Standards
Learning Expectations |
This activity will help students acquire competencies
which relate to the following standards:
1. Skills for academic self-confidence, learning and success. The student will: 1.5 Demonstrate the ability to work independently
and cooperatively.
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General Approach |
This is a simulation of the first year of the Plymouth Colony. The general approach is as Pilgrims in the seventeenth century Massachusetts Bay area, students establish the Plymouth Colony in the New World. |
Activity Steps |
This activity is a cooperative learning survival
activity in which the class will simulate colonial life: finding food,
building houses, raising crops, etc.
1. Draw a 3' X 6' image of the Mayflower on
the floor of the classroom with masking tape (for the crossing of the Atlantic
Ocean experiences).
Have the students board the Mayflower & cross the Atlantic Ocean. When they come to the New World & establish the Plymouth Colony, they will begin life without any of the conveniences they had in England & will begin their new life. As the activity progresses, the students will experience colonial life. As the students experience each event, have them discuss how they will overcome each adverse event. You will need to assign professional roles to some of the students in order for them to know who will perform what duties (doctor, soldier, builder, etc.). Some events will be able to be performed individually (cleaning the living quarters, cooking, cleaning the clothes, sewing, etc.) and some will require group effort (building living quarters, planting crops, cooking, etc.). Some students may want to draw or paint the events as they happen to go along with their journal entries. You will also want to use dolls to simulate the children of the Pilgrims & stuffed animals to simulate the animals they brought with them. Follow the events that the Pilgrims experienced. However, be creative with some of the events in order for the students to have the opportunity to practice cooperative learning & experience what it is like to work together for a common goal--survival. This activity, when completed, can be used to teach the students that their participation in school and the activities in their community are important to their survival in the world today. By coming to school, learning their lessons, and participating in class activities, they will be able to work in the world today and to survive as a community, because they will be Pilgrims in a New World when they become adults. |
Time Required |
This activity is a cooperative learning survival activity in which the class will simulate colonial life: finding food, building houses, raising crops, etc. In order to allow adequate time, this activity should take approximately 45 minutes to an hour per day for 3 weeks. You will need to cover at least 1 month of events per day. |
Resources Needed |
1. Masking tape
2. Journal books to be used for the Pilgrim Logs 3. Pens or pencils 4. Paper (construction, plain white paper, butcher paper, etc.) 5. Markers or crayons 6. Dolls and stuffed animals |
Performance Indicators |
The students will learn what it was like to work individually and as a group for the Pilgrims to survive the first year in the New World. They will also learn that the Pilgrims did not have any "vacation" time or "time off." They will learn that each Pilgrim's responsibility contributed to the survival of the whole group. Therefore, the presence of each Pilgrim was critical in the learning process of survival. This should translate to the idea that being present is critical to survival later in life by coming to school and learning how to survive in the world today. |