Third graders listen to read-alouds and participate in extension activities about European Explorers—Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, John Cabot, Henry Hudson, and Samuel de...

Seventh graders select a European explorer and accompany him on his expedition. They are required to record any pertinent information that describes the explorer's journey. Each student also write a letter to the monarch evaluating the...

Students identify navigational tools. They describe and label seven of the nautical advances that enabled European explorers to travel to Africa and America thereby initiating a new era of exploration.

Students examine the importance of culture and economy changes that occurred due to the great explorations. In this explorations lesson, students create a list of major explorers. Students focus on one main exploration and give an oral...

Students complete many activities including mapping, reading books, and Internet research to learn about European exploration. In this European lesson plan, students study geographical mapping, trade, and colonization.

After watching Treasure in the Sea, a documentary about Channel Islands National Park and the video First Contact, about the voyage of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to the Channel islands, groups research and then compare the...

Fifth graders research European explorers.  For this world history lesson, 5th graders will compare eight European explorers and identify important factual information about each.  Students will be engaged through game-play and...

Students examine how the European voyages of discovery influence American culture even today. They map eighteenth century Europe's impact on the United States.

Students research one of seventeen explorers before filling in a worksheet. Next, they write a song verse using the information and sing it to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." On the next day, they play a game of "Who Am I?" using...

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...

Students write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Students research animals indigenous to the area.

Newspapers are the perfect medium through which to explore different perspectives in informational text. After researching the fur trade and resultant colonization, groups write a newspaper, including an editorial page, selecting one of...

Fifth graders use their research information to design their explorer slide using PowerPoint after observing the teacher's model. They design the first slide as a team coming up with a title, slide 2 should give background, slide 7...

Learners examine the exploration of the New World. They write a descriptive account of the first encounter between Europeans and Native Americans, analyze and label maps, plot Columbus's journey on a map, and write a chapter summary.

Students view a video of Colonial House, a reality series where people lived according to the standards of European immigrants to the U.S. in 1628. For this colonial history lesson, students research changes in geographic areas over time...

Eighth graders focus on the European perspective of exploration and findings along the North Carolina coast.

Eighth graders investigate the life and contributions of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable. They read and discuss an informational handout, define five words from the passage, conduct Internet research, and write a journal entry from the...

Students watch a Nova program examining the earliest in habitants of the Americas. In groups. they take notes on various topics covered in the program. Among the topics covered are: the Clovis people, Solutrean culture, migration...

Pupils use the Internet to search for model research papers, analyze the style of introductions. They write an introduction to a research paper on European explorers. This research project may be completed individually or with students...

Third graders research the discovery of the Americas by various explorers. They create a multiedia presentation about an explorer of their choice including their motivations, obstacles, and successes. Their explorer information will be...

Students research the impact of European voyages of discovery and colonial influence on different aspects of American culture. They access a number of online sources and reference maps to trace the influences of England, France, Holland,...

Fifth graders explain that the discoveries of Ponce de Leon were important, both in and of themselves and to the destinies of Europeans and Native Americans. They write an essay highlighting two of his important discoveries.

Seventh graders make list of places Columbus explored on his first journey to Americas, locate island of Hispaniola on map, examine groups of people who have inhabited island, complete blank map and key of Hispaniola, and research early...

Pupils research one of the six wives of Henry VIII in groups to provide expert presentations. In this European History lesson plan, students view a film and take notes on Henry VIII's wives. Pupils evaluate the information from the...