Curated OER
Explorers
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.
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.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies
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,...
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...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Christopher Columbus [English]
Fascinating biography on Christopher Columbus. You can also find his biographical timeline, links to additional information, and books related to his life.
Children's Museum
Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Cosmic Quest: Astronomers
Explore the achievements of notable astronomers beginning with ancient times through modern space explorers.
PBS
New Perspectives on the West: Francisco Vasquez De Coronado
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.
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas: Explorers, Traders and Immigrants [Pdf]
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:...
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.
University of Calgary
European Voyages of Exploration: 15th & 16th Centuries
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...
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Explorers
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...
Other
Voyages: Scientific Circumnavigations: Dampier
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...
Mariners' Museum and Park
Mariners' Museum: The Ages of Exploration: Ancient
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...
Gabriel Dumont Institute
Metis Cultural Museum: Cumberland House
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...
Library of Congress
Loc: Discovery and Exploration
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...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia
This is a resource about the state of Utah. Includes images and articles on everything from geology to famous people in the state.
Mariners' Museum and Park
Mariners' Museum: Exploration Through the Ages
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...
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.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Amazing Americans
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,...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Amazing Americans
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,...
National Geographic
National Geographic: Geostories: Voyages Across the Ocean
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...
Cengage Learning
Literature of Discovery and Exploration
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...
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Vasco Da Gama
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.
Scholastic
Scholastic History Mystery: Explorers: The Vikings
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.