European
Exploration Mini Unit Study
At the beginning of this month we released the European Exploration
issue of Learning Through History magazine; so imagine my delight
when I found out that the History Channel would be premiering
a new four-part series on exploration called CONQUEST OF AMERICA.
We’ve covered a lot of ground on this topic in our own 64-page
magazine issue, but with a topic so large, we obviously couldn’t
cover everything. In fact, the television series and the magazine
overlap on only one explorer – Pedro Menendez. In this issue,
we’ve put together information on the explorers that the
documentary will cover, so the kids can read up on them before
watching the program. In addition, we recommend a variety of fun
projects to immerse yourselves in the Age of Exploration.
In this mini unit study, you can: read short biographies of Francisco
Vasquez de Coronado, Pedro Menendez, Jean Ribault, Henry Hudson
and Vitus Bering, see maps of their expeditions, view a terrific
interactive presentation on world explorers with quizzes and games,
view international exhibits of the impact of the Russian, Dutch
and Spanish on American settlement, create your own explorers
presentation, write an exploration journal, and build numerous
mariner projects.
Reading
Read biographies or short pieces on the explorers and view maps
of their voyages.
Southwest
Francisco
Vasquez de Coronado
Coronado
map
Southeast
Pedro
Menendez
Jean
Ribault
Northeast
Henry
Hudson
Maps
of Hudson's voyages
Northwest
Vitus
Bering
Maps
of Bering's voyages
Primary
Source Documents
Visit international exhibits featuring text and original pictures
and documents that tell the story of the Russian, Dutch and Spanish
impact on American settlement.
The
Atlantic World: America and the Netherlands
America,
Russia and the Meeting of Frontiers
Spain,
United States, & the American Frontier: Historias Paralelas
Multimedia
Watch an animated overview of the world's most famous explorers.
Be sure to take the quizzes when you are done viewing to test
your knowledge!
NOTE: In order for this
link to work, you must TURN OFF any pop-up blockers first.
World
Famous Explorers
Projects
Create a presentation
of famous explorers. Use this
one as an example of what it could look like. Use this planning
sheet to organize your thoughts.
Choose one of the explorers you have
learned about and create a daily journal for that person, based
upon the facts of their life - and don't be afraid to use your
imagination! Use this
journal created by a student as an example to get you started.
Visit the Mariner's Museum and try
one of the dozen or so cool exploration projects they have - including
how to make your own compass, astrolabe, globe and more.
Mariner
Museum projects
Recommended
Resource
One of the only books
I have found that covers the breadth of European exploration for
young readers is the New World is Exploration and Conquest: The
Americas After Columbus: 1500-1620 by Betsy and Giulio Maestro.
In 48 beautifully illustrated pages, they tell the story of conquest
and exploration in chronological order while pointing out both
the positive and negative effects along the way. The book works
both as a read-aloud for younger children or as an independent
reading selection for older children.
The School Library Journal review: “This companion to The
Discovery of the Americas (Lothrop, 1991) provides an interesting
discussion of the European exploration and conquest of the "New
World." The author carefully explains that, "The great
gain of one people was the great loss of another" and traces
the disastrous effects that the Portuguese, Spanish, English,
French, and Dutch had on the native peoples of the Americas, while
acknowledging the benefits the Europeans enjoyed-gold, land, rich
natural resources, and power. North, Central, and South America
are discussed, as are the beginnings of the African slave trade.
… a good introduction to a complex topic from a multicultural
perspective, beautifully illustrated with lush watercolor and
colored-pencil drawings”
Book (Paperback)
Authors: Betsy Maestro, Giulio Maestro
Amazon Price: $7.19
Read
more about the book on Amazon
