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Pocahontas Revealed
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
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Ask students to work in groups to make a time line of major
events from the initial discovery of America by Paleo-Indians up
until 1607 when the Jamestown Colony was founded. Who were the
main inhabitants of America when Jamestown was settled?
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In this program, scientists are discovering a new perspective on
an historic event. Organize students into groups and have each
group choose an event in U.S. history to investigate from
different perspectives. (Some events students may want to
explore are the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of the Alamo, the
Battle of Gettysburg, or the desegregation of Little Rock
Central High.) Ask each group to present its findings.
After Watching
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Many of the James Fort colonists died and the community was on
the verge of collapse when John Smith came back to the
settlement after his month in captivity. What were the prime
reasons for their vulnerability? If students had to set up a
colony in a new frontier, what would they need to consider? What
kind of organizational structure would they set up to improve
the chances that the colony might thrive and be profitable?
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Ask students how confident they are in the revised story of
Pocahontas based on what they have learned from the program.
Have students explain their level of confidence in this
interpretation of what happened in the early 1600s. How
important is the author in an historical account? How can
science help shed light on historical events? What are the
potential pitfalls in scientific explanations of historical
events?
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