New
New
Year 8

England's first successful American colonies

I can explain how England's first successful colonists interacted with Native Americans.

New
New
Year 8

England's first successful American colonies

I can explain how England's first successful colonists interacted with Native Americans.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The first successful North American English colony was Jamestown.
  2. Colonials at first relied on Native Americans for help with food.
  3. Tensions rose between colonists and Native Americans, leading to multiple conflicts.

Common misconception

John Rolfe’s marriage to Pocahontas represented goodwill between colonists and the Powhatan tribe.

Pocahontas' marriage involved her capture and forced conversion to Christianity. Pocahontas was used by the English for their own advantage.

Keywords

  • Native American - Native Americans are the original inhabitants of North and South America and the Caribbean Islands

  • Assembly - an assembly is a group who meet to make laws for a community

  • Powhatan - the Powhatan are a Native American nation who lived in the region which became Virginia

  • Tensions - tensions are feelings of anger or fear between two groups

  • Reservations - reservations are areas of land set aside for a community of people to live on

For the timeline task, pupils could alternatively be provided with three images which represent the three missing events (i.e. an empty plate, tobacco leaf/ cigarette, and a group of men). Ask them to identify what each relates to and how they know.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual violence

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the key words with the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:Native Americans,original inhabitants of North and South America

original inhabitants of North and South America

Correct Answer:indigenous,the original inhabitants of a specific area

the original inhabitants of a specific area

Correct Answer:settlement,the process of establishing new communities in an area

the process of establishing new communities in an area

Q2.
What alternative name was given to Roanoke?
First Colony
Last Colony
Correct answer: Lost Colony
Q3.
Potosi mine helped increase Spain's wealth because of its huge amounts of __________
Correct Answer: silver, Silver, silver ore
Q4.
Roanoke was England's first permanent __________ in the Americas.
Correct Answer: colony, Colony
Q5.
Identify an example of indigenous resistance to European spiritual conquest.
Correct answer: Indigenous people blended their own religious beliefs with Christianity
Spanish colonisers destroyed indigenous temples and traditional statues
Indigeous nations completely accepted all parts of Christianity
Q6.
Sort the events into chronological order.
1 - Greenland Vikings arrived in the Americas
2 - Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas
3 - Spanish forces conquered the Aztec Empire
4 - England attempted to found a colony at Roanoke

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? The Powhatans always fought against English settlers in Jamestown.
True
Correct answer: False
Q2.
Write the missing word. By 1650, members of the Powhatan nation had been dispossessed by settlers and forced to live on _______ .
Correct Answer: reservations, Reservations
Q3.
What crop did settlers around Jamestown begin selling to Europe in 1614?
corn
potatoes
sugar
Correct answer: tobacco
Q4.
Write the missing word. Before marrying the colonist John Rolfe, Pocahontas was _______ by English settlers and converted to Christianity.
Correct Answer: kidnapped, Kidnapped
Q5.
What was the main cause of the 'starving times' in Jamestown?
colonists didn't know how to farm
Correct answer: colonists hunted for gold
colonists caught many diseases
colonists set up Jamestown on land that was not good for farming
Q6.
Why did tobacco farming lead to conflict between settlers and the Powhatans?
the Powhatans felt tobacco was too unhealthy
the Powhatans were jealous of the settlers' growing wealth
Correct answer: the Powhatans felt tobacco farming took up too much land
the Powhatans believed settlers were stealing their own tobacco

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