Test the class on what they know with a thirty-two question multiple-choice quiz. It tests basic facts regarding the Portuguese and Spanish explorers in the Americas from the time of Christopher Columbus.

Bring the Age of Exploration into the 21st century with this ancestry activity! Learners get a chance to explore the complex genealogy of the Spanish settlers through watching two video clips (approximately five minutes each) featuring...

From 1500-2000, an interactive timeline details important events related to Latino Americans. Next, to each date are small, yet informative blurbs—some of which include videos. 

Each of the 23 slides that comprise this presentation are intended to enhance or support lessons on shifts in religion and the colonization of the Americas. Students are guided through the changes in religion that ultimately lead to the...

Witness the birth of the Americas in this presentation, which details the European Explorers who contributed to adding vital details on our modern-day maps. Viewers' worlds will literally expand after seeing the results of Cortes and the...

We all know about Christopher Columbus, but who else explored the Americas, and specifically, the future United States of America? Learners find out these answers and more in a resource that includes four different reading sections,...

Your students' world will literally take shape in this presentation, which chronicles the growing edges of the (flat) earth during European Exploration of New Worlds. Dias, da Gama, Magellean, and Columbus are key players in this game of...

Students utilize Internet sites to explore and compare current ideas and opinions concerning the impact of christopher Columbus' famous voyage of 1492.

In this exploration of the America's study guide worksheet, students respond to 13 short answer questions. The questions correlate to assigned readings in a textbook.

In this effects of European exploration on the Americas study guide worksheet, students read a brief overview pertaining to the time period in world history and then respond to 2 reflection questions.

In this U.S. history learning exercise, students read assigned textbook pages regarding the Age of Exploration and respond to 49 short answer questions.

Students explore the limits and demands of their physical world and how it relates to the survival and well-being of people.

Young scholars examine the role of women in Mesoamerica. They watch segments of the Discovery video "Mesoamerica: The History of Central America". After conducting further research pertaining to specific Mayan women, they write...

Students locate and name the St. Lawrence River, the five Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River on a modern map. They find Quebec, Michilimackinac, Wisconsin, and Chicago on that map. They find the same places on a 1681 map.

Students explore Pre-Columbian native cultures. In this Exploration Era instructional activity, students define the words "primitive," "civilized," and "technology." Students consider the connotations of the words and then...

Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included. 

Students are introduced to the concept of cultural exchange and identify two examples of the concept. Individually, they research two specific examples of exchange and write about how it affected the two groups involved. They identify...

In this Westward Expansion learning exercise, students respond to 7 short answer questions about America's vision of Manifest Destiny and its effects.

Students examine the contributions of Lewis and Clark. In this Louisiana Purchase lesson plan, students research Internet and print sources regarding the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Read this fascinating account by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, one of four survivors who traversed Florida and the Southwest for eight years, from 1529-1537.Read the preface which gives a background to this narrative before delving into...

This is a great lesson plan from the Library of Congress that shows how to use primary sources in the examination of the Spanish Conquistadors in America. The lesson offers many possible activities for students to use with the primary...

This award-winning website from the University of Calgary's History Department is both impressive and extensive. It focuses on Portuguese and Spanish expeditions of the 15th and 16th centuries (the sitemap provides a good outline of...

Map showing the routes taken by fourteen Spanish explorers in the Americas between 1509 and 1543.

Read about the life and work of Spanish cartographer Diego Gutierrez, who mapped the Americas in 1562. Also view his map, which was the largest and most detailed map of the region for a century.