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Pocahontas: Reading Like a Historian
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Activity Description
In this activity, students use primary sources to answer the question of whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life.
Screenshot of the Reading Like a Historian lesson on Pocahontas
The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents modified for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities. U.S. History consists of the following Units:
- Unit 1: Introduction
- Unit 2: Colonial
- Unit 3: Revolution and Early America
- Unit 4: Expansion/Slavery
- Unit 5: Civil War and Reconstruction
- Unit 6: The Gilded Age
- Unit 7: American Imperialism
- Unit 8: Progressivism
- Unit 9: World War I and the 1920s
- Unit 10: New Deal and World War II
- Unit 11: Cold War
- Unit 12: Cold War Culture/Civil Rights
- Unit 13: Late 1900s and Early 2000s
Preparation
- Make sure that the Example Web Site (link above) is not blocked at your school if you want to project documents.
- In order to download the lesson plan and other materials you will need to create a free account. Select the Sign up link in the upper right corner near the Login button. Complete the form. You will then need to validate your account using the e-mail they will send you.
- You can preview the materials by selecting the Quick View Buttons. Download detailed Lesson Plans, Original Documents, and Timeline found In the Download Materials.
- Review the detailed Lesson Plans.
- Makes student copies of Original Documents and Timeline (links to these are also found in Download Materials below the picture).
- Find a copy of Walt Disney’s Pocahontas Movie and cue it to the segment where Pocahontas saves John Smith. (Check YouTube for the video, thrift stores or your local library might be good places to find the movie.)
How-To
- Introduce topic and ask students about their previous knowledge of Pocahontas. Focus on the question of whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life.
- Play a short movie clip from Walt Disney’s Pocahontas Movie (the segment where Pocahontas saves John Smith). Ask the students if they believe the movie and suggest they look at primary sources.
- Pass out handouts and have students complete the John Smith Documents Worksheet in groups. Students will need John Smith Document A and B.
- Discuss why John Smith would write two different accounts.
- Review students’ claims/hypotheses.
- Continue with the lesson as you desire using the downloaded lesson plan.
More Ways
- There are more than 75 lessons covering U.S. History and World History, which can be taught in succession, but are designed to stand alone and supplement what teachers are already doing in the classroom. Most lessons are designed to take a full class period, though some extend over several periods.
Program Areas
- ASE: High School Diploma
- ABE: Adult Basic Education
Levels
- Intermediate
- High
Lesson Plan
Introduce the topic of movies made from real-life events. Ask what movies the students have seen based on factual events. Have students share their thoughts in pairs and then share with the class. Write the titles on the board.
How do you know if what you have seen in the movie is true? As a class, we are going to examine the story of Pocahontas. Students share what they know about the Native American, Pocahontas.
Play the movie clip from the Disney movie Pocahontas where she saves John Smith. Ask students, Do you believe the movie? Did Pocahontas actually save John Smith's life? How can we find out the truth? Discuss in pairs and then share with the class.
Show the PowerPoint found at the website, Digital Inquiry Group, Pocahontas, to review background information. (see notes in Teacher Materials)
Students discuss the history at this time in American History.
In the download materials you will find two versions of the historical documents, the longer Version of Student Materials (the readings are shorter) and the Original Documents (the last set)- choose the documents for the reading level of your group. Besides these documents, there are also the Timeline and Powerpoint. Download as needed.
Hand out (3) documents: (the documents are downloaded from the website. There is a list of materials the Timeline, Document A: True Relation, and Document B: General History.
In pairs, students answer the questions on the Worksheet.
Discuss as a class. Why would John Smith have two different accounts?
Explain the difference between primary and secondary sources. What would be examples of these? example: A copy of the Declaration of Independence and the explanation in a history book. According to the dictionary, a secondary source is a book, article or other source that gives information but is not a direct first-hand source of evidence.
The class discusses other examples.
In history, most of our evidence is written in documents. Here are questions we need to answer to evaluate the information given in the sources: (write these questions on the board)
- Who wrote the document?
- Why did they write it?
- What else was going on at the time?
- Do other sources agree or disagree with this account?
Hand out the Historian Interpretation A: Paul Lewis and Historian Interpretation B: J.A. Leo Lemay. In pairs, students read and answer the questions. Discuss as a class
In pairs answer these questions and then discuss the answers as a class:
- Which historian was most convincing and why?
- what evidence did the historians use to support their argument?
- What other interpretation can you think of?
- In what ways was the movie correct? incorrect?
- Why do you think Disney chose to make the movie this way?
Individually or as pairs have students write the answers to the questions on the board:
Who wrote the document?
Why did they write it?
What else was going on at the time?
Do other sources agree or disagree with this account?
How are these questions useful today as we evaluate the truthfulness of information in the news? Students can bring stories, articles, etc. and share, discuss and investigate them as a class.
Documents
- Pocahontas.png - Screenshot of the Reading Like a Historian lesson on Pocahontas
Subjects
- Reading
- Critical Thinking/Decision Making
- Social Studies
- U.S. History
Standards
- Reading
- CCR Anchor 1 - Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
- CCR Anchor 3 - Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
- CCR Anchor 6 - Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
- CCR Anchor 8 - Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
- CCR Anchor 10 - Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
- Writing
- CCR Anchor 1 - Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
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Creative Commons License
