Why Did English Settlers Come to Virginia?

And Other Questions about the Jamestown Settlement

From the Series Six Questions of American History

  • Interest Level: Grade 4 - Grade 6
  • Reading Level: Grade 5

In December 1606, three ships carrying 105 men and boys set sail from Dover, England. The ships headed for the eastern shores of North America. There the men planned to establish a new colony known as Virginia. Sailing into the Chesapeake Bay, the settlers excitedly observed a vast wilderness of thick grasses, green forests, and wide rivers. But as the newcomers built their settlement, they struggled with disagreements, hard labor, food shortages, illness, and uneasy relations with the region’s Native Americans. Yet the settlers persevered and established Jamestown—the first permanent English colony in North America.

So what was the Virginia Company?
Why did settler John Smith spend most of the voyage from England under arrest?
Who was Pocahontas?

Discover the facts about the Jamestown settlement and learn about its place in early U.S. history.

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978-0-7613-7238-7
$34.99
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Interest Level Grade 4 - Grade 6
Reading Level Grade 5
Genre Social Studies
Copyright 2011
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Lerner Publications ™
Language English
Number of Pages 48
Publication Date 2011-01-01
Reading Counts! Level 4.6
Text Type Informational/Explanatory
BISACS JNF025190
Dewey 973.2'1
Graphics Full-color illustrations
Dimensions 7 x 9
Lexile 750
Guided Reading Level T
ATOS Reading Level 5.1
Accelerated Reader® Quiz 142853
Accelerated Reader® Points 1.0
Features Bibliography/further reading, Index, Primary source quotations/images, Sidebars, Source notes, Table of contents, Teaching Guides, Timeline, and eSource

Author: Candice Ransom

Candice Ransom is the author of 150 books for children. She holds an MFA from Vermont College and an MA in children's literature from Hollins University. She currently teaches in Hollins University's graduate program in children's literature.

Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!

Six Questions of American History

Explore pivotal moments in US history, from colonial times to the Civil War. Discover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of important events such as the Pilgrims settling at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Writing exercises at the View available downloads →