The Mystery of Roanoke

The Mystery of Roanoke 

In 1584 Queen Elizabeth I of England granted a charter for colonization of the New World to explorers Sir Walter Raleigh and John White. The following year the two men  stumbled upon an island off the coast of modern-day North Carolina. They mapped and made drawings of its features before returning to England. Two years later, 116 English settlers led by White arrived on the island, now known as Roanoke, to form a colony. 
After making sure the colonists had settled in, John White returned to England to gather more supplies. His return to his colony was delayed due to a war between England and Spain. When he did return to Roanoke in August 1590, the colony was gone. All the buildings and fortifications had been taken down, and the only sign of previous habitation was the word "Croatoan" scrawled on a tree. 

To complete this task, you will be working with a partner to explore the different theories of what might have happened to the colony of Roanoke. Using provided resources and others that you may find, you will gather evidence to support the theory that you think is what really happened.

Using supporting evidence, you will write a journal entry explaining your opinion of what really happened at Roanoke.

Let's get started with our research!

Step 1: Research the different theories to find out what you think happened.

Step 2: Find the evidence to explain and support your theory.

Step 3: Write a journal entry explaining your opinion.

some sites to get your started:

http://theshadowlands.net/roanoke.htm

http://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/roanoke-colony.htm

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/roanoke3.htm

http://13colonies.mrdonn.org/roanoke.html

http://www.lost-colony.com/magazineNP.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0302_040302_lostcolony_2.html

You will need to complete a journal entry stating your opinion on what happened to the colony. You will need to have at least three supporting details to back up your theory.