Web Quest: Life on Plymouth Plantation
Have you ever wondered what life was like 375 years ago in America? What did the men, women, and children first see and experience when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620? These brave people left their homes in England to escape religious persecution by immigrating to America!
What if you and your family felt the need to fly to Jupiter and attempt to start a new life? Your family members would have no idea where they were going, what type of climate they would find, what they were going to eat, or if there were any hostile creatures living there already. Wouldn't that be scary? This was a scary but adventurous time in American history.
Were the Pilgrims the first people to inhabit America? Actually, the Native American Indian tribes had already lived in what came to be called America for hundreds of years before the first European settlers immigrated in 1620.
What if you and your family felt the need to fly to Jupiter and attempt to start a new life? Your family members would have no idea where they were going, what type of climate they would find, what they were going to eat, or if there were any hostile creatures living there already. Wouldn't that be scary? This was a scary but adventurous time in American history.
Were the Pilgrims the first people to inhabit America? Actually, the Native American Indian tribes had already lived in what came to be called America for hundreds of years before the first European settlers immigrated in 1620.
The Task
In this activity you will be discovering about the early Americans by looking at a re-creation of Plymouth Plantation in 1627. Also, you will be looking at a variety of maps, both modern and maps from the 17th century. Using these sources, you will be answering questions, discovering life in early America and writing a series of letters.
You will also be looking up and recording the definitions of any underlined words you find throughout the activity.
You will also be looking up and recording the definitions of any underlined words you find throughout the activity.
The Process
STEP 1 - Brainstorm
First, brainstorm all of the things you know about early American settlers and New England.
Remember to look up each of the underlined words and keep the list of words and definitions near your computer.
STEP 2 - The Journey
Sailing on wooden ships, like the Mayflower, all the way across the Atlantic ocean, took many months. In modern time, taking a non-stop flight from Los Angeles, California to London, England takes about 15 hours. The journey in the Mayflower from Southampton to Plymouth took 165 days.
Write a list of all of the provisions you think the 102 Pilgrims needed to take with them on the long voyage across the ocean. Remember, they had to eat and survive in what could possibly be an unfriendly environment.
STEP 3 - Plymouth Map Work
Look at Plymouth on this historic map of the original colonies just before the Revolutionary War in 1776. This map was created 156 years after the Plymouth Plantation was established but the map has a very good detail of the bay and the cape. (http://scarlett.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1776b6.jpg)
STEP 4 - Tour the Colonies
Colonial Williamsburg, Virgina
Social Hierarchy
The African American Experience
Introduction
Politics and Economics
The Magna Carta
Early Government and Economy
Religion
Family
First, brainstorm all of the things you know about early American settlers and New England.
- What do you know about Pilgrims?
- What do you know about Native Americans?
- What do you know about the Mayflower?
Remember to look up each of the underlined words and keep the list of words and definitions near your computer.
STEP 2 - The Journey
Sailing on wooden ships, like the Mayflower, all the way across the Atlantic ocean, took many months. In modern time, taking a non-stop flight from Los Angeles, California to London, England takes about 15 hours. The journey in the Mayflower from Southampton to Plymouth took 165 days.
- Approximately how many weeks in 165 days?
- How many months?
- How many hours?
- How many meals would the passengers consume assuming they eat three meals a day?
- How many more hours did the Pilgrims spend sailing than it takes for a modern traveler to fly from Los Angeles, California to London, England?
- How did the travelers navigate across the ocean with out the aid of modern technology? What prevented them from getting lost?
Write a list of all of the provisions you think the 102 Pilgrims needed to take with them on the long voyage across the ocean. Remember, they had to eat and survive in what could possibly be an unfriendly environment.
STEP 3 - Plymouth Map Work
Look at Plymouth on this historic map of the original colonies just before the Revolutionary War in 1776. This map was created 156 years after the Plymouth Plantation was established but the map has a very good detail of the bay and the cape. (http://scarlett.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1776b6.jpg)
- Why do you think the Pilgrims chose to settle in Plymouth?
- What geographical features make Plymouth a good location for the settlement?
- Using an encyclopedia, explain what a bay is. (the coastal one definition)
- What type of climate does Massachusetts have throughout the year? Click on (http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/cgi-bin/data/usclimate/state.pl?lane=fast&state=MA)
- Click on Falmouth look at a climate chart and answer the following questions:
o What months have the highest temperatures?
o What months have the coldest temperatures?
o What months have the most snow?
o What was the maximum temperature in 1961-1990?
o What was the minimum temperature in 1961-1990?
o What was the average snowfall in 1961-1990?
STEP 4 - Tour the Colonies
Colonial Williamsburg, Virgina
Social Hierarchy
The African American Experience
Introduction
Politics and Economics
The Magna Carta
Early Government and Economy
Religion
Family
Conclusion
Life in early America was obviously not easy. The brave Pilgrims that came to America in 1620 faced many difficulties and hardships. They fought and struggled for their survival and in doing so were pioneers for the young country of America.
Now, take out the brainstorm from STEP 1. See what your first thoughts about early life in America. Add the new information you learned to your brainstorm. If the information you first wrote down was incorrect, go ahead a cross it out and replace it with the correct information.
Now, take out the brainstorm from STEP 1. See what your first thoughts about early life in America. Add the new information you learned to your brainstorm. If the information you first wrote down was incorrect, go ahead a cross it out and replace it with the correct information.