Colony Strategy

This interactive problem-solving worksheet supports students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 as they practice critical thinking, strategic planning, resource management, and explanatory writing within a historical context. By simulating leadership decisions in early Jamestown, students allocate settlers to essential roles, respond to changing challenges, and justify their choices, building a deeper understanding of how cooperation and planning affected colonial survival.

Learning Goals

• Colonial Settlement Challenges (Grades 4-6) – Understand the key problems Jamestown settlers faced and how leadership decisions impacted outcomes.
• Resource Allocation & Economics – Practice distributing limited people and resources to meet competing needs such as food, safety, and shelter.
• Decision-Making & Problem Solving – Adjust plans in response to realistic challenges like weather changes or food shortages.
• Explanatory Writing – Clearly justify choices using logical reasoning and historical context.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper elementary social studies, economics, and ELA standards.
• Scenario-Based Learning – Engaging challenges encourage active participation and strategic thinking.
• Flexible Use – Ideal for group work, independent practice, enrichment activities, or formative assessment.
• Encourages Collaboration – Supports discussion, teamwork, and comparison of different problem-solving approaches.

This printable worksheet helps students strengthen critical thinking, historical reasoning, and written explanation skills while exploring how leadership and cooperation influenced Jamestown’s survival. By managing resources and adapting to challenges, learners apply historical knowledge in a practical, meaningful way. It’s a low-prep, versatile resource that works well in both classroom instruction and homeschool learning.

This worksheet is part of our Jamestown Settlement collection.