Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Columbus

For Students 7th - 9th
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story, poem, or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words...
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Did Polynesian Wayfinders Navigate the Pacific Ocean?

For Students 9th - 10th
Imagine setting sail from Hawaii in a canoe. Your target is a small island thousands of kilometers away in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. For thousands of years, Polynesian navigators managed voyages like this without the help of...
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Us History: Plymouth Colony

For Students 9th - 10th
The story of how Plymouth Colony came to be. Looks at the Puritan movement with its roots in England, the sailing of the Mayflower, and the progress of the settlers in their first years in New England. Describes their first encounters...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Columbus and the Egg [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
"Columbus and the Egg" is a one page, historical fictional passage about Christopher Columbus's return to Spain after discovering America. Some people said anyone could sail the seas. Columbus used an egg to make a point. It is followed...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

For Students 9th - 10th
Moon Shadow is eight years old when he sails from the Middle Kingdom (China) to the land of the Golden Mountain (America) where he meets his father, Windrider, for the first time. In San Francisco, Moon Shadow and his father endure...
Interactive
US Mint

U.s. Mint: Jamestown Challenge

For Students 3rd - 8th
Sail to the New World, and take the interactive, story quiz on the first permanent English settlement.
Graphic
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Gallery: Voyage of the Beagle

For Students 9th - 10th
The HMS Beagle, carrying Charles Darwin, sailed for five years and circumnavigated the world. Darwin recorded his observations in journals and later published them in 1839. This site contains pictures related to this expedition.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Anglo Saxon England

For Students 9th - 10th
In the fifth century C.E., people from tribes called Angles, Saxons and Jutes left their homelands in northern Europe to look for a new home. They knew that the Romans had recently left the green land of Britain unguarded, so they sailed...
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Puritan New England: Plymouth

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of the Puritans who facing religious persecution in England set sail for the New World establishing the colony at Plymouth.
Article
A&E Television

History.com: 10 Things You May Not Know About Christopher Columbus

For Students 9th - 10th
Check out 10 things you may not know about the explorer who sailed the ocean blue in 1492 for example, Columbus didn't set out to prove the earth was round.
Unit Plan
Pamela Seed

Rice: Latitude: The Art and Science of 15th Century Navigation

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is a great site to read about how navigation began in Europe and what tools were used. Make sure to read the segments on coastal navigation, maps, and ocean currents.
Website
Other

U.s. Coast Guard: Boating Safety Division

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a Coast Guard site dedicated to training people about boat safety. It has many programs it offers to the public.
Activity
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Renaissance: Exploration and Trade

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Detailed introduction on exploration and trade during the Renaissance. Provides an overview of the tools created during the Middle Ages that made such travels by sea possible as well as insight into the types of goods traders sought in...
eBook
Unite for Literacy

Unite for Literacy: Technology: Talk Like a Sailor

For Students K - 1st
Learn some of the words a sailor uses to talk about a boat. Includes audio narration in English, Spanish, and Turkish with text in English.
Website
Other

Boat Safe Kids

For Students 3rd - 5th
This is a delightful site about boats and boating. Lots of games plus a terrific overview of the history of navigation. Includes a visit to a reproduction of Columbus' Nina.
Activity
ESPN Internet Ventures

Espn: American's Cup History

For Students 9th - 10th
How are the teams doing this year in this race? This site from ESPN will give updates of the progress of the race.
Graphic
ibiblio

Ibiblio: Web Museum: Odilon Redon

For Students 9th - 10th
French painter and graphic artist, one of the outstanding figures of Symbolism. This site contains information on Redon's art work as well as providing examples of his work.
Website
ibiblio

Ibiblio: Expanding Horizons

For Students 9th - 10th
IBiblio.org offers insight to the science, beliefs, and technologies of 15th and 16th century Europeans. Provides excellent images and examples.
Handout
Digital History

Digital History: Roots of American Economic Growth: Speeding Communications

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out the many reasons why communication speed increased in the early 19th century. It wasn't just because of the telegraph.
Handout
Texas A&M University

Ocean World: Satellite Oceanography

For Students 9th - 10th
What does a satellite in space have to do with the oceans? Discover the answer to this question as well as uncover some interesting facts about satellites at this site.
Activity
Other

Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea

For Students 9th - 10th
The Mystic Seaport website not only provides information about the museum but also gives access to a wide range of online resources and digital exhibits all centered on America's seafaring past.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: The Southeast Exploring the "Land of the Flowers"

For Teachers 6th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the Spanish explorers who discovered Florida, the land of flowers. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Primary
Eserver

E Server: Poetry Collection: Shakespeare: Sonnet 86

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
The text of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 86.
Handout
Greek Gods

Greek Gods: Greek Heroes: Atalanta

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Atalanta, the famous huntress and runner. Learn how she saved herself when she was attacked by Centaurs.

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