I could use this book in 3rd and fourth grade to introduce them the colonies and the mysterious colony of Roanoke. With this being mysterious, this would get kids thinking and I could ask them to predict what they think happened to the colony.i could also use this to ask them what kind of voyage they would go in and get them brainstorming with their peers.

I would recommend this book as a read aloud for a third or fourth grade class because I believe it would be a great book to start discussions. For a third grade class, I would have the students create a mock lost and found poster that will explain the information that we know about the colony from the book we have read. They will write down all the necessary information they believe is crucial to uncover the mystery to the lost colony and then write at the bottom of the poster what they believe happened and why. This would be a great activity because it will allow the students to have a creative outlet to process all the information they received and also provide supporting evidence from the text that supports their theory of where the colonists went. With a fourth grade class, I would have them participate in an art project where they would recreate how the colony would have looked when it was constructed and essential abandoned. Then the students will pretend that they have found a letter from one of the colonists that provides the answers historians have been searching for many years. The students will be expected to write a detailed two page letter that uses the information we already know about the theories presented to explain what they believe happened. I believe these activities will be a great writing and social studies lesson that will keep third and fourth graders engaged and ready to learn more about this historical mystery. ( )

This would be a great book used with a 4th or 5th grade class as a read aloud so the teacher can help assess their students with a complex vocabulary. This could also be a great book to use with your class to have connect the illustrations with the plot. This could also be used as a great history lesson to cover the colonies, etc.

This book could be used as a read aloud in fifth grade to teach students about America's founders and first colonies. This book would be utilized best as a read aloud, so the teacher could help model more fluent reading, introduce advanced vocabulary, and verbally assess understanding of the plot. This book could also be used in fifth grade as a model text for informational pieces. The students could use this book individually to help them write their one informational pieces. They could model the illustrations and keys the text provides.

Starting off with a illustration of the voyages to the colony, this book allowed me to see how much work went into setting up a great mystery. I will start off by saying that I liked the illustrations. They illustrator, Talbot, included a picture of the person they were talking about in the story. More history books written for children should do this because it added an easy way for students and teachers to reference people. The book offered a lot of detail about the Roanoke colony that I was unaware. Finding out at the end of the story that Roanoke is also tied to John Smith's history was neat.
Ms. Fritz, author, brought a lot of colorful details and characters to the story. She was once a runner up for the Newbery Award and you can tell in the 22 years since that nomination; she's only gotten better at her craft. Telling the story and then offering more chapters that dealt with the repercussions of the failure of the colony was great. I want to highlight that included at the end of the book are some notes from the author. These notes clarified or informed the readers of extra information that fills in more characters and details of the mystery. One issue I was that a table of contents wasn't included. This isn't a big bummer but the author included chapters, notes, a bibliography, and an index which could have helped with finding specific content. This is just a minor complaint from an otherwise fun read.
This book told a story about the colony of Roanoke. It detailed the settlers, Native-Americans, ships, and rulers that had a impact on the fate of The Lost Colony. I would use this book in a 5th grade class when we discuss early settlements in America. The book give a detailed but concise examination of what went on during this episode of history. Students will like hearing names of people they are familiar with while also getting information on why they are important to American History, especially the Native-Americans.
I learned something and you probably will too. ( )