Day 1
The first day we will work together as a class to discuss what a European explorer is and where they traveled.
Step 1: Create a vocabulary word map as a class
Step 2: Where did the explorers travel?
Step 3: Get your identity!
Step 1: Create a vocabulary word map as a class
- The teacher will pull up the graphic organizer on the smartboard – The teacher will be asking a lot of questions, and students will have the opportunity to share and also help fill in the graphic organizer.
- What does the word explore mean? Have you seen or used it before? When did you hear or use this word?
- Have you ever explored? What did you explore? Why did you explore?
- Based on this information, what do you think an explorer is?
- Let’s make a vocabulary word map.
- This vocabulary word map will be shared with each student at his or her desk and each student will be able to edit and type into the google doc (If the students each have their own computer they will be at their desks, otherwise, they will be grouped so that each group or table has one computer they can work from).
- What is an explorer? Can we come up with our own definition?
- Can we think of any examples or synonyms?
- What about any non-examples or antonyms?
- Share your answers on the google doc!
- What are some words that are related, or have similar words within them such as explore?
Step 2: Where did the explorers travel?
- As a class we will look at a world map and the some review questions will be peppered about the map. Students will be asked specific questions and may be asked to come up to the board and point the answer out on the map. Other students will be asked whether or not they agree with the student’s answer.
- Where are the seven continents and five oceans located on the world map?
- What imaginary lines are used to define hemispheres?
- What are the names of the four hemispheres?
- On which continents are England, Spain, France and the United States located?
- How is a simple letter-number grid system used to locate places on maps?
- The four explorers were European explorers. What do you think that means? They lived in the continent of Europe. Each was sent by a certain country on a journey, and each for different reasons. We will explore the reasons behind their journeys, but first we need to understand where they traveled. As a class we will walk through each of the four explorers discuss where their journey’s started and ended.
Step 3: Get your identity!
- Each student will be given an explorer, or their identity for this task. Click here for your assignment!
- While researching, independently, you will take on the identity of your explorer. Under each explorers heading are multiple web resources. Look through them to gather important information about your explorer. Hint: Not all the information on each of the resources is relevant, or important. Use the content organizer to decide what is important information. Fill out the content organizer on your computer. Remember to be thinking about why all of this information is important! What value does your accomplishment have?
- Content Organizer
- The content organizer will ask who you are. What is some background information about yourself? Where were you born? How did you become an explorer?
- The second part of the content organizer asks what country, or sponsor, and specifically who, sent you on your journey?
- The third part of the content organizer asks why you were exploring. What was your motivation? What were you seeking?
- In the fourth part of the content organizer write down where you traveled to. Feel free to draw your own map!
- Lastly, what were some of your achievements and successes? Did you have any? Did you accomplish what you had set out to do? What did you find? Did you have any failures?
- Under each of the resources there is also a list of questions specific to each explorer to help guide you more specifically, in case you are not sure where to start.
Christopher Columbus
Some questions to consider:
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Juan Ponce de Leon
Some questions to consider:
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Jacques Cartier
Some questions to consider:
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Christopher newport
Some questions to consider:
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Here is a good website to take a look at any of their voyages! Click here. Make sure you scroll through the timeline at the bottom to find the appropriate years and explorers, then clock on the dot to see the journey on the map. You can zoom in and out of the map.
This will end the first day! I will need to see graphic organizer on your explorer before you are ready to move onto day two. Make sure you share your graphic organizer with me as a google doc and I give you the okay to move on.
This will end the first day! I will need to see graphic organizer on your explorer before you are ready to move onto day two. Make sure you share your graphic organizer with me as a google doc and I give you the okay to move on.