Curated OER
The Influence of Physical Geography
Students explore the limits and demands of their physical world and how it relates to the survival and well-being of people.
Curated OER
Nutrition and Health
Middle schoolers explore the conditions faced while sailing on the ocean regarding health and physical fitness. They experience the importance of Vitamin C. Students analyze the cause of many diseases and sicknesses on the ships.
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...
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.
Tennessee History For Kids
Tennessee History for Kids: Part Two, Explorers and Long Hunters
This website provides information about two early explorers in Tennessee, Hernando de Soto and Daniel Boone.
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...
Success Link
Success Link: Explorer Poetry Booklet
After a study of explorers in the Americas, students write poetry to show what they know about individual explorers. This lesson plan gives guidelines, ways to adapt the lesson, a graphic organizer, and scoring guide.
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...
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.
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.
Library of Congress
Loc: 1562 Map of America by Diego Gutierrez
Read about the life and work of Spanish cartographer Diego Gutierrez, who mapped the Americas in 1562. Also view his map, which was the largest and most detailed map of the region for a century.
Other
Texas Bob: The First Europeans in Texas: 1528 1536
One of the first Europeans to penetrate the interior of Texas, read Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's account of his shipwreck and eventual return to the Spanish Court.
British Library
British Library: The Search for the Northwest Passage
Detailed third grade lessons help students understand what skills and knowledge were required in order to become an explorer. Includes specific lessons on John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, and Henry Hudson.
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools
Loon Lake Elementary School: Cabeza De Vaca
A biography of Cabeza de Vaca (1490-1557), a Spanish explorer in both North and South America. This site has a Google widget that will translate the page into many languages.
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas: Exploration and Settlement Before 1675
A great map showing the explorations of Spanish, French, and English explorers in North America between 1530 and 1675. A detailed key identifies each explorer and route. From the Perry-Castaneda Collection
A&E Television
History.com: Hispanic History Milestones: Timeline
The American Hispanic/Latinx history is a rich, diverse and long one, with immigrants, refugees and Spanish-speaking or Indigenous people living in the United States since long before the nation was established. America's Hispanic...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Europe's North South Conflicts Reach the Americas
An essay detailing early English and French exploration and settlement in the New World to challenge Spanish control.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Columbian Exchange
In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills, students watch video dramatizations that tell the story of the Spanish explorers who arrived in the Americas with Columbus and introduced European, African, and Asian plants and...
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.
Soylent Communications
Notable Names Database|nndb: Francisco Pizarro
Known for conquering Peru for Spain in the sixteenth century, Francisco Pizarro moved north along the coast to discover Central America. He is highlighted in this biography.
Bullock Texas State History Museum
Bullock Museum: American Indians
Immerse in the campfire stories of the people who defined Texas. Find out about how the two Americas: the Europeans' version, and the American Indians' version, started changing forever.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Cabrillo National Monument
This website contains a wealth of information concerning the life of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the National Monument that was built in his memory, and his discovery of California.
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...
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools
Loon Lake Elementary School: Hernando De Soto
A biography of Hernando De Soto (1500?-1542), a Spanish explorer who led the first European expedition to reach the Mississippi River. His group arrived at the river in 1541 during a search for gold. De Soto also took part in the Spanish...