Use this standards-aligned lesson plan to focus on the similarities and differences between the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies. Students will focus on the purpose, location, problems, and progress of each colony.
Start the lesson with vocabulary. Have your students complete a vocabulary matrix for several terms related to the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies. I like to focus on the following four words: colonist, pilgrim, drought, and epidemic. Students define each word, record a synonym, use the word in a sentence, and draw a picture to represent the word’s meaning. Definitions, synonyms, and a sentence for each word are listed below.
colonist: a person who settles in a new place; settler; The colonists settled in North America.
pilgrim: a person who travels for a religious reason; traveler; The Pilgrims left England in 1620.
drought: a long period of little to no rainfall, causing a shortage of water; dry spell; The long drought made it impossible to grow crops.
epidemic: a sudden outbreak of disease; disease; An epidemic killed many Indigenous Americans.