Social Studies 4-1.4 Summarize the accomplishments of the Vikings, Portugese, Spanish, French, and English explorers.
Essential Questions How did accomplishments of the explorers impact the New World?
Learning Tasks/Activities:
Ø Students will read closely the Compass Odyssey passage “Europe Explorations & Colonization.” They will answer questions about the text (European Exploration text discussion questions) in small group and whole group discussion and/or notebook responses. (DOK 1-3) Ø Students will view the Discovery Education video clips “The Expeditions of John Cabot”, “The First Voyage of Christopher Columbus” and “Leif Eriksson and the Viking Explorers.” They will analyze the videos using the video analysis sheet. (DOK 2-3) Ø Students will view the photograph “Henry Hudson arriving in Delaware” from Kids InfoBits Presents: Famous Explorers. They will analyze the photograph using the photo analysis sheet. (DOK 2-3) Ø Students will read an excerpt from the ABDO eBook Worlds Collide in Early America: Beginnings Through 1620 (pages are labeled on organizer). They will complete the European Exploration: Stop and Think graphic organizer. Students will stop at various points within the text to summarize ideas read. They will then compare stop summaries as a whole-class, group, and partner. While making comparisons students will add additional thoughts to the organizer as well. Finally, they will synthesize all information from the organizer to complete an overall summary statement for the text. (DOK 2-3) Ø Students will close read the article “A History of European Exploration.” A basic strategy sheet, Coding Informational Text, is provided to help students closely read the article. They will then complete the Exploration Thinking Cubes graphic organizer. Students can work as in groups, partners, and individually to scaffold the different cube questions. (DOK 2) Ø Summative Assessment Response Prompt: Informational Writing (DOK 4) You are a news reporter for the New World Globe. The World is now being explored at a tremendous rate. Write a news article explaining the political, economic, geographic, and technological reasons that led to the exploration of the New World. You may use the concept board, resources, and your notebook to help you. PBS World Explorers |
It is essential for students to know:
The motivations for the European explorers were competition between nations, expansion of international trade, and technological advances in shipbuilding and navigation. The accomplishments of the explorers greatly influenced land claims and colonization by European countries. Leif Eriksson was a Viking from Greenland who sailed the northern Atlantic Ocean and settled briefly in North America, which he called Vinland. The Vikings’ combative relationship with other Europeans however, did not allow them to share their discovery, so North America remained unknown to most Europeans. Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain looking for a new and faster route to the Spice Islands. Columbus sailed west because the Portuguese controlled the eastern route around Africa. Columbus also believed the world was small enough that he could reach the Far East by sailing west. [Columbus was not the first person to believe the world was round. Most educated people of this time held this belief. This is a common misconception.] Columbus did not reach his goal to bring back the many riches from the Far East. Instead he discovered the lands [San Salvador- West Indies] and wealth. This provided the gateway of Spanish settlements in North and South America. Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition was the first to sail around the world. Although Indicator 4-1.4 Magellan died before the journey was complete, he claimed more lands for Spain. His crew proved that sailing around the world could be achieved, but at a great cost. Hernando de Soto was a Spanish conquistador who explored throughout the southeastern United States and claimed this land for Spain. As a result, Spanish explorers claimed Florida and the southwest region of what is today the United States and called all of this land New Spain. John Cabot sailed for England. Cabot was looking for a faster route to the Indies known as the Northwest Passage. Cabot tried to replicate Columbus by sailing west, but hoped to be able to travel in the direction of northwest. The commonly held belief of Northwest Passage, which would link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, continued to motivate other explorers even into the 1800s (Lewis and Clark). The route would never be discovered, because such a route does not exist. Cabot sailed near the Arctic Circle, but he had no success. He did however; claim the lands he encountered for England. Henry Hudson was an explorer who sailed for both the Netherlands and England. In searching for the Northwest Passage, he instead claimed and mapped what is now New York for the Dutch and lands in Canada for the English. The Hudson River and Hudson Bay are named for him. Consequently, the English claimed the coast of North America based on the explorations of Cabot and called this land Virginia and New England. The Dutch claimed the area around the Hudson River and established New Netherlands and New Amsterdam in what is today New York. The Dutch later ceded their colonial claims to the British, leading to the 13 original colonies. Robert LaSalle explored for France. LaSalle explored the Mississippi River to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico and named the area Louisiana, claiming it for France. Consequently, the French explored the St. Lawrence River, the headwaters and the length of the Mississippi River to what is now New Orleans and claimed this land as New France. |