Age of Navigation Teacher Resources

Students explore the concept of triangulation that is used in navigation satellites and global positioning systems designed by engineers. They determine ways these technologies can help people determine their position or the location of...

Your students' world will literally take shape in this presentation, which chronicles the growing edges of the (flat) earth during European Exploration of New Worlds. Dias, da Gama, Magellean, and Columbus are key players in this game of...

Students explore geography by completing a navigation activity in class. In this satellite positioning lesson, students define terms such as orbit, satellite, GPS and triangulation. Students view diagrams of the Earth's orbit and...

Discover the interesting world of maritime archaeology and explorations under the sea with this nice set of worksheets, which cover such topics as search tools and techniques of underwater archaeology, carbon dating, vessel types, and...

Learners examine a fresnel lens and compare it to simple concave and convex lenses. They measure its focal length and then discuss why this type of lens is useful in a lighthouse system. That is about all there is to this lesson. It can...

Can you fathom a fathom? Through this activity, learners get a grasp of how deep a fathom is and how the floor of The Great Lakes might look. They compare topographic maps to Great Lakes navigation charts, which you will need to obtain...

A fascinating short video describes how engineers somehow were able to flood the floor of the Colosseum and conduct maritime battles to amaze and impress spectators.

Young scholars define data, recover data from the Internet, and use information they obtain to solve problems.  In this investigative lesson students answer questions on a worksheet and demonstrate the use of a maneuvering board in...

Students navigate the web to prepare for an imaginary trip and record expenses involved.  In this state culture and symbol activity, students gather information to be used in a multimedia project.

Second graders use latitude and longitude coordinates to pinpoint an exact location on the map. In this geography instructional activity, 2nd graders utilize handouts from the Maritime Museum in order to gain practice in finding...

Students pick between the items that are needed by a Captain and alternate items that are not necessary. They form teams of two. Students are explained that they are going to play a game in which they try to choose the correct items for...

Students investigate Great Lakes' navigational charts while practicing topographical map skills. They draw an 'elevation' of the bottom of the lake and graph the depths of the lake.

In two groups, students research the history and current building of clipper ships. In this inquiry lesson, students present information and compare and contrast the technological revolution with the development of clipper ships....

Upper graders become "shipwreck detectives" by studying the debris field from a shipwreck in the Aegean Sea which took place in the 700s.  A website is accessed that gives specific information about the debris field, and pairs of...

How does the formation of currents and waves in the ocean happen? High schoolers will learn about the primary causes for ocean currents and waves by calculating a wave's amplitude and nautical mile speed. Then they will complete a...

Get your junior oceanographers to generate tidal prediction graphs on an interactive website. They will feel like experts in the field, or shall we say, experts in the ocean! This is a brief, but worthwhile activity that could be used to...

Learners explore trireme, a type of ancient Persian warship. They investigate other underwater recovery operations to shed light on the difficulties a trireme recovery team might face.

Learners discover what is needed to program an underwater robot to complete a course of action.  In this robot archaeologist lesson students design an archaeological strategy of an underwater vehicle. 

Students recreate a "60-minutes" interview using cue cards and historical information on the Chinese explorer Zheng He. This lesson is an excellent introduction to World History during the 1400's.

Students explore John Paul Jones. His sense of adventure brought him to America. His bravery made him the country's greatest naval hero.