By Katherine Franklin, Derek Barker, Savannah Peek, Isaiah Voges-Murphy, Gregory Burnette
Materials Needed: 4 large Envelopes, 1 Box, 1 Combination Lock, Welcome Mat, Telephone, and Primary Sources and Handouts Printed from Website.
In this lesson, students will solve the escape room activity using their knowledge of English settlement and colonization. The purpose of this lesson is to give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge to the analyzation of primary resources to solve the escape room-Roanoke version. Students will be assessed by their participation and successful escape.
(as seen in above picture)
As you travel around the Escape Room, use this guide to gather evidence to help you solve one of the greatest mysteries in history!
Clue OneTitle (if any):Description:Any evidence cited that could help you solve the mystery?Students will complete the following Riddle, which will lead them to the to the first clue (located in envelopes) to solve the Roanoke mystery!
Each Riddle is Numbered, Students will use the combination of numbers that they receive from riddles to open the final box.
This Riddle will lead students to the Welcome Mat.
53
This primary source will be placed in Envelope 1.
A True Relation of Such occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of that Colony: John Smith 1608
Captaine Newport having set things in order, set saile for England the 22 of June, leaving provision for 13. or 14 weeks. The day before the Ships departure, the king of Pamaunke [i.e., Opechancanough]sent the Indian that had met us before in our discoverie, to assure us peace, our fort being then pallisadoed round, and all our men in good health and comfort, albeit, that throgh some discontented humors, it did not so long continue, for the President and Captaine Gosnold, with the rest of the Counsell being for the moste part discontented with one another, in so much, that things were neither carried with that discretion nor any busines effected in such good sort as wisdome would, nor our owne good and safetie required thereby, and through the hard dealings of our President, the rest of the counsell being diverslie affected through his audacious commaund, and for Captaine Martin, (albeit verie honest) and wishing the best good, yet so sicke and weake, and my selfe disgrac'd through others mallice, through which disorder God (being angrie with us) plagued us with such famin and sicknes, that the living were scarce able to bury the dead: our want of sufficiene and good victualls, with continuall watching foure or five each night at three Bulwarkes, being the chiefe cause: onely of Sturgion wee had great store, whereon our men would so greedily surfet, as it cost manye their lives: the Sack, Aquatie, and other preservatives for our health, being kept onely in the Presidents hands, for his owne diet, and his few associates.
Also placed in Envelope 1, will be the next riddle
Answer to Riddle 2 is Telephone. The next clue envelope will be placed next to the telephone.
Primary sources 1 and 2 will be placed in envelope 2.
Map of Area
From Virtual Jamestown Website: “A Discourse of Virginia”
Percy, one of the party at Jamestown, gives a sad picture of the sufferings endured by the colonists at this period. How striking a parallel is presented to the condition of the Pilgrims at Plymouth during the first winter and spring! He gives a list of the names of nineteen persons who died in August, and five who died in September.
"Our men," he says, "were destroyed with cruel diseases--as swellings, fluxes, burning fevers--and by wars, and some departed suddenly; but, for the most part, they died of mere famine. There were never Englishmen left in a foreign country in such misery as we were in this new-discovered Virginia. We watched every three nights, lying on the bare, cold ground, what weather soever came; warded all the next day, which brought our men to be most feeble wretches. Our food was but a small can of barley, sod in water, to five men a day; our drinke, cold water taken out of the river, which was at a flood very salt, at a low tide full of slime and filth; which was the destruction of many of our men. Thus we lived, for the space of five months, in this miserable distress; not having five able men to man our bulwarks upon any occasion. If it had not pleased God to have put a terrour in the Savage's hearts, we had all perished by those wild and cruel Pagans, being in that weak state as we were; our men night and day groaning in every corner of the fort, most pitiful to hear. If there were any conscience in men, it would make their hearts to bleed to hear the pitiful murmurings and outcries of our sick men, without relief, every night and day, for the space of six weeks; some departing out of the world, many times three or four in a night; in the morning, their bodies trailed out of their cabins, like dogs, to be buried. In this sort did I see the mortality of divers of our people."--Purchas, vol. iv. p. 1690. "The living were scarce able to bury the dead."--"As yet, we had no houses to cover us; our tents were rotten, and our cabins worse than naught. The President and Capt. Martin's sickness constrained me to be Cape Marchant, and yet to spare no pains in making houses for the company."--Smith's True Relation.
