The Story of Jamestown, written by Eric Braun, is a book that is presented in a format similar to a comic book; for that reason it may be attractive to boys in the classroom. It tells the story of the settlement of Jamestown, from the initial voyage that sailed from England in December, 1606 to the 1698 fire that destroyed the settlement. It tells of their interaction with the Indians and their struggle to survive.
Curriculum Connections
This book can be used to support Virginia Studies SOL VS.3a/b, as it helps to explain the reasons for English colonization and how the geography influenced the decision to settle in Jamestown.
Additional Resources
- This website is an interactive site that allows students to make choices about where and how they would settle if they had been on the first ships to arrive from England.
- This National Geographic website offers an animated video of the voyage to Jamestown, and includes additional games the students can play to help reinforce the material they are learning about early Virginia history.
- This website is quite interesting. It provides a great deal of information about the Powhatan Village, the English Ships, and the James Fort. Students are given options of tabs to click on to open pages that give detailed information about fort life, gender roles, navigational tools, and many other aspects of this time period. It also has photographs of artifacts and of the re-created settlements.
Book: The Story of Jamestown
Author: Eric Braun
Illustrators: Steve Erwin, Keith Williams, and Charles Barnett III
Publisher: Capstone Press
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 32
Grade Range: 3rd-5th
ISBN: 0-7368-4967-X