Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Explorers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students reinforce their knowledge of 11 explorers by matching 4 facts about each explorer. After playing the game several times, they should match the explorer to at least 3 facts about him.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Mediterranean World on the Eve of Conquest

For Students 9th - 10th
The Library of Congress provides an essay on the reasons for exploration during the 15th century.
Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies

For Students 9th - 10th
A fantastic resource where you can find biographies of historical figures. You can search by the person's name or by topics, such as Presidents, United States Leaders, Scientists, Inventors, Humanitarians, Explorers and Pioneers,...
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: The First Europeans

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Website
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Christopher Columbus [English]

For Students 9th - 10th
Fascinating biography on Christopher Columbus. You can also find his biographical timeline, links to additional information, and books related to his life.
Interactive
Children's Museum

Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Cosmic Quest: Astronomers

For Students 4th - 8th
Explore the achievements of notable astronomers beginning with ancient times through modern space explorers.
Website
PBS

New Perspectives on the West: Francisco Vasquez De Coronado

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief biography of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Discusses his exploration into the current U.S. in search of gold. Includes a link to a translation of his chronicle of the journeys.
Lesson Plan
University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas: Explorers, Traders and Immigrants [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th - 8th
This unit examines eight global commodities from their points of origin and the social, cultural, political, and economic changes they have wrought along their way. Each case study encompasses four "stops" along the commodity journey:...
Handout
Bartleby

Bartleby.com: Cambridge Hist of Eng & Am Lit: Travellers and Explorers,1583 1763

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
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.
Website
University of Calgary

European Voyages of Exploration: 15th & 16th Centuries

For Students 9th - 10th
This award-winning website from the University of Calgary's History Department is both impressive and extensive. It focuses on Portuguese and Spanish expeditions of the 15th and 16th centuries (the sitemap provides a good outline of...
Handout
Enchanted Learning

Enchanted Learning: Explorers

For Students 9th - 10th
Do you know who Afonso de Albuquerque was? Do you know where Robert de LaSalle was from or where Jacques Cartier sailed? Enchanted Learning's A-to-Z list of explorers lets you browse through a large collection of biographical notes on...
Website
Other

Voyages: Scientific Circumnavigations: Dampier

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the unlikely journals and observations of William Dampier, an English pirate who sailed the Pacific, making landfall in the Philippines, East Indies, and Australia. See his maps, descriptions of the Pacific, and observations...
Website
Mariners' Museum and Park

Mariners' Museum: The Ages of Exploration: Ancient

For Students 4th - 8th
This Ancient Exploration page presents marine technological innovations, types of ships, and information about Alexander the Great. It covers the period of time from 5000 BCE to 476 CE. Each item links to a page of additional information...
Handout
Gabriel Dumont Institute

Metis Cultural Museum: Cumberland House

For Students 9th - 10th
Links to a Adobe Reader PDF document that outlines the history associated with Cumberland House in Saskatchewan, with a slight focus on Metis peoples. Extremely detailed, the thirty pages include excellent maps and charts easily...
Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: Discovery and Exploration

For Students 9th - 10th
This American Memory site documents the discovery and exploration of the Americas with both manuscripts and published maps, many of which date from the European Age of Discovery. The site includes 22 map titles and descriptions, as well...
Handout
Utah Education Network

Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a resource about the state of Utah. Includes images and articles on everything from geology to famous people in the state.
Interactive
Mariners' Museum and Park

Mariners' Museum: Exploration Through the Ages

For Students 9th - 10th
A history of the world from the perspective of those who sailed the seas in great waves of exploration, from ancient times through the nineteenth century. Learn about the explorers, their ships, the tools they navigated by, and their...
Website
British Library

British Library: The Search for the Northwest Passage

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Amazing Americans

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Checklist of inventors, politicians, performers, activists and ordinary people who made America. Meet Harry Houdini, Langston Hughes, Buffalo Bill Cody and dozens of other famous and interesting American adventurers, presidents,...
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Amazing Americans

For Students 3rd - 8th
Checklist of inventors, politicians, performers, activists, and ordinary people who made America. Meet Harry Houdini, Langston Hughes, Buffalo Bill Cody and dozens of other famous and interesting American adventurers, presidents,...
Graphic
National Geographic

National Geographic: Geostories: Voyages Across the Ocean

For Students 9th - 10th
Use this GeoStory in formal or informal instruction to provide information about the voyages of numerous historical navigators and explorers. This GeoStory helps students understand the importance of ocean exploration in contributing to...
Activity
Cengage Learning

Literature of Discovery and Exploration

For Students 9th - 10th
Teaching approach that examines the writings of European New World explorers from the late 1400s through the 1600s. Includes Christopher Columbus, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Rene Goulaine de Laudonniere, Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Fray...
Primary
Internet History Sourcebooks Project

Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Vasco Da Gama

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Fordham University provides a look into the thoughts of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama by examining his journal entries during his voyage to India.
Unit Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic History Mystery: Explorers: The Vikings

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students try to guess the mystery subject Carlotta Facts, the History Mystery Museum's professor, is studying. They read the clues, do some online and offline research, and then attempt to identify the game's mystery people, the Vikings.