Success and Failure in the New World
Why did some colonies in the New World succeed while others faded away?
Women's History Month: Picturing Pocahontas
What do you picture when you hear her name?
Mapping the Past
A map can tell you more than east, west, north, and south.
John Smith Map
Watch Smithsonian curator Barbara Clark Smith discuss John Smith’s Map of Virginia published in London in 1612.
What Do You Mean?: How Language Changes Over Time
This creative lesson transforms language into a historic artifact and enables students to analyze how language changes over time.
Charters for Colonies
To legally exist, English colonies needed charters from the monarchy. Answer these questions about colonies and charters.
Jamestown: The Starving Time
Only 60 settlers out of 600 survived the winter of 1609–1610 in Jamestown Virginia. Was “the Starving Time” due to natural circumstances or planned extermination?
Mundane Lives and Extreme Adventures
What were the primary concerns of English colonists in early 17th-century America?
Virtual Jamestown
Experience firsthand accounts of Jamestown and colonial history, dating from 1570 through 1720.