Curated OER
Values and Beliefs of Manifest Destiny
Fourth graders examine the beliefs of Manifest Destiny and its role in the California Gold Rush. They analyze a painting to gather information about Manifest Destiny.
Curated OER
A Study of Panama
In this worksheet on Panama, students read an introduction about Panama, then read about its history, The Panama Canal, the Kuna Indians and the Endangered Species of Panama. After each selection, students answer a set of related questions.
Curated OER
Chapters 14 & 15 – Age of Exploration
In this U.S. history worksheet, students read assigned textbook pages regarding the Age of Exploration and respond to 49 short answer questions.
Curated OER
The Battle of Glorieta Pass: A Shattered Dream
This lesson can be used in American history, social studies, and geography courses in units on westward expansion and the Civil War.
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
Why did the Aztec and Inca civilizations disappear?
Middle schoolers can analyze primary source documents to answer the question, "Why did the Aztec and Inca civilizations disappear?" They will read the provided excerpts then answer 11 different questions to uncover the ultimate answer.
Curated OER
Inca Artifacts and Civilization Lesson Plans
By learning about Inca artifacts and this ancient civilization students can delve into history, geography, and much more.
Library of Congress
Loc: Teaching With Primary Sources: Hispanic Exploration in America [Pdf]
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...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Spain's Territorial Conquest in the Americas
The history of Spanish territorial conquest in the New World is the history of the succession of conquistadors who often overwhelmed native empires, but were sometimes overwhelmed themselves. Read about the conquistadors who came to the...
Other
Spain's Empire in the Americas [Ppt]
A brief slideshow that presents key ideas about the Spanish Empire in the Americas. Students must then answer four questions in an assessment.
Other
American Journeys: Map of the Spanish Entrada Into North America [Pdf]
Map showing the routes taken by fourteen Spanish explorers in the Americas between 1509 and 1543.
Other
The Conquest of North America by Hernando De Soto, Coronado and Cabeza De Vaca
Describes the conquest of North America in the 1500s by the explorers Hernando de Soto, Vasquez de Coronado, and Cabeza de Vaca. The text has many embedded links to maps showing the routes they traveled as well as to additional information.
Other
Eldritch Press: Cabeza De Vaca's Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America
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...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The First Europeans
The first Europeans to arrive in North America -- at least the first for whom there is solid evidence -- were Norse, traveling west from Greenland, where Erik the Red had founded a settlement around the year 985. In 1001 his son Leif is...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: The Spanish, American Beginnings: 1492 1690
Two maps and four accounts of the Spanish exploration of North America that reflect the goals of the conquistadors and fascination with the land they examined-and the brutality of their treatment of native peoples.
Mariners' Museum and Park
Exploration Through the Ages: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo is known for exploring the California coast and claiming the land for Spain, but he did so many other things prior to that.See why Cabrillo wa so important to the Spanish in the New World.Be sure to click on...
Other
San Diego History Center: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (? 1543)
After a description of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo's activities in Mexico and Guatemala, there is a day by day description of his sailing expedition up the coast of California.
Library of Congress
Loc: Parallel Histories: Coronado
A brief description of Coronado's life and adventures with links to original and related documents, including illustrations and explorer notes.
Mariners' Museum and Park
Mariners' Museum: Francisco Pizarro
A not-so-nice, yet successful Spanish explorer, Francisco Pizarro is featured in a biography for conquering Peru and working his way up the Pacific coast to discover land in Central America. Check out his route and details of his...
Soylent Communications
Notable Names Database|nndb: Vasco Nunez De Balboa
A brief biography of one of the successful Spanish conquistadors, Vasco Nunez de Balboa. He is recognized for his discovery of the Pacific Ocean and land in the Americas.
Other
Brown Quarterly: Hernando De Soto Expedition
An overview of the career of Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto including a brief analysis of the effects his explorations in the southern portions of North America had on the natives of that region.
Curated OER
National Park Service: De Soto National Memorial
A description of Hernando De Soto's involvement in expeditions in the New World, hinting at but not fully describing his exploration of La Florida and much of the rest of southern North America prior to his deat.
McGraw Hill
Mc Graw Hill Higher Education: Old World, New Worlds
This article from McGraw-Hill Higher Education discusses European exploration in the late 1400s and 1500s and its impact on English colonization hundreds of years later.
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools
Loon Lake Elementary School: Hernando Cortes
A biography of Hernando Cortes (or Cortez) (1485 -1547), a Spanish adventurer who conquered what is now central and southern Mexico. His seizure of land, power, and wealth made him the greatest Spanish conqueror in the Americas. His...