Lesson Plan

Sailing for the New World: Trials and Tribulations

A modern-day replica of an English sailing vessel with three masts sailing on open waters

The Elizabeth II at nearby Festival Park is a replica of an English merchant sailing vessel, similar to the types of ships the colonists would have sailed on to Roanoke Island

Courtesy of Festival Park, Manteo, NC

Grade Level:
Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
Subject:
Social Studies
Lesson Duration:
60 Minutes
Common Core Standards:
4.L.1, 4.L.6
State Standards:
SL.4.1, NC.4OA.1, NC.4.NBT.5, 4.E.1, 4.2.E.2, 4.G.1.2, 4.G.1.3, 4.H.1.4, 4.H.1.5

Essential Question

How did the perils and difficulty of sailing to the New World affect the colonization by England?

Objective

Students will learn about sailing from England to the New World, roles on a sailing vessel, and the dangerous faced by real-world colonists when they tried to form the Roanoke Colony.

Background

Sir Walter Raleigh was granted a charter to start a colony, but was not allowed to go himself. He had to provide goods and have other people go to form the colony. Despite being named for him Walter Raleigh never came to North America. He did fund the expeditions and sent people in his stead, all of which failed to firmly secure a place for England in the New World. Set two decades before Jamestowne, the colony at Roanoke sent several voyages in 1584, 1585, 1587, and 1590, the last of which was with John White returning to find the colonists vanished. The voyages were perilous, usually taking 2 months, but sometimes taking over 3 months to voyage across the Atlantic.  

Preparation

Read through the instructions of the game for the students, 

Materials and supplies needed to be printed out

  • At port Cards 

  • At Sea Cards 

  • 6-sided dice  

  • Ship Manifest for each student group 

  • Map (Gameboard) for each student group 

Materials

The gameboard for the game for each student team

Download Game Board Map of the Voyage

A printable dice for the game, if needed

Download Printable Dice

This ship ledger is the main worksheet for students to keep track of their supplies and travels across the ocean

Download Ship Ledger

Cards to use during the game

Download At Sea Cards

Cards to use during the game

Download At Port Cards

This page contains the information on the three types of ships for the game

Download Ship Information Page

Lesson Hook/Preview

It is the year 1585 and Sir Walter Raleigh has been granted permission by Queen Elizabeth I of England to set up the first English colony in the Americas. At the Queen’s request Sir Raleigh must remain in England, so he has instead tasked you with leading a fleet of ships to the New World. An expedition the year prior has already found the perfect spot in Roanoke Island, a small land mass in North Carolina, nestled between the mainland and the outer barrier islands. Sir Raleigh will provide you with options for ships and all the supplies you need, but it will be up to you to survive the many dangers of crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the 1500’s. Will you be able to cross the Atlantic and claim the glory of being the first to establish an English colony in North America? 

Procedure

Setting Up the Game: 

  1. Divide the students into groups of 3-4. Each group will choose one of the following roles 
    1. Captain 
    2. Sailing Master 
    3. Quartermaster 
    4. First Mate (could also be the Quartermaster in a group of 3)
  2. the roles for the students of each ship are as follows: 
    1. Captain: They will choose the type of ship the team will use and will always roll the dice if a card calls for it 
    2. Sailing Master: They will pull the At Sea or At Port cards at the start of each turn 
    3. Quartermaster: They will be tasked with keeping a log of how many goods the ship has remaining. If the ship runs out of food, it will go back to the nearest port. Other goods may be used up on the voyage 
    4. Mate: Will record information and decisions made and speak up for the group to the whole class 
  3. Pass out ship manifest sheet and the map sheet, a die, and a game token to each group  
  4. Place the game cards in two separate piles accessible to the students 
    1. At Sea Pile 
    2. At Port 
    3. Graveyard of the Atlantic 
 

