COLONIZATION ACTIVITY

You are a settler who has landed on the wild eastern shore of North America. You and

your 93 fellow colonists survived a frightening nine-week Atlantic voyage. Now you are struggling to build a new home in the wilderness. There are no roads, inns or towns in this land. The game, berries and

fish here taste strange, sometimes unpleasant. Your only neighbors are a group of Native Americans that you know nothing

about.

REPORT FROM THE NEW WORLD

• Distance: It is more than 5,000 nautical miles from Europe to the east coast of North America.

• Length: 6-14 weeks!• Dangers during the journey: Storms, scurvy, dysentery,

malnutrition, seasickness, overcrowding, etc.• Dangers once in the Americas: Native American attacks, diseases, exposure to the elements, wild animal attacks, fire,

etc.

THE JOURNEY

1. What is the reason you and your group are leaving England? (Be specific!)

2. When are you planning on leaving

England? (Day/Month)*Think about what time of year (season) you want

to arrive in the Americas.*

3. Why do you plan on leaving on that date?

PLANNING

4. Come up with a list of everything you would need to bring/have if your group were to start a colony.

Put them under the following categories:• Money• Food

• Shelter/Protection• Supplies

5. Explain the type of government you would set up and who would be in charge of what. (Should be at least a

paragraph.)

WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO START A COLONY?

6. Where in North America

are you planning on landing and

settling?

*This needs to be somewhere in

the section on the map.*

WHERE WOULD YOU SETTLE?

As your colony takes root, most members work hard to farm, cook, wash, mend, trade and defend the

colony. But a few colonists think only of their own comfort and do not work as hard as the others. You call a meeting

to set some rules about work.

7. Create your own set of rules for your colony.

CIVICS CHALLENGE

By the time spring arrives, your stores of English foods are running low. You and your friends decide to try trading with the

neighboring Native Americans. They could provide a steady supply of meat, fish and vegetables until your harvest comes in. Develop a

plan for opening trade.

8. Write out the conversation that you would imagine having with the Native Americans. Make sure you include

WHAT you will be trading and WHAT you expect in return.

Example:

Us: PUT WHAT YOU WOULD SAY HERENative Americans: PUT THEIR RESPONSE HERE

Us: WRITE WHAT YOU WOULD SAY BACK…and so on.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

9. Do you think your colony would

survive?

Explain in a five sentence summary.

QUESTION TO ANSWER ON YOUR OWN…