Colonial Spy Games - A Quest for  the Truth!

Designed by Cheryl Phillips

Introduction | Task | Life in Virginia| Geography| Virginia Indians  | Evaluation and Resources |

    Far, far away, in a country thousands of miles from the shores of Virginia, sits a frustrated old King James. He has given the Virginia Company of London a charter to colonize Jamestown, but he needs to know what is going on over there. He wonders is if is worth the time and effort to colonize a place so far away.  Furthermore, he is beginning to think he's being kept out of the comings and goings of Jamestown. Shouldn't he know what's going on? After all, the place is named after him. The only solutions that comes to his mind is to plant some spies in Jamestown, that way, he will know through monthly communications just what is going on. Well, it's your lucky day! You've been selected for an all expense paid trip to Jamestown! The King has given you plenty of start up money for your own little plantation and to get you on your feet. There's just one little catch, you will be his mole! If you accept his mission, you'll need help, so the King suggests you take along a team to help you with your spy-quest. Good luck and Godspeed!

The Task

So you've decided to be the first James Bond of the 1600's. Do you have a team assembled? To more efficiently carry out these tasks, you will organize into smaller groups so as to spread the workload. Very well then, the first place to start is deciding on what your task is and who will do what. You have many questions to answer and lots of information to send back to King James. It may be wise to break up your tasks among your group. Each task is broken into different objectives and they too can be further broken into smaller groups. Remember, this is team work. If you don’t gain the trust and respect of your followers, you won't get the information you need to send back to the King.
 

Your task:
Provide the King (teacher) with detailed information on the following questions he needs to know about life in the colonies.
You will be working with your group just like the settlers did to be successful in your quest.
When you have collected the details of the task along with your fellow colonists, prepare a presentation for the King and his court on your findings. Pictures would be nice to include with your report. Remember to be as clear and neat as you can. King James I would like the answers to the following questions:

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3.  Life in the Virginia colony

Did these settlers have it easy? Describe the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to ensure survival;

•  I'm told that some people planted gardens on small farms while others have huge plantations. Who works on these farms and what is being planted? What do they do with their harvest?
• Is it true that some European (English, Scotch-Irish, German ) immigrants, Africans , and American Indians (First Americans)are now making Virginia their home? What influences do they have on the cultural landscape and are they changing the relationship between the Virginia colony and England?
• Why did they keep moving the capital? Did the geography influence the relocation of Virginia’s capital from Jamestown to Williamsburg to Richmond?
• Describe how money, barter, and credit were used.
• What do the children do all day? Do they go to school? How do they spend their time?
• Does anyone go to church? What religion are they practicing?

 Geography of Virginia

• Locate Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States;
• Locate and describe Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge
• Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau; ( 5 regions map )
• Locate and identify water features important to the early history of Virginia (Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, James River, York River, Potomac River, and Rappahannock River)
• Describe how geography influenced the decision to settle at Jamestown; Fall Line

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