Themes come alive when you use a storyboard. In this activity, students will identify key themes in William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation and support their choices with details from the text.
An important theme in Of Plymouth Plantation is the importance of faith. William Bradford and the other Puritans were firm believers in Providence, or the hand of God guiding all things. When a particularly nasty shipman was knocked overboard in a storm on their Mayflower voyage, Bradford wrote that it was because of God’s will. The Pilgrims’ faith is always at the center of Bradford’s writing, and unlike some of his counterparts who were writing at the time, he credited all of the colony’s successes to the strength God gave the Pilgrims in their endeavors, rather than himself.
Another important theme raised in Of Plymouth Plantation is the strength of a united community. Bradford writes about the first winter, with all of the diseases and starvation that afflicted many of the Pilgrims. He mentions six or seven “sound persons” who did everything for the ill and infirm. He says they did all of it “willingly and cheerfully without any grudging in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren...” This is the sense of a united community that Bradford highlights throughout his narrative, a community that was united not only in turmoil, but in their faith, and as a result, they survived.
An additional important theme in Of Plymouth Plantation is perseverance. Despite the first harsh winter, the many skirmishes with the Native American tribes (especially the Pequot), the diseases, and the struggles of building something from nothing in a New World far removed from Europe, the Pilgrims survived and began to flourish. This is due to their resolve to persevere in spite of the obstacles they encountered. Part of this is also due to the fact that they knew there was no place for them in England, or in Holland anymore. With nowhere else to go, and wishing to remain separate from the settlement in Jamestown, the Pilgrims’ perseverance helps them to survive and still keep their faith.
A final important theme found in Of Plymouth Plantation is the rewards of hard work. Because of the Pilgrims’ perseverance, Bradford writes about the many rewards: they establish a peace treaty with the Nauset tribes, including Squanto and Massasoit, who provide essential aid and important commodities to the settlers; the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which increases the number of settlers and supplies; Harvard University is founded; the New England Confederation is formed; the settlers are free to practice their religion as they wish, even to the exclusion of others. All of these things come as a result of the settlers’ hard work, perseverance, and common faith in God.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in Of Plymouth Plantation. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.
Engage students by organizing a group discussion where each student shares their chosen theme and supporting examples from Of Plymouth Plantation. This encourages active participation and deepens understanding as students learn from each other's perspectives.
Divide tasks among students by assigning roles such as illustrator, writer, and presenter for the storyboard activity. This approach helps students collaborate effectively and ensures each one contributes their strengths to the project.
Demonstrate how to find and cite specific passages from the text that illustrate each theme. Show students how to connect details from the reading to their chosen themes for stronger analysis.
Invite students to use symbols, colors, and captions that visually represent each theme. This boosts engagement and helps students remember the key ideas from Of Plymouth Plantation.
Organize a gallery walk or peer review where students view and comment on each other's storyboards. This fosters a supportive classroom community and encourages students to reflect on different interpretations of the text.
Of Plymouth Plantation explores key themes such as the importance of faith, the strength of a united community, perseverance, and the rewards of hard work. These themes are illustrated through the Pilgrims' experiences and Bradford’s perspective on their journey and survival.
Bradford emphasizes that faith in God guided every aspect of the Pilgrims’ journey. He credits their survival and successes to divine providence, highlighting how faith gave them strength during hardships.
Pilgrims demonstrated perseverance by enduring a harsh first winter, diseases, and conflicts with Native American tribes. Despite these obstacles, their determination to build a new life helped them survive and thrive.
Bradford shows that a united community was crucial for the Pilgrims’ survival. Acts of kindness, mutual support, and shared faith helped them overcome adversity and establish a lasting colony.
Students can identify recurring themes such as faith or perseverance, select examples from the text, and illustrate each theme in a storyboard. A brief description below each image helps explain how the example connects to the theme.