Curated OER
Exploration--Widening Our Horizons
Students examine the difficulties of exploration and some of the motivations for exploration. They investigate various types of explorers and identify the difficulties faced by the New World explorers. Students create a journal of...
Curated OER
Settling Nroth America: Improvisation and Playwriting
Students map the classroom by marking the movement of the first Americans' migration from Alaska down into North America. To improve their skills in map-reading and sense of direction, students identify physical features of the map and...
Curated OER
Review
Eighth graders review and assess their knowledge on the big picture of exploration and the origins of early America. They piece together all the pieces of the puzzle from the past two weeks of study on trade, technology, exploration and...
Curated OER
I'll Trade a Ponce de Leon for a Columbus...
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...
Curated OER
Why Explore?
Students participate in a class discussion on why people explore. In groups, they create a list of the goods they can acquire and how they can survive if they find food while exploring. Using the Internet, they research famous explorers...
Curated OER
Pathways to the Future
Students draw a pathway and create a movement phrase along that same path using specific movement vocabulary. The phrases are performed in class and rubrics are used for assessment. Meets State standards for the arts.
Curated OER
Exploration of North America
Fifth graders examine some famous explorers who have helped to discover our country. They discuss explorers from three countries today. They are: Spain, Portugal, and England.
Curated OER
Leaves
Students explore, observe, and collect leaves from outside. They make journal entries, discuss the differences and common features of leaves and what function leaves serve. They will discuss the plant and tree leaves. Students draw...
Curated OER
Redwood Trees: How Does Water Get to the Top of the Tree
Students discuss photosynthesis. They explore and discuss surface tension, hydrogen bonding and capillary action with hands on experiments. They make journal entries and draw pictures of the different stages of the experiments.
Curated OER
Alaska
Students study three Alaska Native leaders who led their people using different methods in different circumstances. They explore the attributes of a good leader and apply that exploration to their own lives.
Curated OER
Spirit of Adventure
Students examine the possibilities available to them if they take a gap year after completing high school. They look at reasons for taking a gap year and the adventures in which they could participate. They look at geography, skills, and...
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark in Your Local Park
Students read parts of the Journals of Lewis and Clark focusing on the descriptive writing of Meriwether Lewis. They examine pictures of animal and plant species, and listen to nature tapes. They simulate the experience of the explorers...
Curated OER
Context for Exploration
Students examine watershed maps from the Columbia River. They practice using maps and create their own watershed map. They share their map with the class.
Curated OER
Age of Exploration
Young scholars work individually or in a group researching a box compass using historical information on the uses of the compass as well as the scientific theories of the compass. They create a box compass and a water compass which are...
Curated OER
Early North Carolina Exploration (warm-up activity)
Eighth graders focus on the European perspective of exploration and findings along the North Carolina coast.
Curated OER
Discovery Channels
Young scholars read a New York Times article in order to explore issues about the celebration of Columbus Day. They, working in groups, research the legacy of exploration and colonization. They use the research to create a first person...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Marco Polo Takes a Trip
After completing this 9-12 lesson unit, students will be able to identify Marco Polo and understand why he took his trip to China and back. They will discover the challenges of traveling along the Silk Road while learning several...
Library of Congress
Loc: Mediterranean World on the Eve of Conquest
The Library of Congress provides an essay on the reasons for exploration during the 15th century.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: The Conquest of America
Consider these resources while illustrating the natives' response to Europeans settling into the Americas.
NASA
Nasa: Exploration: Then and Now: Nasa and Jamestown Education Module
This small collection of lesson plans introduces students to exploration by comparing the settlement of Jamestown to space missions. Find background information and links to other lesson plans.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Mapping the Past
Students will examine European world maps from the Middle Ages, the Age of Discovery, and the period of New World exploration. They will then look at maps that record the early exploration of the American West and collect present-day...
Discovering Lewis & Clark
Discovering Lewis & Clark: America After 1806
This section of the larger Discovering Lewis & Clark website explores in detail America after the Lewis and Clark expedition.
PBS
Pbs: A Science Odyssey
Website for the PBS series "A Science Odyssey." Numerous opportunities to explore the people and discoveries of science.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Cambridge Hist of Eng & Am Lit: Travellers and Explorers,1583 1763
Description of American colonist narratives written for relatives and friends left behind in England. Click on the link at the end of each page to access the entire chapter.