
contributed. They will hang these cards from the larger card to create a mobile that
displays what contributed to the success of Jamestown. Each group will present their
mobile to the class.
Lesson 8: When I First Came to this Land
Pass out from Spotlight on America: Colonial America, page 8, and “Virginia founded in
1607.” Read and discuss. Pass out copies of the lyrics to “When I First Came to this
Land.” Have students sing the song using the CD “Colonial America.” Then place
students in partners. Have each set of partners write an additional verse to the song about
tools, items, or necessities that would have been needed in Jamestown. Have them share
their verse with the class.
COURSE TITLE: The Starving Time
Grade Level: Fifth Grade
Unit: Jamestown Colony and John Smith
Abstract
This task is designed to assess students’ knowledge of the desperate situation that the
settlement Jamestown encountered after John Smith returned to England. It came close
to total failure before it became successful. After students perform a Readers’ Theater
fictional account of a meeting at the end of the terrible winter of 1609-1610, they will
retell and illustrate the story of “The Starving Time” in order.
Prompt
A small group of teachers should perform a short Readers’ Theater script for this time
period for the student to observe.
Directions
Readers’ Theater is different than a play. It uses no costumes, props, stage, or
memorization. It is a dramatic reading that can be done by groups of students. The class
has been divided into groups of students, and each person has been assigned a part. (Pass
out scripts titled “The Starving Time”). Each person in the group should highlight their
part on the script. Each group should practice several times before presenting the
dramatic reading to the class. When it is time to perform, each group should enter the
classroom seriously and quietly. Each member should sit in the chairs provided across
the front of the room. Each performer should sit without moving. All performers heads
should be lowered until the first reader begins. If you are not reading, you should be
focused on whoever is reading. After all groups have performed, we will discuss the
facts you have learned from Blood on the River, The Readers Theater, “The Starving
Time,” and other sources. (Information for the teacher: After John Smith left the
colony struggled with the Native American Indians, disease, and starvation).
After the discussion, you will retell and illustrate the story of “The Starving Time” on
paper using six boxes.
Procedure
Divide the class into groups according to the number of parts in the Readers’ Theater
“The Starving Time.” Pass out Readers’ Theater Scripts, pages 56-58, from the book
Spotlight on America: Colonial America. Assign parts to each member in the group.
Have students highlight their part. Have each group practice their scripts together for the
next couple of class periods. Then each group will present the Readers’ Theater, “The
Starving Time,” to the class. After each group has performed, lead the class in a
discussion about the facts and information learned from the book Blood on the River, The
Readers’ Theater script, “The Starving Time,” and other sources used thus far. Distribute
paper. Have students divide the paper into six equal boxes. At the top, students should
label the paper “The Starving Time” with the subtitle of “Jamestown 1609-1610”
underneath it. Next, have students number the six boxes. Instruct students to retell the
story of the starving time and illustrate it in the six boxes in the correct order. (You will
need to use a transparency for a model of the boxes). Brainstorm what happened in the
beginning for the first box. Write a description in the box. Then have them complete the
other five. When they have finished writing a description of each event, they will
illustrate each part of the story. They should color each illustration neatly using colored
pencils. The Illustrations should depict the topic of each box. This is due the following
day.
Teacher Information
Topics for each box:
(Something to this effect)






Box #1 students write: John Smith made sure things went well for the colony.
He made friends with and traded with the Indians.
Box #2 students write: John Smith was hurt when gunpowder exploded. He went
back to England to recover.
Box #3 students write: The new leader of Jamestown was not as strong of a
leader as John Smith. The colonists got lazy and didn’t work.
Box #4 students write: The colonists tried to trade with the Indians, but the
colonists were unfair to them. This made the Indians angry so they kept the
colonists inside their fort with the threat of violence.
Box #5 students write: The colonists couldn’t get enough food and many starved
to death. By the spring, only sixty people were still alive.
Box #6 students write: Ships finally arrived from England bringing a new
governor and supplies. Jamestown had been saved!
Starving Time Rubric
Category
1
2
3
4
5
List all six
important events
with a
description of the
event that retells
the story of the
Starving Time.
Only one event /
description is
identified.
Only two events
/ descriptions are
identified.
Three events /
descriptions
are identified.
Four or five
events /
descriptions
are identified.
All six events
/descriptions are
identified.
All events retold
are in correct
chronological
order.
One event is
place in the
correct order.
Two events are
placed in the
correct order.
Three events are
placed in the
correct order.
Four or five
events are placed
in the correct
order.
All six events are
placed in the
correct order.
All Illustrations
go with the
correct events
that were
written.
One Illustration
goes with the
correct events.
Two Illustrations
go with the
correct events
written.
Three
Illustrations go
with the correct
events written.
Four or Five
Illustrations go
with the correct
events written.
All six
Illustrations go
with the correct
events written.
SS 5.1.6, 5.1.8
Total __ / 25
Grade _____
Unit Written and Adapted by Darla Mahoney