400 ANNIVERSARY OF THE JAMESTOWN LANDINGS
TH
>>> Outcomes
Children:
National curriculum (NC) links
History at key stage 2: unit 19
‘What were the effects of the Tudor explorations?’
For further information please visit:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/history/his19/?view=get
• identify differences between medieval, Tudor and modern maps of the world
• identify ways in which knowledge of the world during Tudor times was more accurate than in the Middle Ages
• make the link between voyages of exploration and more accurate maps
Section 5: why did the Roanoke settlement fail?
In this unit children learn about the reasons for and results of exploration of the world by people in the sixteenth
century and its impact on sailors, settlers and indigenous peoples. Children investigate in depth one of the
explorers and the problems associated with settlement. The framework can also be used to investigate other
explorers and their attempts at settlement and trade.
> Objectives
Children should learn:
• to apply their knowledge and understanding of settlement in England to a new context - settlement in America
• to understand the difficulties that faced the settlers in Roanoke
SECTION 1: how did knowledge of the world change during the Tudor period?
• to explore the causes of the failure of the colony
> Objectives
>> Activities
Children should learn:
Ask the children to recall people who settled in England in the past and their reasons for leaving
their own country to settle in England. What would it have been like to leave their homelands? Use this as
a basis for discussing what it would have been like for English settlers to leave England and go to America to
settle: How would the long journey have affected them? What supplies would they have needed on the journey
and when they landed? What would they have had to do first? How would they have fed themselves when
supplies ran out? How would they have kept in touch with England? What dangers would have faced them?
Write the children’s answers on a flip chart.
• to compare the knowledge of the world that people had in Tudor times with what is known today
• the context of the voyages of Tudor explorers
• that exploration in the sixteenth century led to better knowledge of the world
>> Activities
Give children copies of maps from the period of the Tudor exploration and ask them to identify European
countries and areas from the wider world such as Australia, Africa, America, and the Caribbean. Ask them
to make a list of three countries that do not appear on the map and to identify other differences
between the Tudor maps and those of the present day.
Give children a copy of a map dating from the period before the voyages of exploration. Ask them to compare
it with the Tudor map to note the countries that have been added. Ask the children to suggest reasons why
the maps changed during Tudor times. Establish that it was a period when sailors, particularly from Europe,
went on voyages of exploration and, as a result, knowledge of the world developed. They could use a template
of a contemporary map and colour code it to contrast the knowledge of the world before and after the voyages
of exploration with the world today. The changes over time could be placed on a time line.
Tell the story of the Roanoke Colony. Discuss the problems these settlers faced. Add ‘new’ problems
(identified with the children) to the list on a flip chart.
Identify the reasons why the Roanoke settlement failed. Statements might be sorted according to the
problems encountered, eg American Indians, supplies, lack of knowledge about farming.
Provide the class with a writing frame to answer the question: What problems did settlers face when
they settled in Roanoke? Why did the settlement fail?
SURVIVAL EXTRA:
Identify why the presence of the Powhatans is problematic for the settlers as well as why the
presence of the settlers is problematic for the Powhatans. The settlers want to live in a place where
• Indigenous knowledge: what did the settlers learn from the Powhatans’ comprehensive knowledge
of their natural environment?
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people are already residing. Is this allowed or is it illegal? How can it become legal? Were legal ways
of acquiring land implemented and respected? How did the arrival of new settlers affect the
• Agriculture: settlers learned from the Powhatans about potatoes, corn and tobacco. Do we still use them today?
Are they an important aspect of our diet?
Powhatans’ way of life? (Could they hunt and grow their crops in the same way? Bear in mind
• Mapping: tribal peoples around the world have often helped settlers to map territory by guiding them through
the mountains, waterways, forest or desert, teaching them what food to eat and how to get it. Without them,
many explorers would have died from lack of water and food or because they were not aware of the dangers
of their new environment.
communication had been better and the settlers had been more peaceful, do you think they would
that settlers were military men and carried weapons. Do you think the Powhatans felt safe?) If
have faced starvation as they did?
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>>> Outcomes
>>> Outcomes
Children:
• know the needs of settlers
Children:
• identify and describe the problems faced by settlers in Roanoke
• recall and find out information about the way of life of American Indians
• identify and explain why the Roanoke settlement failed
• discuss how the lifestyles of American Indians were viewed by settlers from England
• identify how these differences might have caused problems for American Indians
• write about the American Indian perspective of English settlement
Section 6: what were the effects of the English settlement on the people(s) living in America?
Section 7: what impact has Tudor exploration had on our lives today?
> Objectives
Children should learn:
• to find out about the ways of life of indigenous peoples before colonisation
• to consider how the English settlers viewed the indigenous people
• to compare and contrast very different perspectives of the same event
> Objectives
Children should learn:
• to recall and summarise what they have learnt about voyages of exploration
• to select appropriate material and to present it to show their understanding of exploration in the Tudor period
>> Activities
Find out what the children already know about the people living in America at the time the Tudors were
ruling England. What else do you need to know? Put questions on a flip chart. Give the children some
sources of information about the American Indians to help them find answers to their questions.
