NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The information in this document was accurate as of the original publication date.

Audience: Educators
Grades: 6-8
Product Number: EG-2006-09-25-LaRC


This lesson will help your students answer the question:
How do an area's location, soil and weather affect settlement?

In this lesson, students will
-- Look for patterns in the location of New World colonies.
-- Plot the Apollo landings on the moon and identify lunar surface features of each landing site.
-- Make correlations between rainfall and mortality in Jamestown from 1604 through 1615.
-- Based upon tree rings, interpret and make inferences about rainfall.
-- Gather data on space radiation shielding by observing a flashlight beam as it shines through different materials.
-- Compare samples of the Earth’s soil with simulated lunar regolith.
-- Investigate the effects of micrometeoroid bombardment on simulated lunar regolith formation.
-- Make inferences about properties of simulated lunar regolith based upon observations.
-- Compare the differences in challenges faced by 17th-century and 21st-century explorers.

Settlement Lesson [5MB PDF file]

The educational module Exploration: Then and Now examines four themes and compares exploration of the past and present. The module focuses on the settlement of Jamestown, the first permanent English-speaking colony in the New World, and NASA's plans to return to the moon and reach for Mars. Each lesson consists of several student activities.

Also in this series:
Cover and Introduction
Survival!
Transportation
Follow the Water
Human Needs


All components of the modules are available from the Jamestown Journey   → Web site.