Jamestown Colonies Honors US Studies 1st & 3rd Periods

Jamestown (Simulation) Colonies - 1st & 3rd Period US Studies Honors classes.

Students in the 1st & 3rd period US Studies Honors classes spent a week in simulation, creating their version of the Jamestown colony. They were given a set of instructions, construction materials, a "land charter" (posterboard) from the "Virginia Company of London" (Mr. Wade), and a group of six (6) with on individual acting as their colony's John Smith.

During simulation, Jamestown colonists were to decide what construction tasks their group would tackle during the daily "seasons". Tasks ranged from building a church to digging a well and foraging for food. Sometimes a settler would "die" due to circumstances out of the colony's control.

The overall goal of the simulation was to teach about Jamestown while the students were constructing Jamestown in miniature. A emotional goal was to have students empathize with the plight of Jamestown. Students were given snippets of information about Jamestown at various points to reinforce the importance of the simulation.

At the end of the simulation, all students completed a set of summary questions. Students were also given the opportunity to voice any constructive feedback for future running of the simulation.

Later, I created a "Survival Rating" rubric, which was used to give each colony a survival rating. This was a last minute addition - suggested by students - in order to determine which group had the best colony overall. There was no penalty / reward aside from bragging rights. (All in good fun on this portion.) 

Jamestown Colony Period 3

Jamestown Colony Period 3

Jamestown Colony Period 3

Jamestown Colony Period 3

Jamestown Colony Period 3

Jamestown Colony Period 1

Jamestown Colony Period 1

Jamestown Colony Period 1

Coming Soon! PHOTOS
European Explorer "File" Project

Students in all US Studies classes, Regular & Honors, were given a chance to do some independent study on European explorers during the Age of Exploration.
Students were grouped and given the opportunity to choose one of six (6) roles ranging from Ship's Engineer to Voyage or Early Life Biographer.

Students then were asked to construct their portion of the "file" based on individual info-gathering, as well as some collaborative work with group members. For example: some group members found biography info while searching for data on a particular ship used by their explorer. That person was instructed to share what they found with the biographers in their group.

Overall, the goal was to provide an early opportunity to get "hands-on" with history. The other objective was to given students a chance to focus on areas about the explorer they were interested in learning about. Most explorers were discussed in class via notes, class reading from the textbook (with accompanying handout), or in notes which were provided to them by me.

20th Century US (Junior Class), September 1, 2011

You are starting an assignment on the Industrialists of the late 19th Century. You chose one of the following men:

• John D. Rockefeller
• Andrew Carnegie
• Cornelius Vanderbilt
• J.P. Morgan

Your task is to create a display illustrating the man, his life, and whether or not he, in your opinion, is a "Robber Baron" or a "Captain of Industry".

You will need to compile information on the following:
1. A 1-2 paragraph biography
2. A picture of the industrialist you selected
3. A way to display each of the four boxes you completed from the handout you received in class.
     *** Each box must have at least two examples to help explain the way the industrialist:
     a. Acquired his wealth
     b. Treated his workers / unions
     c. Spent his money
     d. Donated his money

4. You must write a 1 paragraph explanation with the following introductory statement: "________________________ is a (Robber Baron / Captain of Industry) because________________

You will proceed to explain, in your opinion, based on the facts you have acquired, where you feel your industrialist best fits on the spectrum between "Robber Baron" and "Captain of Industry".


We will have a class display in the hallway to showcase your work. BE CREATIVE!

US to 1900, August 30, 2011

You are making a poster on one of the following ancient civilizations:

• Mayan
• Aztec
• Inca

Your poster must include all (and possibly more) of the following information:

• Religion / Beliefs
• Culture / Arts
• Monuments / Buildings
• Transportation
• Farming / Crops
• Calendar
• Government
• Clothing / Jewlry
• Hunting / Weapons
• Major Cities (Then & Now)
• Education / Schooling

Also include a map of the civilization.

• The map must show where your civilization was located.
• The map must be colored to better display the region of your civilization.
• The map must include the location of two modern-day cities in relation to the civilization.
• The map must include the names of modern-day nations the civilization was part of.

Your poster will also include a timeline.

• The timeline will have 5-8 major events in the history of that civilization.
• The timeline will show the approximate start, peak, and end of that civilization.
• The timeline will have brief summaries explaining the major events you selected.

World History Project - Pegasus

I want to share with you the talent of a first-time model maker, Sydney R. Sydney is in the 9th grade World History class at WVNCC Middle College. She has recently been learning about Ancient Greece. Her major project has been to create a model of the Greek mythological character, Pegasus, out of paper. The instructions and parts to this paper craft kit can be found at the Canon Creative Park website.

Syd will tell you that this project was quite difficult and frustrating, but she said she enjoyed working on it.