Students in Mrs. Warren’s 5th grade social studies class used real life documents to explore what they thing was the main reason that caused so many colonist to die in Jamestown. Students explored things such as tree records indicating droughts, interactions with the local Powhatan tribes, records of colonist occupations who arrived in Jamestown, and even records of those who became ill or died.
Students incorporated many other skills into their research. They used math equations to track how many colonists died from each of these different potential causes. They had to be able to read charts and graphs to understand meaning. Students then used the information to research which they felt was the most major cause of colonist deaths. Students completed an essay to tell you why they think so many colonists died using evidence from the sources to prove their points.
When students were finished they got to present and share within small groups. Students were able to have health discourse discussing what reasons they felt caused the colony of Jamestown to struggle the most. They were able to see multiple points of view.
Shaylee Warren
GR Hampton Elementary School
Knox County Schools
5th Grade
