United States History Student Edition

03

INQUIRY ACTIVITY

FLORIDA BENCHMARKS

Analyzing Sources: Survival in the First Colonies ? COMPELLING QUESTION How did people survive the hardships of a new environment?

• SS.8.A.2.5 • SS.8.A.3.15 • ELA.K12.EE.4.1

• SS.8.A.1.2 • SS.8.A.1.4 • SS.8.A.1.5 • SS.8.A.1.6

Plan Your Inquiry DEVELOPING QUESTIONS

Background Information After initial setbacks, the English succeeded in establishing lasting colonies in North America. Many of the first English colonists were unprepared for the lands and environments they were settling. The English did not understand what foods to eat and what plants to grow in their new homes. Native Americans initially welcomed the settlers at Jamestown, the first English settlement, but the two groups also had conflicts. Likewise, Native Americans in what would become New England welcomed the Separatists and Puritans who came from England seeking religious freedom, but conflicts over land grew. In both areas, Native Americans at first offered food and aid to the settlers. This lesson includes firsthand reports, illustrations, and statistics about the colonists’ experience in their new world. As you examine each source, think about the contrasts between the colonists’ situation in America and their previous lives in England. Consider the resources the colonists had available and what they needed to survive.

Think about the situation colonists faced when they arrived in North America. Then read the Compelling Question for this lesson. What questions can you ask to help you answer this Compelling Question? Create a graphic organizer like the one below. Write your Supporting Questions in your graphic organizer.

What this source tells me about what the first English settlers in North America did to survive

Questions the source leaves unanswered

Supporting Questions

Primary Source

A B C D

E F

ANALYZING SOURCES Next, examine the primary and secondary sources in this lesson. Analyze each source by answering the questions that follow it. How does each source help you answer each Supporting Question you created? What questions do you still have? Write these in your graphic organizer.

After you analyze the sources, you will: • use the evidence from the sources • communicate your conclusions • take informed action

In this 1800s illustration, Native Americans and New England colonists exchange greetings.

North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock Photo

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