Getting ready to ship out 

  1. Selecting a ship: Each team will have to select their ship and then fill it with supplies for the 10-week journey across the Atlantic Ocean to Roanoke Island 
    1. The three ships each have a specified crew size and storage space as indicated on the manifest, but each are actually equal proportions 
      1. Bark – can hold 20 tons of cargo and needs 25 crew members. Boost the Graveyard of the Atlantic roll by 1
      2. Flyboat -can hold 40 tons of cargo and needs 50 crew members.
      3. Galleon – can hold 80 tons of cargo and needs 75 crew members. Reduce the Graveyard of the Atlantic roll by 1. 
  2. Filling out a ship: After choosing a ship, the students will have to fill out the manifest with the equipment they select for the journey. There are a few math problems for the students to work through: 
    1. For every 25 crew members on a ship, 1 ton of food & water is needed each week.  
    2. Each ship should bring 25% of its total storage space as building materials (bricks, nails, hammers, wood planks, saws, etc) 
    3. The rest of the space is up to the quartermaster to decide as quartermasters always controlled the goods on a ship.
      1. The additional goods will help the teams survive perils at sea, but in different ways (weaponry would help in a pirate raid, scientific equipment will help if lost in fog, etc) These boosts will be indicated on each At Sea Card. 

Setting Sail 

How to win: Be the first ship to travel from England to Roanoke Island, a journey that took the colonists around 10 weeks.  

The students will work as a team, going through each turn at their own pace, making sure to record what happens in their ship ledger. 

Each turn every ship will move forward one space on the board and take an action depending on the location they are at.

  • Blue Squares are At Sea Locations

  • Green Circles are Port Locations 

  • Arriving at Roanoke Island is a special Graveyard of the Atlantic Challenge 

At Sea Cards: If the ship is on an At Sea location, the Sailing Master will draw an At Sea card. The card will have an effect on the ship, it may push it back a spot or two, it may move it forward another spot or keep it still. The cards may require supplies to improve the outcome.

At Port Cards: If they are in a port location, the Quartermaster will draw 3 At Port cards and have to decide on which goods to buy from the port for more supplies. Cards can be pulled whenever you land here, even if you’ve already pulled an “at sea” card that turn. You can choose not to buy anything.

Graveyard of the Atlantic: To reach their final destination and win the game, students will have to navigate the shifting sandbars and conflicting currents that make up North Carolina’s Outer Banks. When you land here roll a dice, students must roll a 5 or 6 to successfully navigate this area. If you move here on a turn you’ve already pulled an “at sea” card during, you must wait until your next turn to attempt the roll.

Calculating Goods: At the end of each turn, each ship will have to calculate their goods and any changes that happened during the turn. Remember to remove the food costs for the crew along with any other supplies used!

Run out of food/gold:  If students run out of both food and gold, they will have to return to England to receive more supplies from Sir Walter Raleigh.

In case of tie: if two groups successfully navigate the graveyard in the same turn, the ship with the most remaining gold will be declared the winner 

Vocabulary

  • Stern – the very back of a ship 

  • Draft – the measurement of how deep a ship sits in water 

  • Mast – tell, vertical pole rising from the deck of a ship that supports the sails 

  • Sails – large sheets of fabric that catch wind to move a ship 

  • Captain - commanding officer of a vessel, with absolute authority onboard 

  • Mate – apprentice to the “masters”,  

  • Quartermaster – maintained order, settled disagreements, and kept track of food and other supplies. If another ship was captured during the voyage, they would take over as captain 

  • Sailing master – officer in charge of navigation and sailing of the ship 

  • Galleon – a large and heavy ship with a high stern and 3-4 levels. Could be used as a cargo ship or warship, making it slower than other ships, but able to take and deal more damage in fights 

  • Flyboat – large ship with one or two masts and a thinner hull shape allowing it to move faster than other ships. This ship also had a shallow draft that allowed it to navigate shallow waters 

  • Bark – a smaller sailing vessel with three or more masts. This ship required less crew while still being good for exploration and holding cargo 

  • Cargo – the objects or things being transported by a ship 

  • Tonnage – the weight in tons a ship can carry 

Assessment Materials

Assessment 

Post-game Discussion 

  1. How do you think your crew did? Were you able to successfully manage your supplies and reach the New World. 

  1. What went poorly? What would you do differently next time? 

  1. What went really well? What helped you succeed? 

  1. What do you think the biggest struggle of crossing the Atlantic was?  

  1. Would you have wanted to go on this journey? Why? What would make you more likely to try it? 

  1. What did you learn? What was the coolest fact you learned from an At Sea card?

    Sir Walter Raleigh's colony eventually failed. How do our failures help us to learn more about how to succeed?  
     

Related Lessons or Education Materials

Further Information 

  • Biographies of the people named in the game 

Contact Information

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Tags: kids fort raleigh lost colony english settlement colonization early american history roanoke island

Last updated: January 15, 2026