Primary Texts, Starving Time
4th Grade
Objective:
In this lesson, students will investigate the “Starving Time” in Jamestown (1609) by analyzing
various primary resources. They will formulate an opinion on the causes of the “Starving Time”
and use evidence from the primary sources in order to persuade others of their opinion.
CC Reading Standard:
RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text,
including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
TN SS Standard:
4.16 Making use of primary documents, analyze the early democratic ideas and practices that emerged
during the colonial period, including the significance of representative assemblies and during the
colonial period, including the significance of representative assemblies and town meeting and contrast
these with the presence of enslavement in the colonies.
Lesson Duration: 90 Minutes
Materials: http://unveilinghistory.org/blog/lessons/the-mystery-of-the-starving-time-jamestown/
Documents 1 and 2, a flipchart, and website are accessed through this link.
Before:
Make sure you have gone over Jamestown and how the settlement struggled. Also, it is important to
focus on the occupations of the men, and whether or not they would have known how to work when
the settled Jamestown.
During: You will follow the format set out on the link.
Assessment: The students will write an opinion piece on what they think happened at Jamestown.
Resources:
Kim, Anna (2010) Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University
http://unveilinghistory.org/blog/lessons/the-mystery-of-the-starving-time-jamestown/
Primary Source Task: K-12 Close Reading Task
Text grade band placement:
Text
Text Complexity Analysis
Quantitative:
Excerpted from Travels and Works of Captain John Smith.
Ed. Edward Arber, F.S.A. Vol. 2. Edinburgh; John Grant
Lexile Document 1: 910
Document 2: 980
Excerpted from "George Percy's Account of the Voyage to
Virginia and the Colony's First Days" Jamestown Voyages.
Ed. Barbour. Vol. 1
ELA and Social Studies/Science standards
addressed by task*
CC Reading Standard:
RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or
concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical
text, including what happened and why, based
on specific information in the text.
TN SS Standard:
4.16 Making use of primary documents, analyze
the early democratic ideas and practices that
emerged during the colonial period, including the
significance of representative assemblies and
during the colonial period, including the
significance of representative assemblies and
town meeting and contrast these with the
presence of enslavement in the colonies
Vocabulary
Document 1:
crueltie, Govenours indiscretion, vile, endured,
providence, industrie, barrennesse, generously
supposed
Document 2: releeve, mortal enemies, victuals, fish
and flesh, feeble, perished. frequented, divers
Kings, store of provision
What key insights should students take from this text? (Essential or Enduring Understandings 6-8)
What was the reason for the Starving Time? Was it something that could have been avoided? How could it
possibly have been avoided?
Text-Dependent Questions
Low: Who wrote the documents? When were they written?
Medium: What do the documents tell you about the starving time in Jamestown? How many of the colonists
died? Did anyone help the colonists?
High: In your opinion, what happened in Jamestown to make the colonists die?
Writing Mode
Writing Prompt
opinion
Writing Prompt: Write an argument that will
persuade your teacher what you believe
happened in the winter of 1609 to cause the
starving time. Use at least 3 pieces of
information from the primary documents you
investigated.
*Because these tasks apply across multiple grades, they are aligned to the College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards (CCRA). R stands for Reading, W for Writing, SL for Speaking and Listening, and L for language.
Scaffolding and support for special education students, English language learners, and
struggling readers:
 Work in groups of 4, or in pairs
 An easier version of the primary document is available underneath the original
document
 Background knowledge of relations with the Powhatan Indians, the occupations of the
settlers along with the way things were in England at the time (servants, lords, dukes,
etc.), and the time of year should be stressed