1. Why did they go to America?
L/O – To understand that there are a number of different causes for the same event
Starter – Brainstorm all the reasons why people go to America today

5. Why did they go to America?
Thousands of people emigrated from Britain to America in the 1600s. Nowadays that journey only takes a few hours by plane – but it wasn’t so easy then. It took many weeks by ship and it was very dangerous.
On one trip, 100 out of 450 people died of disease. One way or another, the travellers knew they had probably said goodbye to family and friends for ever…
If, in pupil’s minds, it’s an unproblematic journey with no risk, then explaining why people made the journey won’t be a big deal to them.
What do you think it was like to cross the Atlantic 400 years ago?

6. Why is ‘Why?’ important in History?
Part of history is being able to work out the reasons or causes of why things happened. There is never just one reason for why events happen.
Can you think of a time when you had more than one reason for doing something?
Have you ever done something without being quite sure why?
Is it important to know why things happen? Why?
In history, to answer ‘why?’ questions you need to try and discover all the reasons and causes for why events happen. Just like in Buckaroo, it is never just one thing that makes the horse go crazy!

7. Why did they go to America?
Look at the following illustrations and work out why people decided to risk such dangers to go to America. For each picture summarise the reason in a full sentence.
I dare not stay in England now that there is a king again 1
England should be ruled by a king. I am not staying to be ruled by Parliament

8. Why did they go to America?
Look at the following illustrations and work out why people decided to risk such dangers to go to America. For each picture summarise the reason in a full sentence. 2
Goodbye England. I would rather have been whipped than sent to America!
1741

9. Why did they go to America?
Look at the following illustrations and work out why people decided to risk such dangers to go to America. For each picture summarise the reason in a full sentence.
We don’t know what America is like but it cannot be worse than starving at home 3
1760s

10. Why did they go to America?
Look at the following illustrations and work out why people decided to risk such dangers to go to America. For each picture summarise the reason in a full sentence.
Captured, sold, then sold again! One day I will be free to choose where I live 4
1762

11. Why did they go to America?
Look at the following illustrations and work out why people decided to risk such dangers to go to America. For each picture summarise the reason in a full sentence. 5
America! Is there anything more exciting than exploring a new country? I wonder what other adventures I’ll have?
1606

12. Why did they go to America?
Look at the following illustrations and work out why people decided to risk such dangers to go to America. For each picture summarise the reason in a full sentence.
THINK!
Which helped you the most in this task?
The Pictures?
The Descriptions?
The Word Bubbles?
Why? 6
God is helping us to escape the King’s religious laws. Soon we shall be able to pray as God wants us to
This question helps pupils to think about how they acquire information – who automatically looks at the pictures first and for the longest amount of time? Dyslexic pupils for example, may spend a long time looking at pictures in order to absorb clues to help them make sense of the words. This is a subconscious technique but serves as a coping strategy they may well have developed very early in life. However, this is not only an issue for dyslexics – many pupils learn more effectively through illustrations or activity than through reading.
Captured, sold, then sold again! One day I will be free to choose where I live

13. Why did they go to America?
Here is the list of REASONS why people crossed the Atlantic:
Religion: to worship how they wanted
Politics: because they were against the way the country was governed
A better life: to escape poverty
Adventure: to explore exciting places and perhaps make a fortune
Try and match the reasons to the people!
1600
1650
1700
1750
1800
1606
Captain
John
Smith
William Goffe & John Washington
1762
Olaudah Equiano 5 1 4
To summarise the previous task, ask pupils to try and match the reasons with the correct people. They can use the notes they made on the previous task where they should have summarised the reasons why each person went to America. RELIGION = Anne Bradstreet & John Winthrop, POLITICS = William Goffe & John Washington, A BETTER LIFE = James MacMichael, ADVENTURE = Captain John Smith. One type of reason has deliberately been left out. This is SLAVERY and Olaudah Equiano and even Elizabeth Hardy could be considered Slaves although Elizabeth may have been seen more as an indentured servant. This activity could alternatively be undertaken using the card sets.
Anne
Bradstreet
& John
Winthrop
1741
Elizabeth
Hardy
1760s
James
MacMichael 6 2 3

14. Did everyone have the same reasons for going to America?
Just as in this classroom, people have different ideas and reasons for doing things. In fact, even a single person or group might combine more than one reason.
Life is so difficult because the harvests are so poor. We have to work so hard just to have enough to eat. Life will surely be a little easier in America 6
We will live a simple religious life in America. This will be a good example for other English people to copy
I want to get away from the King’s religion. It is wrong
God is helping us to escape the King’s religious laws. Soon we shall be able to pray as God wants us to
The purpose of this slide is to compare the two pictures to show pupils that even one person can have many different reasons for doing something, thereby emphasising that in history, we always need to explore ALL the reasons why an event occurred.
We must help the Indians to become Christians
What can you learn from this picture about explaining reasons in History? What should we remember to do?

15. Remember!
This lesson your started with a question – why did people leave Britain to go to America?
And you should have found that there wasn’t just one reason, or cause, there were lots!
So…when you have a ‘Why?’ question don’t just look for one reason, or one result. There’s usually more than one.

16. Plenary
Why did people go to America?
Do people in the same group all have the same reasons for doing something?
What do you need to explain when you see a ‘Why?’ question in History?
Did we meet our learning objective?
L/O – To understand that there are a number of different causes for the same event

17. What happened after they went to America?
In History we don’t just look at the causes of an event or the motives of people. We also look at the consequences of what happened.
Which of these do you think were consequences of people migrating to America?
Can you find any links between them?
Can you think of any other consequences of Europeans migrating to America?
Which of these consequences do you think was the most important?
Wars flared up between the new arrivals from Europe & the Native Americans
More and more people migrated to America from Europe
The settlers gradually grew richer so they took over more land and began to build towns
The first settlers suffered lots of hardships and hunger but often they were helped by the Native Americans
By the late 1800s the Native Americans had lost nearly all their land and were forced to live on reservations
This activity could also be done as a hand-out, perhaps as an extension.
The new arrivals from Europe brought new illnesses to America, which spread quickly among the native Americans. Many died because they were not immune to these illnesses
The Native Americans moved or were pushed further west, losing their land