The Virginia SOL standards covered include:
VS.3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the first permanent English settlement in America by
a) explaining the reasons for English colonization;
b) describing how geography influenced the decision to settle at Jamestown;
c) identifying the importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of London in
establishing the Jamestown settlement;
d) identifying the importance of the General Assembly (1619) as the first representative
legislative body in English America;
e) identifying the importance of the arrival of Africans and English women to the Jamestown
settlement;
f) describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to
ensure survival;
g) describing the interactions between the English settlers and the native peoples, including
the contributions of Powhatan to the survival of the settlers.
Where is Jamestown located?
http://www.virtualjamestown.org/quicktime/jamestown.mov
What was it like for the first settlers?
Primary Source: The Indians Help the Colonists
Thanks to God, our deadly enemies saved us by bringing food - great amounts of bread, corn, fish, and meat. This food saved all of us weak and starving men. Otherwise we would all have died. Leaders from other tribes also brought us food and supplies which made us comfortable.
Primary Source: Artifacts from Jamestown
Artifact #2: A buckler was a small leather shield that soldiers used from the thirteenth century to the late sixteenth century. A soldier held a buckler in his left hand and a sword in his right. Most bucklers were round and they measured between eleven and fourteen inches in diameter. The leather was reinforced with metal and had an iron boss with a projecting spike in the center.
Artifact #3: This green-glazed drinking jug (also known as a green beer pot) was made in a pottery located along the border between Hampshire and Surrey counties in England. A potter made the jug from white firing clay in the early seventeenth century. An olive green glaze covers the upper half of the vessel. The drinking jug dates from the early seventeenth century. Archaeologists found the jug in the bulwark of James Fort. It is rare because it is a complete vessel.
(Information via: http://www.virtualjamestown.org/images/artifacts/jamestown.html)