“Meet Joan Peirce” DVD (running time 35 minutes)

Experience thirty years of Jamestown history through the eyes of Joan Peirce, who came to Virginia in 1609 with her husband and daughter.  Joan will share with you the hardships and struggles of the early years of settlement along with the growth and prosperity that follow as tobacco becomes a profitable crop and promises of land draw hundreds of new settlers to Virginia.

Also included is a Teachers' Guide to using the DVD with students.

In the DVD Joan Peirce tells us that in 1638 Virginia is a good place to live.  Turn your students into investigative reporters and have them decide whether she is right or not.  The teacher's guide contains a basic lesson plan and an assortment of activities and materials that teachers may use to customize the lesson plan to suit their needs and those of their students. The activities and materials (on the web site) are meant to supplement the information in the video and bring depth to the story of the first permanent English settlement in North America.

All the materials are PDF files which can be downloaded. To see an overview of what is included just go to the Lesson Plans page. 

Both the DVD and the Lesson Plans meet the National Standard of Learning for history.

Recommended for grades 4 – 8.

Price: $24.99

Pivotal Decisions in American History: Revolution or Resolution?

Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia 1676

This educational product, created by teachers for teachers, is the first in a planned series: “Pivotal Decisions in American History”.  Each product in the series traces a key event that helped shape American History—an event connected to the fundamental ideals, struggles and challenges of the American “experiment”. In Bacon’s Rebellion we explore the issue of rebellion: why it occurs, is it ever “legal” and who decides its legality or its illegality.  

The set includes two discs:

Disc One: (CD)

This CD is designed to support the teacher in implementing the Bacon’s Rebellion material in the classroom.  Included are two different lesson plans: a core plan and one based on the Historical Scene Investigation project that positions students in the role of detectives.  It also includes student handouts, suggested student activities and primary source documents.  The materials are PDF and Word formatted so teachers can change any portion to suit their particular needs.

CD meets the National Standard of Learning for history.

Disc Two: (DVD) (running time approximately 40 minutes)

The DVD relates the story of Bacon’s Rebellion from the viewpoint of Elizabeth Bacon, the wife of Colonel Bacon (a relative of the rebel Nathaniel Bacon).  The video is formatted into ten segments, each consisting of parts of Elizabeth’s narration, additional historical facts about the rebellion and discussion prompts for students.  After hearing all the evidence provided, students face the same challenge Virginia colonists faced over 350 years ago: would they support Bacon and the rebellion, or the Royal Governor, Sir William Berkeley?

DVD meets the National Standard of Learning for history.

Recommended for grades 4 — 11.

Price: $19.99