Jamestown ideas

     Jamestown 

and

Roanoke

Part of the 5th grade curriculum is learning about Jamestown.  I gave my students several activities in order to focus on Jamestown and The Lost Colony of Roanoke.
  
         Before the kids had a quiz on Roanoke and Jamestown, they made a "What I know about..." flip chart in order to organize their information.  Here is a close up of the images for the two flaps. I love to have my students make flip charts as study aids.  5th graders still need hands on activities as much as the children in younger grades.  The kids like the action of opening and closing the flaps while studying.This gives them the tactile experience that  many people need to learn.

    We also make a Lost Colony flip chart.

            The students then organized what they knew about each colony and wrote the information under the correct flap.  As expected, some students wrote more and some wrote less. 
         

          After the flip charts were finished,  the students passed their flip chart to a partner.  Each child would read the information the their classmates had written.  The review became more beneficial because they were constantly reading different information and also reviewing the same information worded differently.

      A Circle Flip Chart is a different way to get the students thinking.

     Information is written under each flap. Last, the picture of the fort or a student drawing is glued in the middle of the circle.

I was very pleased on how these activities helped my students on their Roanoke and Jamestown quiz.
     

      The lastly, the students chose one of three writing activities about the Jamestown colony. 

1.  You were a settler of Jamestown and wrote a post card to a family member that you left in England.  Postcards always have a picture on the back, so design an illustration of Jamestown on the reverse side of the post card.

2. You were a settler of Jamestown and wrote a letter to Captain John Smith stating how you felt about his leadership abilities and his rule for work in Jamestown.

3.  You were a settler of Jamestown and voiced your opinion if life was easy or difficult for you.  Would you stay in Jamestown or decide to return to England?

      It is great to make your students feel empowered in their learning.  Giving them choices is one way to do this.  Some of us are better writers and others are better using their artistic creativity. These activities can be altered for different ability levels in your classroom.

      Today I linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching.

www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com

      Please leave a comment if you have an extra minute in your busy day. I'd love to read your ideas.

Beti