Roanoke: The Lost Colony

Overview

Students investigate why England explored Roanoke Island and what happened to the colony. Using a visual slide deck, map, and short historical sources, they locate information, compare accounts, and write an evidence-based explanation about Roanoke’s importance to later English exploration.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Explain why England explored and attempted to settle Roanoke Island.
• Locate England, Roanoke Island, the Outer Banks, and nearby Indigenous homelands on a map.
• Gather and combine information from several historical sources.
• Write a clear explanation supported by facts from the sources.

Success criteria

• I can identify where Roanoke Island is and where the settlers came from.
• I can explain the purpose, funding, journey, arrival, and settlement of Roanoke.
• I can describe interactions between the colonists and Indigenous people.
• I can use evidence from more than one source to explain why the colony disappeared and why Roanoke mattered.

Curriculum links

• Reading informational text — locating answers efficiently across print and visual sources.
• Reading informational text — integrating information from several texts about the same topic.
• Informative writing — introducing a topic, grouping related information logically, and explaining ideas clearly.
• Research and note-taking — gathering, paraphrasing, summarizing, and listing information sources.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Visual hook and prediction. Teacher opens the Roanoke visual introduction deck to show a map, an image of the coastline, and the question, “How could an entire colony disappear?” Students make a quick prediction and share one question they hope the lesson answers.

2. 5–12 min · Geography and background. Teacher uses the map and background slides to locate England, the Atlantic Ocean, Roanoke Island, the Outer Banks of present-day North Carolina, and nearby Indigenous communities, emphasizing that Roanoke was part of the homeland of the Croatoan and other Algonquian-speaking peoples. Students label the locations on the Roanoke investigation worksheet and identify the approximate route across the Atlantic.

3. 12–22 min · Teacher-guided historical reading. Teacher presents the exploration timeline and key people slides while students read the short source set on the Roanoke investigation worksheet. Explain that Sir Walter Raleigh received permission from Queen Elizabeth I to establish an English colony; Raleigh and other investors helped finance the effort because England wanted trade, land, resources, and a stronger position against Spain. Sir Richard Grenville led the 1585 expedition, and Ralph Lane became governor of the first settlement. Students underline evidence answering: Why was Roanoke explored? Who funded it? Who led it? What was the journey like?

4. 22–32 min · Evidence investigation. Teacher assigns pairs different sections of the Roanoke investigation worksheet and models paraphrasing rather than copying. Clarify the key facts: the 1585 group included roughly 600 people, including sailors and soldiers, while the permanent 1587 colony included about 115 settlers; the 1587 group arrived in July; John White led the colony, and his granddaughter Virginia Dare was born there. Students complete a source chart about the journey, passengers, arrival, settlement length, and interactions with Indigenous peoples, noting that relationships included trade and cooperation as well as conflict.

5. 32–40 min · Synthesis discussion and writing. Teacher returns to the evidence discussion and writing prompt slides and asks, “What are the strongest explanations for the colonists’ disappearance?” Discuss that John White returned to England for supplies, but war with Spain delayed his return until 1590. The settlement was empty, and the carved words “CROATOAN” and “CRO” created clues but not certainty. Students use at least three notes from different sources to write a paragraph explaining what may have happened and how Roanoke influenced future English exploration and settlement.

6. 40–45 min · Share and exit assessment. Teacher displays the final review and exit prompt and invites two or three students to share evidence-based explanations. Students complete the final section of the Roanoke investigation worksheet: “Why is Roanoke called the Lost Colony, and why did it matter to later exploration?” They must include one geography fact and two historical details.

Resources

• the Roanoke visual introduction deck
• the Roanoke investigation worksheet
• Projector or interactive display
• Student pencils and colored pencils
• Classroom or wall map of North America and the Atlantic Ocean
• Short, teacher-selected primary and secondary source excerpts
• Timer

Assessment

• During map work, check whether students correctly locate England, the Atlantic Ocean, Roanoke Island, and present-day North Carolina.
• Review pair source charts for accurate notes about purpose, funding, leaders, passengers, arrival, Indigenous interactions, and the colony’s uncertain ending.
• Use the final paragraph as an exit assessment: students should combine evidence from several sources, explain uncertainty, and connect Roanoke to later English settlement.

Differentiation

• Support readers with shortened source excerpts, highlighted key terms, a vocabulary bank, and sentence starters such as “Roanoke was explored because…” and “One clue is…”
• Provide a partially labeled map and allow students to discuss evidence orally before writing.
• For EAL students and students needing language support, pair visuals with words, preview “colony,” “investor,” “settlement,” “Indigenous,” and “evidence,” and accept labeled notes plus dictated or orally recorded responses.
• Challenge advanced students to compare two possible explanations for the disappearance and explain which is better supported, while acknowledging that historians do not know the complete answer.