Topic: 4th Grade Virginia Studies, SOL VS.

3, The Colonization of Virginia at Jamestown

Rationale: I chose the topic of Jamestown as it relates to the 4th grade Virginia SOL VS.3: The Colonization of Virginia at
Jamestown because I find it personally interesting and it builds on the social studies content from the grade I currently
teach (1st grade). The SOLs listed below fit this theme. As students interact with the texts in the following Text Set, I want
them to see the relationships between the events and people in early Jamestown history, the impact of English
colonization on life then and life now, to understand the complicated relationship between the Powhatans and the English,
and to see how learning about Jamestown is valuable for life today. I’ve included texts that are both engaging and
informative to a variety of learners and reading abilities.

Anchor Text: Wallenstein, P. (Ed.). (2017). Our Virginia Past and Present (3rd ed.). Five Ponds Press.

The anchor text I’ve chosen is “Our Virginia: Past and Present” by Five Ponds Press. The Rayor Readability Measure is
8th grade. While this is significantly above a 4th grade reading level, the textbook is designed with small chunks of text,
lots of great visuals, and vocabulary resources that still make it a useful resource for 4th grade students. The textbook
could still be used if the teacher implements enough supports such as graphic organizers, collaborative learning, and
teaching students to use the nonfiction text features.

Related SOL:

VS.3 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the first permanent English settlement in America by
a) explaining the reasons for English colonization;
b) describing the economic and geographic influences on the decision to settle at Jamestown;
c) describing the importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of London in establishing the Jamestown
settlement
d) identifying the importance of the General Assembly (1619) as the first representative legislative body in English
America;
e) identifying the impact of the arrival of Africans and English women to the Jamestown settlement;
f) describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to ensure survival; and
g) describing the interactions between the English settlers and the native peoples, including the role of the Powhatan
in the survival of the settlers.
Below Grade Level Texts (1st-3rd grade):

Braun, E., Erwin, S., Williams, K., & Barnett, C. (2006). The story of Jamestown. Capstone Press.

This graphic novel is only 32 pages long and written at a 660 Lexile. The engaging nature of this graphic novel and its late
2nd/early 3rd grade reading level make it a perfect selection for hesitant 4th grade learners. It gives necessary
background information on Jamestown and will pique struggling readers’ interest. This book is valuable in establishing
background knowledge needed for 4th grade content learning.

Carbone, E. L. (2020). Poison in the colony: James Town 1622. Puffin Books.

This historical fiction text written at a 740 Lexile, tells the important story of the women and enslaved Africans who arrived
at Jamestown between 1619 and 1620. The story also includes historical information on the General Assembly - the first
representative legislative body in English America. Written from the perspective of a fictional character named Virginia
Laydon, students will immediately be drawn into the expertly woven tale mixing fiction and historical facts. This book
would make an excellent Literature Circle selection for struggling readers during a literacy block. The book is long at 320
pages. It could also make a great teacher read aloud if time does not allow for students to read the entire book on their
own.

Lüsted, M. A. (2017). The Jamestown Colony Disaster: A cause and effect investigation. Lerner Publications.

Written at a 710 Lexile, this engaging text explores the many challenges and dangers faced by the early Jamestown
settlers and the effect on the native Powhatan people. The text is broken up into short and manageable chunks with
helpful graphics to aid in comprehension. The text also contains many nonfiction text features such as photographs,
headings, table of contents, diagrams, captions, glossary, and index. The manageable length and text supports would
make this a useful resource for below grade level students. The text is engaging and the focus on “disasters” would spark
an interest in students and motivate them to learn more.

Levy, J. (2014). Life in Jamestown Colony. Gareth Stevens Publishing.

This short (24 pages), yet informative trade book tells the story of the founding of Jamestown and centers on the major
events in its establishment, and the hardships faced by the early settlers such as drought, starvation, and fighting. Using a
shorter text written at a 770 Lexile, would give below grade level readers access to content information and expose them
to essential Tier 3 vocabulary. This book could be a great introduction to a unit on Jamestown and give struggling readers
the necessary background information to understand higher level text.

On Grade Level Texts (4th grade):

Fritz, J. (1983). The double life of Pocahontas. Trumpet Club.

This biography delves into the life of Pocahontas and the complicated role she played in both Powhatan and English
cultures. The book is a quick read at only 96 pages and written at a 910 Lexile. This book could be a great enrichment
opportunity for students wishing to learn more about Pocahontas and study her relationship with both the Powhatan and
English.

Karwoski, G., & Casale, P. (2001). Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier. Peachtree Publishers.

This historical fiction text is an engaging tale of courage and survival, interwoven with historical facts, told from the
perspective of a fictional character, Sam Collier, page to Captain John Smith. Written at a 820 Lexile, this on grade level
text provides an enrichment opportunity for students to envision the real lives of the men who made the harrowing journey
from England to Virginia, and survived the harsh realities of life in Jamestown. While studying this book, students should
also be encouraged to think about events from the perspective of the Powhatans. This book would also make a great
cross curricular book choice for Literature Circles in a literacy block.

