Imagine packing one small bag and sailing across a huge ocean to a place you have never seen. That is what many families did about four hundred years ago. They left Europe on wooden ships and came to America.
A colony is a new town or settlement built by people far from their home country. The people who live in a colony are called colonists.
Why did they come? Some wanted land to farm. Some wanted to find gold or make money. Others wanted the freedom to pray the way they believed was right. The trip was long, hard, and sometimes scary — but they were full of hope for a new life.
1. What is a colony?
2. What do we call a person who lives in a colony?
3. Name two reasons people came to America.
4. How do you think the colonists felt on the long ocean trip?
By the end of this week, you will be able to:
1. Explain what a colony is and why people came to America.
2. Tell the story of Jamestown, the first lasting English colony.
3. Tell the story of the Pilgrims and the Mayflower.
4. Compare why people moved long ago with why people move today.
Write what each word means in your own words.
Write T for true or F for false in each circle.
1. If you could only bring one small bag on a long voyage, what would you pack?
2. What would be the hardest part about moving to a brand-new place?
1. A is a new settlement built far from home.
2. The people who live there are called .
3. Families crossed the to reach America.
4. They sailed on wooden .
5. Some people came to find to farm.
6. Others came for the to pray their own way.
Draw a sailing ship crossing the ocean to America. Add waves, clouds, and hopeful colonists on deck!
| I learned... | Circle one |
|---|---|
| What a colony is | YES / NOT YET |
| Why people came to America | YES / NOT YET |
| How colonists traveled here | YES / NOT YET |