This lesson was designed to be used with students who have not had much practice in using primary source documents in the classroom. While the lesson is written as a small group activity, the worksheet can be done individually or in small groups. It can also be a teacher-directed lesson in which the teacher asks the questions and the students/groups answer orally. One of the objectives in using primary source documents in the classroom is to begin to get students to read and think critically. We need to encourage our students to question source material and realize that the past was experienced in different ways by different individuals, and that there are different interpretations and multiple perspectives for any historical event. For classes that have had practice with using primary source documents, the teacher may choose to use fewer of the available questions.

Learning outcomes

• Students will read about John White?s attempt to locate the ?lost colonists? when he went to coastal North Carolina in 1590
• Students will read about clues that we have about the fate of the ?lost colonists?
• Students will analyze a primary source document
• Students will engage in critical thinking

Teacher planning

Materials needed

• Computer with internet access for each student or group or
• LCD projector and computer with internet access or
• Copies of John White Searches for the Colonists for each student (or several copies for each group)

Time required for lesson

1 hour to 90 minutes

Procedure

Small group lesson

1. Put the class into groups of three.
2. Give each group a copy of the John White worksheet.
3. Have each student access "John White Searches for the Colonists" online or pass out paper copies.
4. Allow each group to work through the worksheet while the teacher moves between the groups.
5. At the end of the period, go over the questions together.

Teacher-directed lesson

1. Have each pair of students access "John White searches for the Colonists" online or pass out paper copies.
2. Using the teacher's guide to the John White worksheet, go through the questions allowing the students time to read the required paragraphs.

Assessment

If you conduct this as an individual or small group lesson, the assessment will be a completed, accurate worksheet (see the teacher's guide to the John White worksheet for answers -- some will vary). If you conduct it as a teacher-directed lesson, the assessment is student participation. One of the major outcomes for this lesson is to begin to encourage students to think critically about primary sources.

	John White Searches for the Colonists
	John White Searches for the Colonists: Teacher's Guide