Oklahoma Academic Standard 1. The student will examine and compare the Jamestown and Plymouth settlements as the foundations of American culture and society.

Objective 5.1.4 Explain the early successes and challenges of the Jamestown settlement including the leadership of  John Smith, interrelationships with American Indians, challenges of the Starving Times, and the export of natural resources for profit.

In a Nutshell

Students should understand that Jamestown, as the first permanent English settlement in North America, gave hope to other colonists that great wealth could be discovered in Virginia. However, conflict between the colonists and lack of food threatened their survival. Implementing strong leadership, developing beneficial relationships with Indian tribes, and learning how to best utilize the area’s natural resources for profit eventually ensured the colony's survival.

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Assist students to explain multiple causes and effects of events that contributed to the successes of the Jamestown settlement.

• Provide opportunities for students to describe the specific contributions of individuals and groups who shaped the successes of the Jamestown settlement. 

• Explain the challenges people have faced and the strategies used to address historical problems such as the collaborative efforts of colonists and indigenous peoples of the Jamestown region. 

• Create timelines to identify multiple causes and events related to the early challenges of the Jamestown settlement.

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• Powhatan, John Rolfe, Pocahontas, Captain John Smith

• Chesapeake Bay, James River

• famine, disease, armed conflict, "Starving Time"

• tobacco export, trade with indigenous peoples

• Some students will have limited prior understandings of the complex relationship between new immigrants and local American Indian populations.

• Due to media exposure, many students will possess mythical and inaccurate information regarding John Smith's relationship with the Powhatan Pocahontas. 

Instructional Resources