Activities for Students
Before:
Go on an adventure with Captain John Smith via the website http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/interactiveadventures/john-smith/ This is a great interactive tool I would use before the trip that can be used to send students on a colonial adventure in Jamestown and highlights the major points students should know before the trip. After each adventure there are interactive games which allow students a closer look into the James Fort, colonial weaponry, the Native Americans and exploring the area of the Chesapeake. This activity can be done at once with the whole class, individually at computer stations or could even span the length of a week according to each section in the adventure. In order, the adventures include: Off to Virginia, Building a Fort, John Smith is Captured, Powhatan’s Power, Help From the Indians, Exploring the Chesapeake, Adventure on the Bay, and What Happens Next. I think an activity like this would really get students excited about seeing the “real” thing.
During:
The Gallery Quest worksheet is a great tool to use during the tour. This is a scavenger hunt that engages students while on the trip by answering questions and finding objects in the Jamestown Settlement Galleries. This worksheet can be obtained from the official Jamestown website via http://historyisfun.org/pdf/Kids-Museum-Guides/gallery%20quest%20(Read-Only).pdf The worksheet can not only be used in the galleries but in the outdoor living history areas as well, but I would give it to students in the beginning of the tour in the museum and collect them all once we have completed the museum tour so that students could enjoy the hands-on experiences during the outdoor portion of the tour.
After:
After the trip, I would have students reflect on the experience by writing a narrative as if they were one of the first colonists at Jamestown. I would have them describe what life what like for them back then, what their daily chores consisted of, what their relationship with the Native Americans was like, and other creative information from the point of view of their colonist. In becoming a colonist and writing from their viewpoint, students would use information they learned on the trip, and this would help to reiterate early life and struggles in colonial America. It would also allow me, as a teacher, to assess some of their new knowledge after the trip.
Acitivities obtained from http://kids.nationalgeographic.com and http://historyisfun.org
Go on an adventure with Captain John Smith via the website http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/interactiveadventures/john-smith/ This is a great interactive tool I would use before the trip that can be used to send students on a colonial adventure in Jamestown and highlights the major points students should know before the trip. After each adventure there are interactive games which allow students a closer look into the James Fort, colonial weaponry, the Native Americans and exploring the area of the Chesapeake. This activity can be done at once with the whole class, individually at computer stations or could even span the length of a week according to each section in the adventure. In order, the adventures include: Off to Virginia, Building a Fort, John Smith is Captured, Powhatan’s Power, Help From the Indians, Exploring the Chesapeake, Adventure on the Bay, and What Happens Next. I think an activity like this would really get students excited about seeing the “real” thing.
During:
The Gallery Quest worksheet is a great tool to use during the tour. This is a scavenger hunt that engages students while on the trip by answering questions and finding objects in the Jamestown Settlement Galleries. This worksheet can be obtained from the official Jamestown website via http://historyisfun.org/pdf/Kids-Museum-Guides/gallery%20quest%20(Read-Only).pdf The worksheet can not only be used in the galleries but in the outdoor living history areas as well, but I would give it to students in the beginning of the tour in the museum and collect them all once we have completed the museum tour so that students could enjoy the hands-on experiences during the outdoor portion of the tour.
After:
After the trip, I would have students reflect on the experience by writing a narrative as if they were one of the first colonists at Jamestown. I would have them describe what life what like for them back then, what their daily chores consisted of, what their relationship with the Native Americans was like, and other creative information from the point of view of their colonist. In becoming a colonist and writing from their viewpoint, students would use information they learned on the trip, and this would help to reiterate early life and struggles in colonial America. It would also allow me, as a teacher, to assess some of their new knowledge after the trip.
Acitivities obtained from http://kids.nationalgeographic.com and http://historyisfun.org