Also placed in Envelope 2, will be the next riddle
Answer to Riddle 3 is Envelope. The teacher will discretely place a large envelope in a place where students can view it while their are working on Clue 2.
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This primary source will be placed in the 3rd envelope
The Starving Time: 1609 John Smith
The day before Captaine Smith returned for England with the ships, Captaine Davis arrived in a small Pinace, with some sixteene proper men more: To these were added a company from James towne, under the command of Captaine John Sickelmore alias Ratliffe, to inhabit Point Comfort. Captaine Martin and Captaine West, having lost their boats and neere halfe their men among the Salvages, were returned to James towne; for the Salvages no sooner understood Smith was gone, but they all revolted, and did spoile and murther all they incountered. Now wee were all constrained to live onely on that Smith had onely for his owne Companie, for the rest had consumed their proportions, and now they had twentie Presidents with all their appurtenances: Master Piercie our new President, was so sicke hee could neither goe nor stand. But ere all was consumed, Captaine West and Captaine Sickelmore, each with a small ship and thirtie or fortie men well appointed, sought abroad to trade. Sickelmore upon the confidence of Powhatan, with about thirtie others as carelesse as himselfe, were all slaine, onely Jeffrey Shortridge escaped, and Pokahontas the Kings daughter saved a boy called Henry Spilman, that lived many yeeres after, by her meanes, amongst the Patawomekes. Powhatan still as he found meanes, cut off their Boats, denied them trade, so that Captaine West set saile for England. Now we all found the losse of Captaine Smith, yea his greatest maligners could now curse his losse: as for corne, provision and contribution from the Salvages, we had nothing but mortall wounds, with clubs and arrowes; as for our Hogs, Hens, Goats, Sheepe, Horse, or what lived, our commanders, officers & Salvages daily consumed them, some small proportions sometimes we tasted, till all was devoured; then swords, armes, pieces, or any thing, wee traded with the Salvages, whose cruell fingers were so oft imbrewed in our blouds, that what by their crueltie, our Governours indiscretion, and the losse of our ships, of five hundred within six moneths after Captaine Smiths departure, there remained not past sixtie men, women and children, most miserable and poore creatures; and those were preserved for the most part, by roots, herbes, acornes, walnuts, berries, now and then a little fish: they that had startch in these extremities, made no small use of it; yea, even the very skinnes of our horses. Nay, so great was our famine, that a Salvage we slew, and buried, the poorer sort tooke him up againe and eat him, and so did divers one another boyled and stewed with roots and herbs: And one amongst the rest did kill his wife, powdered her, and had eaten part of her before it was knowne, for which hee was executed, as hee well deserved; now whether shee was better roasted, boyled or carbonado’d, I know not, but of such a dish as powdered wife I never heard of. This was that time, which still to this day we called the starving time; it were too vile to say, and scarce to be beleeved, what we endured: but the occasion was our owne, for want of providence, industrie and government, and not the barrennesse and defect of the Countrie, as is generally supposed; for till then in three yeeres, for the numbers were landed us, we had never from England provision sufficient for six moneths, though it seemed by the bils of loading sufficient was sent us, such a glutton is the Sea, and such good fellowes the Mariners; we as little tasted of the great proportion sent us, as they of our want and miseries, yet notwithstanding they ever over-swayed and ruled the businesse, though we endured all that is said, and chiefly lived on what this good Countrie naturally afforded; yet had wee beene even in Paradice it selfe with these Governours, it would not have beene much better with us; yet there was amongst us, who had they had the government as Captaine Smith appointed, but that they could not maintaine it, would surely have kept us from those extremities of miseries. This in ten daies more, would have supplanted us all with death
Source: John Smith, The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England & The Summer Isles (Glasgow, Scotland: James MacLehose and Sons, 1907), Vol. 1: 203–05
Now that students have complete each riddle, they will have the combination needed to open the lock for the box displayed in front of the class.
Now that students have gathered all the clues regarding the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony, students must complete the final section of their Escape Room Guide--and decide WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LOST COLONY OF ROANOKE? Based off of the evidence gathered in escape room, students will judge what they believe to be the true fate of the Roanoke Colony. Students may share their conclusions verbally, use the evidence gathered to draft an argumentative essay, or even create a newspaper report!