Introduction

Task

Procedure

Evaluation

Conclusion

Introduction
    Congratulations!  You and your family arrived from England seven years ago, and have survived many harsh winters and warm summers.  Although you brought a limited number of supplies from England, you managed to survive in the new land using natural resources.  Some of these resources you discovered on your own.  Some of these resources were discovered with help from the Wampanoags.  What natural resources do you use to help you and your family survive?  How will you use these natural resources to reimburse your sponsors in England?  What if these natural resources become scarce?


Task
        For this task, you will pretend to be an English colonist living at Plimoth in the year 1627.  You survived in the "New World" due to the abundance of natural resources and guidance from the Wampanoags.  You will design a handbook to educate your fellow colonists.  The handbook will describe natural resources that are available in the area.  In your handbook you should explain how you and the Wampanoags use natural resources to help you survive.  Be sure to include if the natural resources are renewable or non-renewable.  If the natural resources become scarce, what problems would you anticipate?  What do you suggest to solve these problems?


Procedure

1.  Research.  You will need to research the natural resources available in the Plimoth area.  You will also research how the English colonists and Wampanoags used these resources to survive.  There are many helpful websites that can be used. Be sure to take good notes.  Fill in the note taking sheet to help you organize the information that you collect.    Here are some questions that you will want to ask yourself. 

•     What natural resources were available in Massachusetts?
  
•     Wealthy men in London paid for the colonists to travel to the "New World."  In return the colonists were supposed to pay back these men.  What natural resources did they plan on using to pay back these men?  What natural resources did they actually use?
  
•     What natural resources were used to build shelters for the English colonists?  For the Wampanoags?
•     What natural resources were used to feed the English colonist?  The Wampanoags?
•     What animals were found in Plimoth?  How were these animals helpful to the people living there?
•     The English colonists brought animals from England to the "New World."  What animals did they bring?  What natural resources were available that helped the animals survive?

2.  Think.  Think about the natural resources that you read about.

• Which are renewable?
• Which are non-renewable?
• If some of these natural resources were to become scarce, what problems would the colonists face?
• What would you suggest the colonists do if some of the natural resources that they depend on became scarce?

3.  Create.  You have done a lot of research and thinking.  Now its time to make your handbook.

• Your handbook should answer all of the questions in steps 1 and 2.
• It should also include elements of a non-fiction text.
• Cover
• Title page with your name
  
• Table of Contents
• Five or more Sections
• Diagrams
• Glossary of Terms

Evaluation
        You and your teacher will evaluate your work using a rubric.

Conclusion
       Congratulations on completing your project.  What did you do well?  What problems did you encounter?  What would you do differently next time?
          As you continue your journey through the regions of the United States, think about how Native Americans and colonists use natural resources to survive.