Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

European Exploration of North America Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Third graders listen to read-alouds and participate in extension activities about European Explorers—Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, John Cabot, Henry Hudson, and Samuel de...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Explorers of America

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine a time line of early American explorers from England, Spain, and France. They trace exploration routes on maps and write reports about early explorers. Students view a laser disc presentation, Land of Opportunity...
Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

European Explorers

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Explorers

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders research European explorers.  In this world history lesson, 5th graders will compare eight European explorers and identify important factual information about each.  Students will be engaged through game-play and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Explorers Project

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students choose an explorer from a given list, create an original song or poem based on the life of their explorer, make puppets to represent their explorer and then present their original piece to the class while students take notes on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Explorers

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explain the reasons why Europeans decided to explore and colonize the world. In this European explorers lesson, 5th graders complete a wall matrix about the explorers and write a summary about the explorer of their choice.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My First Biography: Christopher Columbus Storia Teaching Guide | Scholastic.com

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Sail with Christopher Columbus on a biographical reading adventure. Young explorers learn about the life of Sir Columbus as they hone their comprehension skills through guiding questions, shared reading, and fluency practice. Included in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Explorers of the New World

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners research explorers and explore how exploration affected the Western Hemisphere; students demonstrate competency in using multimedia encyclopedia and information software, and present PowerPoint presentation to class with two...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Early History of Haiti

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders make list of places Columbus explored on his first journey to Americas, locate island of Hispaniola on map, examine groups of people who have inhabited island, complete blank map and key of Hispaniola, and research early...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Did Foods Originate? (Foods of the New World and Old World)

For Teachers K - 12th
What do papayas, peanuts, pineapples, and potatoes have in common? Why, they are foods explorers brought back to the Old World. Young researchers use the Internet to investigate how New World explorers helped change the Old World's diet....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It’s a Big, Big World

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the role of the explorers. In this explorers and conquistadors, students create word puzzles (Wordles) regarding the time period in history. Students conduct research regarding a particular explorer and create foldables...
Worksheet
1
1
K12 Reader

Colonization: for Gold, God, and Glory

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Colonization, cartography, and circumnavigation. After reading a short article about early explorations, kids use the information provided to answer a series of comprehension questions.
Worksheet
1
1
K12 Reader

Conflict Over North American Lands

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Readers are introduced to some of the conflicts that arose over land and resources in the Americas in a two-part cross-curricular comprehension worksheet that asks kids to study the article and then to use information provided to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Settling Nroth America: Improvisation and Playwriting

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners map the classroom by marking the movement of the first Americans' migration from Alaska down into North America. To improve their skills in map-reading and sense of direction, students identify physical features of the map and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Journey to Language Arts

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore events of the Lewis & Clark expedition. Students observe a PowerPoint presentation. They demonstrate journal writing using first person point of view. Students describe life in North America during the early 1800s.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Was That Man?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Develop historical analysis and interpretation with your older students. They will study and analyze three given interpretations of Christopher Columbus' life, which includes significant events, his character, and the impact he made on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jackie Steals Home

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read articles relating to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the racial barrier in professional baseball. This leads to a deeper exploration of racism in the United States. They use a variety of worksheets imbedded in this plan to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The West "The People": The Lewis and Clark Expedition

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders become familiar with the conditions facing the members of the Expedition in the early 1800's, as well as the causes and consequences of the Expedition. They describe the conditions of the land in the 1800's and during the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Powerful Potato

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners are introduced to the growth process of a potato. As a class, they place a potato on a plate and observe how long it takes for the eyes to appear. In groups, they follow a recipe to make potato soup that is shared with the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kansas Prairie Homes

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students read about settlers in Kansas and the adaptations they made in order to build different kinds of houses. In this Kansas settlers lesson plan, students participate in choral reading and retell information they learn.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pilgrims: The First Americans

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders become familar with the pilgrims and first Thanksgiving through essays about important people of the time.  In this Thanksgiving activity, 5th graders choose an important figure from the time of the Pilgrims and write...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension: Oregon

For Students 5th - 8th
In this reading comprehension learning exercise, students read a 2-page article regarding Oregon and respond to 10 true or false questions regarding the selection.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Idaho

For Students 3rd - 6th
In this Idaho reading comprehension worksheet, learners read a 2-page selection regarding the state and they answer 10 true or false questions pertaining to the selection.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Arizona!! How the Heck Did I End Up Here???

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students research the historical background of the potato. In this potato research lesson, students cut out the important dates in potato history. Students make a timeline for the events.