Oklahoma Social Studies 5.C.1.5.B
The Standard
- 5.C.1
- Examine and compare the Jamestown and Plymouth settlements as the foundations of American culture and society.
- 5.C.1.5
- Analyze the early successes and challenges of Jamestown, by explaining the
challenges of the Starving Time and the value of Powhatan trade to sustain the colony
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · 5.C.1.5
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why Jamestown ran short of food during the winter of 1609 to 1610. They describe how trading with Powhatan communities had provided corn, and how conflict made that food harder to get.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can name low food stores, delayed supplies, and conflict as reasons for the shortage. They can explain that colonists traded goods for corn before relations worsened.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students blame the shortage only on cold weather. Others think Powhatan communities gave the colonists food as a gift, or that trade continued unchanged through the winter.
How to Assess It
- Ask on an exit ticket: “How did trade help Jamestown, and why did colonists still face starvation in the winter of 1609 to 1610?” Look for one trade detail and one cause of the shortage.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Use corn tokens to model Jamestown's food store: add tokens for trade, remove them for meals, then stop trade after conflict.
Give students a winter timeline and ask: “If trade provided corn, why did settlers still starve?” Have them write two sentences.
Play a card match pairing delayed supply ships, low food stores, and conflict with their effects on Jamestown's food supply.
Have students compare a grocery store after a missed delivery with Jamestown after trade with Powhatan communities broke down.
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Related Standards
- 5.C.1.5.D
deteriorating relationships with the Powhatan, characterized by differing views on land ownership.
- 5.C.1.5
Analyze the early successes and challenges of Jamestown, by explaining the
- 5.C.1.8
Explain the early successes and challenges for Pilgrims of the Plymouth settlement including the
- 5.C.1.10.B
early alliances with the Wampanoag under the leadership of Ousamequin (Massasoit) and the importance of Tisquantum (Squanto) to Plymouth’s survival
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