Oklahoma Social Studies 5.C.1.5.C

Social Studies5th GradeContent Standards

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

export of natural resources and John Rolfe’s development of tobacco as a cash crop

Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · 5.C.1.5

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Explain how John Rolfe's tobacco crop gave Virginia colonists a product to sell in England. Identify other exports, such as timber and furs, and explain why colonists sold them.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can trace tobacco from a Virginia farm to a buyer in England. They can tell why tobacco was a cash crop but timber was not, and explain how tobacco sales increased demand for land and labor.
Common Misconceptions: Students may call every exported item a cash crop, including timber and furs. They may reverse the trade route and say Virginia bought tobacco from England, or think Rolfe invented tobacco.
How to Assess It: On an exit ticket, have students draw an arrow showing where Virginia tobacco went. Ask them to name who bought it, why colonists grew it, and one other resource Virginia exported.

Lesson moves

Give pairs maps of Virginia and England plus tobacco, timber, and fur cards; have them move each card along its export route.
Read a short account of Rolfe's tobacco crop, then ask: How might selling tobacco in England change the way Virginians used land?
Have students sort cards labeled tobacco sold abroad, corn eaten at home, timber shipped abroad, and furs shipped abroad into crops, food, and natural resources.
Show an Oklahoma cotton field photo and a cotton T-shirt; ask how selling cotton to distant buyers resembles Virginia tobacco sales.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 5.C.1.5.C, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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