Give the children a picture showing how English settlers viewed American Indians. Using their knowledge
of the indigenous peoples, ask them to identify ways in which the picture gives a false impression of the
American Indians. Why might the English view the American Indians in this way? (eg fear, prejudice,
different experiences/customs/culture). How might this have led to problems between the settlers and
the American Indians?
Using their knowledge of the American Indians and their customs, ask the children to write an account
of the Roanoke settlement from the American Indian perspective.
and its impact on life today
>> Activities
Ask children to consider each of the items on their list under three headings: ‘No impact on life today’, ‘Impact
on life today’ and ‘Not sure’.
Discuss their findings and agree a list of those things that have had a lasting impact.
It is important that children have an opportunity to summarise what they have learnt.
Children should be encouraged to consider possible negative impacts (such as tobacco, prejudice/racism,
war with other countries/colonies) as well as positive impacts (such as potato, maize, more accurate maps).
SURVIVAL EXTRA: REPRESENTATION AND STEREOTYPES
>>> Outcomes
> How are settlers usually portrayed? (eg ‘brave heroes’? It is true that they were brave but they also
Children:
had other motives before bravery that led to leaving England eg. religious beliefs, ambition etc).
>
What sort of people are most often chosen to represent British historical events? (eg. kings and
• recall and categorise information about exploration in Tudor times
• show understanding through discussion of the impact of Tudor exploration on life today
queens, aristocracy, military leaders etc. They could be considered to inspire admiration and
provide role model sand a cultural reference for a whole country.)
>
>
Are the general public represented? Do records exist of people like you in historical accounts?
How are American Indians usually portrayed? (eg. tipis, totem poles, feathered head dresses). Are
they represented as rich, powerful people? Do the images we have from books and films depict
them as people with great knowledge from whom we could learn?
>
What about their contemporary representation? Do we know what Powhatans look like today?
Or do we assume they will look like what they looked like 300 years ago? Is your culture the same
as 300 years ago?
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Suggested Survival Activities for Key Stage 3 History:
Emphasises how and why historical events, people, situations and changes have been interpreted in different
ways. Encourages children to evaluate interpretations.
Section 1: How did the Powhatans live? What was their culture?
Section 2: How and why did the English settle in America?
Activities:
Activities:
Ask children what they know about American Indians and how they lived before European settlers arrived. Write
answers on a flip chart. Do they know anything about the Powhatan tribe? Give them sources of information on the
Powhatan tribe and their way of life, including the political and social structure. Compare what they know now with
their answers from the beginning.
Ask children when the settlement of North America began and why it began then rather than earlier or later.
Using a map of trade routes of the period explain the context of European trade from the fifteenth century
and the competition amongst European kingdoms for control of resources. Why was control of trade so
important? Why was Britain so successful in colonising North America? What has this got to do with sheep?
AREAS TO FOCUS ON:
AREAS TO FOCUS ON:
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Values: What do you value in your society today? What do you think was valued in Powhatan society?
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Compare similarities and differences.
Urban migration: how did this change people’s relationship with the land and environment?
(cf Section 1: Environment) Increased urbanisation meant fewer subsistence farmers and more
wage labourers. Look at effects of enclosure in your local area.
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Environment: What was the relationship between the Powhatans and their environment? Why do you think
it was like this? Compare your relationship with the environment, and the problems that have occurred as
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a result.
Poverty: Ask children to give an account of a former tenant farmer who went to the city and became
an American settler. Poor conditions in the city, increased poverty, temptation of a better life in America,
perhaps of finding gold. What would you have done?
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Gender: Look at the gendered activities in Powhatan society. Why did this occur? Do we have gendered
activities in our society? Is this good or bad? Why?
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Wealth: How could Britain afford to support these expeditions?
Oral tradition: What are the advantages/disadvantages of oral traditions versus written historical accounts?
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Significance of colonisation: What would have happened if the English were unsuccessful in settling
How do they affect our view and understanding of the past? How has it affected our understanding of the
in America? Think about the consequences for the Powhatan and other American Indian tribes, as
Powhatans? We have had to rely on European accounts with certain biases and prejudices (compate with
well as the implications for Britain and the future British Empire.
Survival extra: representation and stereotypes in section 6 of KS2 activities). Powhatan language is now extinct,
would written sources have helped it survive? Discuss the differences between ‘official’ history (usually written)
and personal histories (usually oral): Do you write a diary? Why? How do you and your family remember your
Further activities:
past and what’s happened to you? Story-telling, photographs. Do you prefer to read a story or for somebody
to tell you? Why? What are the differences?
Further activities:
Without recourse to text and using pictures as prompts, children in groups can think about and make up possible
Powhatan stories and myths. One or two people from the group use role play to tell the rest of the class the story.
They can draw or use pictures but no one is allowed to write anything. At the end children summarise and relay
the stories of other groups to emphasise how difficult it is to replicate stories exactly without recourse to written
texts and the implications this has for cultures that rely on oral traditions.
Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past (2a,c,d,e); Historical enquiry (4a);
Organisation and communication (5b,c); Breadth of study (7a,b,d, 9,10)
Links to NC KS3 History:
Emphasises the range of experiences and motivations of settlers. Encourages analysis and explanation of the
easons for, and results of, the historical events, situations and changes that led to the settlement of America.
Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past (2a,b,c); Historical interpretation (3a,b);
Organisation and communication (5c); Breadth of study (7b,d,12)
Highlights the experiences and range of ideas, beliefs and attitudes of men, women and children in the past.
Underlines the social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of the societies studied.
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Ask children to write a letter home from the perspective of a young migrant who decided to go to America.
Compare life in the city with that of rural life as well as the journey to America and his initial reaction to
Jamestown. Think about the sights and smells of the different places as well as living conditions and the
different people he would have met. Consider his motivation to leave England for America, his reaction to
the lack of treasure at Jamestown and how he would feel seeing the Powhatans for the first time.
Links to NC KS3 History:
Permits children to identify trends regarding migration and settlement, both within and across different
periods. Demonstrates links between local, British, European and world history. Considers the significance
of the Jamestown settlement, for the Powhatan tribe and for Britain and North America as a whole.
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Section 3: Pocahontas: myth versus reality
Activities:
Brainstorm with children about Pocahontas, who she was, what she did and what she represents, writing
responses on the board. Show clips from Disney’s ‘Pocahontas’ and ‘The New World’. Discuss how Pocahontas
is portrayed, her image, her manner etc., what this reveals about peoples attitudes towards American Indians,
what message the makers/directors of each film are trying to convey. Can we trust these sources as historically
accurate? Why? Why not? Give children the timeline from the pack as well as other sources of information
(including pictures) about Pocahontas and her life.
Considers the significance of Pocahontas throughout history as a real historical figure and as a mythological
character manipulated for various purposes.
LINKS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA):
Visit http://www.apva.org/history/timeline.html for a detailed timeline provided by APVA.
Geocities Powhatan factsheet:
http://www.geocities.com/bigorrin/powhatan_kids.htm
Written for young people learning about the Powhatans and includes Powhatan pictures and links
AREAS TO FOCUS ON:
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Powhatans and the English felt the same? How would you react? (Curious, frightened, threatened?). How
did they react? Is this surprising? Was it inevitable? What would have happened had Pocahontas not
stepped in to ‘save’ Captain Smith? Can we trust his account of what happened?
(Fashions, beliefs)
www.native-languages.org/powhatan_culture.htm
Provides a collection of indexed links about the Powhatan people and various aspects of their society. The
emphasis here is on American Indians as a living people with a present and a future as well as a past: modern
authors are featured as well as traditional folklore, contemporary artwork as well as museum pieces, and the
issues and struggles of today as well as the tragedies of yesterday.
The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC):
www.patc.net/history/native/ind_hist.html
The PATC’s website provides background information, images and a reading list about the Powhatans.
Validity of historical sources: How can we tell if a source is accurate or not? Corroborative evidence,
knowledge of author and their beliefs/motivations. If it is not accurate can it still be useful? Can tell us
things about the author and the time they were living in.
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Powhatan culture and history links:
Representation: Look at the various ways Pocahontas has been represented over the centuries. How has
the image of Pocahontas changed? How does this reflect changes in European and American societies?
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Confederacy page (http://www.native-languages.org/powhatan.htm) for in-depth information about the tribe.
The meeting: Given what children have learnt about the Powhatan tribe and English settlers, how do they
think the two groups would react upon meeting one another. How would they feel? Do you think the
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suitable for all ages. The site also encourages children and teachers to look at the Powhatan
Mythology: Look at the different and sometimes conflicting purposes Pocahontas’ story has been used
Jamestown Journey:
http://www.jamestownjourney.org/Home.htm
The official US education curriculum website for America’s 400th anniversary. Includes lesson plans
that are adapted to UK National Curriculum.
for (to attack slavery, to justify colonisation etc). How has this been possible? (Lack of many historical
facts or any testimony from Pocahontas herself). What is the story of Pocahontas used for today? Why
is her story so popular in the USA? (National identity, national unity)
Further activities:
Using the timeline children can write an extract from Smith’s diary describing his capture and his meeting
with Pocahontas or write a narrative from Pocahontas’ perspective, telling her sister about the event.
We help tribal peoples defend
Ask children to act out a ‘hot seat’ role-play where four pupils sit in front of the group as the following
characters: Pocahontas, John Smith, John Rolfe and Chief Powhatan. The rest of the group then ask quick-fire
fire questions to which the children have to answer in character.
their lives, protect their lands
and determine their own futures.
Survival International
Links to NC KS3 History:
6 Charterhouse Bldgs.
Chronological Understanding (1); Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past
(2a,b,c,e); Historical Interpretation (3a,b); Historical enquiry (4a,b); Organisation and communication (5b,c);
Breadth of study (7a,b,d, 12)
London EC1M 7ET, UK
Underlines the pluralism of the Jamestown settlement and the different experiences and reactions of different
actors. Emphasises the different perspectives relating to the history of Pocahontas, and its different uses.
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