This 5th grade social studies worksheet compares the first two lasting English colonies, Jamestown and Plymouth. Students read ten lettered fact cards and write each letter in a Venn diagram labeled Jamestown, Plymouth or Both. Page 2 asks why both colonies struggled at first and how Native peoples helped the settlers survive. The answer key sorts all ten cards and gives sample answers to both questions.
“Compare life in two early English colonies, Jamestown and Plymouth.”
The Venn diagram sorts ten facts by colony, from founding dates to the Native peoples nearby.
“Explain how Native peoples affected the first years of the colonies.”
Question 2 asks how Native peoples helped the settlers survive.
Ten lettered cards, from 'Founded in 1607' and 'Tobacco became the main crop' to 'Signed the Mayflower Compact', go into a two-circle Venn diagram.
Two written questions with seven lines each. Students answer why both colonies struggled at first and how Native peoples helped the settlers survive.
The cards listed under Jamestown only, Both and Plymouth only, plus a sample answer for each question that names the Powhatan and the Wampanoag.
After both readings
Do this once students have read about both colonies. Cards C and D look alike on the surface, so ask what each group wanted when it sailed.
Draw it big
Copy the Venn diagram on the board and have pairs tape their cards in place. The two cards in the middle, E and J, start the best discussion.
Written follow-up
Use question 1 as a short paragraph assignment. Ask students to name at least two causes from the cards rather than one general reason.
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