Center Focus

The Mayflower Compact

  1. Your students should be familiar with the pilgrims and the reasons for their voyage before doing this center activity. You will also need to make copies of the Mayflower Compact. You can get that here.
  2. Have your kids read this document.
  3. Have them explain it in their own words. You may want to have general information about the compact available to help them understand its meaning better.
  4. Tell them that this is considered to be important because it is the first document written in the "New World" establishing a democracy. Have your kids decide if they agree with that based on some research about the Mayflower Compact. For example, most of the pilgrims actually had little say in laws passed or in "elections." This was done my a small group of Pilgrims who basically appointed themselves.