Early English Settlements: Plymouth

This webquest was designed as one of three stations to teach 5th grade California students (CA Standard 5.4.2) about three early American settlements, Roanoke, Plymouth, and Jamestown.  In Roanoke, students had to read "letters" from the settlers back home to England to try and deduce what happened to the colony.  In Jamestown, students watched a film documenting the struggles of the young colony.  This webquest was their activity for the Plymouth settlement.  The class was broken into three groups, with each group completing the station for one settlement per class period (1 hour 20 min).  At each station, students kept a "Discovery Journal" with answers to specific questions as well as their own notes.  At the end of each class period, the students took a quiz on the settlement they had studied.  After completing all three settlements, students took home their quizzes and discovery journal, along with a study guide and online practice test, to prepare for an exam on the content.  The teacher began this unit with a Powerpoint presentation that gave students a brief overview of the early colonization of the New World, maps of the three settlements, and instructions on completing each station as well as a brief discussion about early settlers.