In this critical reading activity, learners read a short passage about the Columbian Exchange and then answer questions based on the reading. Students answer questions by making inferences, determining author's point of view and use...

Fourth graders locate on a globe where the land bridge was. They describe the progression of nomadic people into North America.

In this general knowledge of American history #67 activity, 6th graders interactively answer 10 multiple choice questions with immediate online feedback.

In this online interactive English worksheet, students respond to 19 fill in the blank questions that require them to use verbs appropriately. Students may submit their answers to be scored

Students research etymologies using dictionaries. They explore the diverse origins of the common foods they eat after making a list of their favorite foods.

In this English worksheet, students read "Map Shows Chinese Discovered America," and then respond to 47 fill in the blank, 7 short answer, 20 matching, and 8 true or false questions about the selection.

God, gold, and glory motivated European nations to explore and create colonies in the New World. This article discusses the Crusades and how they influenced European colonization projects.

From the time Columbus first set foot in the New World, Europeans were fascinated with this new land. In this lesson, students learn about the Three Gs that drove them here- gold, God, and glory- and find out how these settlers gave...

This site has a lesson plan designed for grades 9-12. The lesson plan deals with understanding the culture from which Columbus came, Renaissance Europe, and the culture he found in the New World.

Christopher Columbus has long been exalted as a heroic figure in American history: the first explorer to establish a European presence in the New World. Americans have celebrated his arrival as far back as 1792, the 300th anniversary of...

A good look at what is known as the Columbian Exchange, the exchange of foods, disease, and even ideas between the New World and Old World beginning with Columbus' encounter in 1492.

This passage features explorer Christopher Columbus as an author documenting his travels and experiences through letters and such. Click on "Christopher Columbus Activities" for related artifacts and activities.

When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World he and his entourage brought with them not only the views of Europeans, but also diseases of Europeans. This was catastrophic to the natives in the Caribbean Islands and Meso-America as...

The Spanish gained an early foothold in the colonies, quickly becoming the most powerful European power in the New World.

These lesson plans guide students' thinking about the effects Columbus' journey to the New World had on Native Americans and uses primary sources such as excerpts from Columbus' diary and letters to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.

A report of Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the New World. Find out what islands he visited in the Caribbean, and discover how successful he was in finding riches.

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...

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.

This article from the Washington Post gives a great description of Cahokia, one of the largest cities in the world before Columbus' contact with the New World. Read about how the great mounds were made, the trade networks established,...

Check out 10 things you may not know about the explorer who sailed the ocean blue in 1492 for example, Columbus didn't set out to prove the earth was round.

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...

A learning module that begins with "Letter to the Treasure of Spain" by Christopher Columbus, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students recognize why we celebrate Columbus Day as related to the story of Christopher Columbus. Students explore the route taken from Spain to the Americas and how long this voyage took by using a...