Choosing Plymouth - Pilgrim Study Unit (Lesson 3 of 7)

Objectives

• Students will be able to explain how the Pilgrims landed in the "wrong" place.
• Students will be able to explain the reasons the Native people attacked the Pilgrims and sailors on Cape Cod.
• Students will be able to identify the principal physical features the Pilgrims considered when choosing the location of Plymouth (Town Brook, land that was unoccupied and cleared, a good harbor, no sign of natives).
• Students will be able to define and illustrate key vocabulary words (optional).

Materials

• Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness (pp.5 - 8 )
• Pilgrim Fact Cards 4 & 5
• Cause and Effect Worksheet (see below)
• Atlases
• Class chart (begun in Lesson 1)

Vocabulary

• Wampanoag
• Mayflower Compact

Procedure

1. Review what was learned in Lesson 1 and 2 (refer to Class Chart).

2. Review the basics of Cause and Effect statements (ie. Cause: I am hungry, Effect: I eat my lunch.).

3. Instruct the students to read pages 6-8 in Three Young Pilgrims and Pilgrim Fact Cards 4 & 5.

4. Students will write Cause and Effect statements that address the reasons why the colony was located in Plymouth.

5. Students will define and illustrate vocabulary (optional).

6. Upon completion of the assignments, update the Class Chart.

Extension/Extra Credit Projects

• Create a postcard to send to a friend in Europe as if you were a Pilgrim. Illustrate one aspect of the settling in Plymouth on the front. Write a brief message on the back of the postcard.
• Write a letter from a Pilgrim to a friend in England detailing the choice of Plymouth as the site of the colony.
• Locate a map of Plymouth and note the physical features that made Plymouth a desirable place to settle.

© Plymouth Public Schools, Plymouth, MA 02360

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