A VR Visit to Jamestown

by Jennifer Jordan, History & Latin

After concluding our European Explorers unit, 5th grade dove straight into English settlements in North America. We have been trekking north on the Atlantic seaboard, first meeting the doomed Roanoke Island Colony, then the successful colony of Jamestown (thank you, John Smith, Pocahontas, and John Rolfe), and finally, the religious-freedom-seeking Pilgrims and Puritans of Massachusetts. Before we immerse ourselves next week in a close reading investigation of the new England colonies, we enjoyed a little virtual reality treat. Google Expeditions offers a well-designed tour of Jamestown, so we took advantage, popping in phones to the VR viewers. Before they knew it, fifth graders had transported themselves to the Jamestown settlement, viewing replicated ships and the fort built along the James River. It was almost as good as being there! Aren’t we lucky to have technological innovations at St. James that can offer us an experience close to the real thing?