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...
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Colonial Societies 1500 1700: Spanish Exploration & Colonial Society

For Students 11th - 12th
Examines the establishment of Spanish settlements in America, the differences between them, and the conflicts the Spanish had with other European interests and with the native peoples.
Website
McGraw Hill

Mc Graw Hill Higher Education: Old World, New Worlds

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Lesson Plan
The Newberry Library

Newberry: Exploration and Encounter: Map 3, Captain Cook and Hawaii, 1778

For Students K - 1st
Map and primary source information provide first-hand account of exploration and encounters between Europeans and Hawaiians. Includes lesson plans for k-12, links to reference material and supplemental resources, and curators notes.
Handout
State Library of North Carolina

N Cpedia: John W. Kinchelo, Iii: American Indians at European Contact

For Students 9th - 10th
Native Americans inhabited the New World long before European explorers began establishing settlements on the land. This entry addresses the challenges the natives had to face upon Europe's arrival, trials in relationships, and how...
Handout
Other

Texas Bob: The First Europeans in Texas: 1528 1536

For Students 9th - 10th
One of the first Europeans to penetrate the interior of Texas, read Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's account of his shipwreck and eventual return to the Spanish Court.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Exploring the Culture of Europe

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this technology-based lesson, students will create a slideshow presentation or a travel brochure to highlight attractions in a chosen country and the historical significance of each attraction. Students will present their created...
Website
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Teaching Geography: European Union

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Explore the European region and consider what makes a successful city and how effective is supranationalism? A video features Berlin and Amsterdam for urban development and then looks into the concept of supranationalism in the European...
Graphic
University of Oregon

Mapping History: American History

For Students 9th - 10th
Interactive and animated maps and timelines of historical events and time periods in American history from pre-European times until post-World War II.
Graphic
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: European Paintings Collection Highlights

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore a selection of the MFA's holdings of over 1,400 paintings from across Europe, featuring masterworks from the middle ages to the mid-twentieth century. Click on 'View All Works' to access the collection.
Website
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Eighteenth Century European Dress

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore fashion from the 1700's with the slideshow. Includes a discussion of popular styles, textiles and silhouettes.
Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Libraries: The Art of African Exploration

For Students 9th - 10th
The Art of African Exploration is a catalog of primary sources that documents the impressions of Europeans who traveled to Africa in the late eighteenth and nineteenth century to explore and conquer. View the work of expedition artists...
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Motivation for European Conquest of the New World

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Pre Colonization European Society

For Students 9th - 10th
The Church, disease, and large urban centers dictated societal structure in European societies before the colonization of the New World. Read more about Europe during the Middle Ages.
Website
Other

Radford University: Prelude to European Settlement of Virginia

For Students 9th - 10th
This site traces the early voyages of explorers from Portugal and Spain who were trying to find new resources.
Handout
State of Florida

Florida Historical Resources: Florida History: Exploration and Colonization

For Students 3rd - 8th
In the mid-1700s, the control of Florida moved back and forth between the Spanish and English. Learn about the historic events which contributed to this through this resource.
Unknown Type
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1491 1607: Quiz 1

For Students 9th - 10th
Take this five question quiz over the Native Americans and European exploration in the Americas.
Website
University of Calgary

European Voyages of Exploration: Geography and Cartography

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site provides information on mapmaking and cartograohy of the early explorers. Includes pictures of maps.
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Age of Exploration: The Columbian Exchange

For Students 9th - 10th
A fascinating look at the exchanges that took place around the world after the Americas were discovered. This covered the gamut from diseases which wiped out 90% of the native peoples in North and South America, to farm animals, tools,...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Zagat's Guide to the Columbian Exchange

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This is a unit plan designed for a class that meets for approximately 60-96 minutes. It is also recommended that this project be used to conclude a unit that covers European exploration and the Columbian Exchange. Students will work...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Exploring Borderlands:christopher Columbus

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Website
European Space Agency

European Space Agency: Aurora Exploration Programme: Exo Mars

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an excellent account of the first mission to be looked at by the European Space Agency. They are trying to look at the biological aspects of Mars in order to prepare for future missions to the red planet. The resource is...
Website
European Space Agency

European Space Agency: Aurora Exploration Programme

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an enlightening look at the European Space Agency's new project to explore the universe with futuristic technology. See what they have accomplished and what they plan to do next via articles and a multimedia gallery that contains...
Unknown Type
Louisiana Department of Education

Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Social Studies: Grade 5: The Age of Exploration in the Americas

For Teachers 5th
Read and study the sources about the European Age of Exploration. As you read the four sources, think about the ways in which exploration during this time period impacted the Americas.

Other popular searches