What was it like to live in the English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia?
Before the day of the lesson and after the class is familiar with the history of Jamestown, bookmark Virtual Jamestown, available through EDSITEment, and practice moving between the pages used in the lesson. Within the section titled “The Jamestown Experience,” there are four types of primary source documents from the Jamestown settlement: censuses, letters, laws and first-hand accounts. Students will review these documents to learn about life in the settlement. (NOTE TO TEACHER: Students will find the censuses easiest to read and understand among the documents offered on this website. The first-hand accounts are fascinating but, because the original spelling has been retained, they may be difficult for many students to read.) It may be helpful to provide students with guidelines for analyzing the census data and other information presented in the primary source documents they will study in this lesson. American Memory from the Library of Congress offers a helpful set of guidelines for