Morley, J., & Antram, D. (2013). You wouldn’t want to be an American colonist!: A settlement you’d rather not start.
Franklin Watts, An Imprint of Scholastic Inc.

This humorous, comic based, nonfiction text is perfect for encouraging struggling readers to dive into learning about the
Jamestown settlement. In this story, the reader is the main character as they learn about the obstacles faced by the early
colonists, interesting facts, and about Pocahontas. The book is short, only 32 pages, and at a 780 Lexile, so it is written to
engage reluctant readers and pique their interest in learning more about Jamestown. The humorous writing style is also
engaging and makes this a quick and fun read.

Smith-Llera, D. (2017). The Powhatan: The Past and Present of Virginia’s first tribes. Capstone Press, a capstone imprint.

This nonfiction trade book, written at a 870 Lexile, tells the story of the past and present of the Powhatan people. On
grade level fourth grade students would benefit from reading a text that centers on telling the story of the Powhatan
people, how they were impacted by the arrival of the English, and how the Powhatans continue to honor their heritage and
traditions to this day. This text is a diverse text because it seeks to tell the story of Jamestown from the perspective of the
Powhatan people and focus on how these events in history have affected them. This text honors their role and
significance in early Virginia history. The book is short - only 32 pages - and would make a great anchor text for a lesson
or a text students could read in small groups.

Above Grade Level Texts (5th grade and above):

Cooper, M. L. (2007). Jamestown, 1607. Holiday House.

This 112 page book, written at a 1040 Lexile, examines in depth the Jamestown settlement. Told primarily through the
perspective of the English settlers, this book should be supplemented with discussions surrounding the lack of Powhatan
representation and how the information about the Powhatans is told through English sources. The book also contains
many period paintings, engravings, drawings, maps, and a timeline. The advanced nature of this book would make it a
valuable resource for students needing more of a challenge.

Lange, K. E. (2007). 1607: A new look at Jamestown. National Geographic.

This short read (48 pages), written at a 950 Lexile, examines and explores new archeological evidence found at
Jamestown that gives us a new perspective on the Jamestown settlement. The engaging photographs capture new
archeological finds in an exciting way. Students will not only learn about Jamestown from the English perspective, but also
learn about artifacts found from the Native Powhatan people and how their relationships with the settlers evolved over
time. This book would serve as a great extension for advanced students learning more about Jamestown and also
introduce them to the world of archeology and its role in our understanding of historical events.
Sjonger, R., & Kalman, B. (2005). Life of the Powhatan. Crabtree Pub.

This short (32 page) book written at a 970 Lexile provides an in-depth look of everyday Powhatan life in 1607. While
reading this book, students will learn how the Powhatan dressed, cooked, and built their homes. They’ll also learn about
the various roles Powhatan men, women, and children held in the valued family unit. Reading this text will give students
the necessary background knowledge of the Powhatan people when looking at the story of Jamestown.

Walker, S. M. (2009). Written in bone buried lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland. Carolrhoda Books.

This 144 page book written at a 1140 Lexile, examines the process forensic anthropologists go through when examining
bones excavated from Jamestown and colonial Maryland. The book examines grave excavations and explains how the
artifacts can be used to develop historians’ understandings of early Jamestown and colonial history. This interesting read
not only exposes students to the fascinating world of forensic anthropology, but also to how historians are able to know so
much about early Jamestown history and how much there still is to learn as more graves are discovered.

Nonlinguistic Resources:

https://historicjamestowne.org/

Historic jamestowne. (n.d.). https://historicjamestowne.org/

This amazing website contains a plethora of information including archeology project information, historic and present day
maps of Jamestown, a timeline, photographs of artifacts found during various archeological digs, a live cam from a
present day dig, information in articles about John Smith, Pocahontas, John Rolfe, and Chief Powhatan, and a 3 part
video series about the first African Americans to arrive in Jamestown. This valuable website will help students learn more
about Jamestown, its important people, and the present day efforts to continually learn more about Jamestown. The
website information about the first Africans to arrive in Jamestown and the videos are especially valuable since there are
not many linguistic resources on this topic.

Classroom Outreach | Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, VA (jyfmuseums.org)

Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, VA. Dugout Canoe. (n.d.). https://www.jyfmuseums.org/learn/videos/dugout-canoe

This website contains information about booking in person or virtual sessions with presenters explaining life in
Jamestown. The presenters bring real life artifacts and reproductions to make the history of Jamestown come alive. My
school is actually having one of these presenters come to school on Friday. The cost is only $2.50 per student. In addition
to the opportunity for a guest speaker, the website contains photographs of Jamestown artifacts and videos about life in
Jamestown for the English and the Powhatan. One video in particular shows how the Powhatan would make a dugout
canoe. Having a guest speaker with real life artifacts increases the engagement of students and makes history “come
alive.”