Mystery surrounds one of the earliest English colonies. Colonists came to Roanoke Island in Chesapeake Bay in the late sixteenth century, but no evidence of the colony remained a mere three years after its founding.
In this activity, students will research the “Lost Colony of Roanoke” and create a timeline that depicts the events between its founding and eventual disappearance. From John White’s initial landing, to the English defeat of the Spanish Armada, students will have a variety of exciting events to represent this historical mystery. Students will not have a definitive answer as to “What happened to Roanoke?” for the final event of their timeline; students should create a historical hypothesis of what they think is the most likely result of the Roanoke colonists.
For an alternative to the timeline layout, have students create a timeline poster to incorporate into a presentation or gallery walk. You can add more than one template to this assignment to give students lots of options!
Extended Activity: Roanoke Crime Scene Investigation
For this extended activity, students should present their timelines to the class and explain what they believe happened to the lost colonists of Roanoke. Following all the presentations, students should vote on what they believe is the most credible hypothesis. A student can be selected to be the judge or police chief to tally the votes and read the majority decision of the class.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a timeline that illustrates the major events of the Roanoke colony.
Enhance your students' understanding by introducing primary sources—such as maps, letters, or journal entries—from the Roanoke era. Providing authentic historical documents lets students explore real perspectives and details, making their timelines more accurate and engaging.
Teach students to read, highlight, and paraphrase sections of primary sources relevant to key Roanoke events. Model how to extract important information and help students summarize it in their own words for their timeline descriptions.
Ask students to identify similarities and differences in how various primary sources describe a single event. Facilitate a brief discussion about why accounts may differ, reinforcing historical thinking skills.
Show students how to create simple citations for the primary sources they use. Explain the importance of crediting sources to develop research skills and historical integrity.
Have students share which primary sources most influenced their final theory about the fate of Roanoke. Encourage brief, focused presentations to connect research to their historical hypothesis.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke refers to an early English settlement established on Roanoke Island in the late 1500s. It is important because the entire colony mysteriously vanished within a few years, becoming one of America's greatest unsolved historical mysteries and sparking ongoing curiosity and research.
To create an effective timeline, students should identify key events from the founding of Roanoke to its disappearance, describe each event clearly, and use visuals or illustrations. Including a historical hypothesis at the end helps demonstrate critical thinking about what may have happened to the colonists.
Key events to feature include John White’s initial landing, the establishment of the colony, interactions with Native Americans, John White’s return to England, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the eventual discovery that the colony had disappeared.
Teachers can have students create a timeline poster for presentations or gallery walks, or design a crime scene investigation activity where students present hypotheses and vote on the most credible explanation for the colony’s fate.
Historians debate the fate of the Roanoke colonists because there is no definitive evidence explaining their disappearance. The lack of clear clues has led to multiple theories, making it a fascinating topic for research and discussion in classrooms.