Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Vikings and European Explorers Viking Religion

For Teachers 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Vikings and the god's they worship. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Article
A&E Television

History.com: Christopher Columbus: How the Explorer's Legend Grew and Then Drew Fire

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Website
Curated OER

Cbc: Adventurers and Mystics: Europe and the New World

For Students 9th - 10th
From the CBC television series about Canadian history comes this summary of the English and French search for a Northwest Passage. Find out how these explorations laid the basis for their claims in the New World.
Website
Other

Canterbury Environmental Education Centre: Weather Explorer

For Students 3rd - 8th
A look at the weather, how it is measured, and how it is caused. Learn what weather is like all over the world, how global warming is affecting our planet, and how "extreme" conditions like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and drought...
Graphic
Other

One World Magazine: Antarctica: Terra Incognita

For Students 9th - 10th
An online exhibit through which you can learn about Antarctica's explorers, the characteristics of the continent, and the peril faced by Antarctica's environment and ecosystems.
Activity
Other

Literary Explorer Presents: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

For Students 9th - 10th
Delve into the world of Tom Sawyer when you explore this site. These links range from information about Mark Twain to the analysis of major characters.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: French and Dutch Exploration in the New World

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of the French, Dutch, and English explorers in the late 1500's and early 1600's.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Britain in the New World

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the early English explorers and find out why other countries did much more early exploration than the British. The defeat of the Spanish Armada turned the tide. Discover why the English now could explore and plant colonies.
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: Jason: Leaf Litter, It's a Critter's World

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Rainforests at the Crossroads: Use a Berlese Funnel to extract arthropods from leaf litter; count and sort the species of arthropods; and use a TI-73 Explorer to make a circle graph showing the different groups represented in their...
eBook
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: French and Dutch Exploration in the New World

For Students 9th - 10th
Outline text explaining how the French, Dutch, and English explorers began to make inroads into the Americans in the late 1500s and early 1600s.
Primary
Yale University

Avalon Project: Letters Patents of King Henry Vii Granted Unto John Cabot

For Students 9th - 10th
A copy of Henry VII's letter granting John Cabot permission to explore the New World and claim what he finds for England. Difficult to read, but an important primary source document.
Handout
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools

Loon Lake Elementary: Explorers: Sir Richard Grenville

For Students 3rd - 7th
Find out about the life of an explorer in this brief biography regarding an English naval commander, Sir Richard Grenville.
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: The Explorers

For Teachers 6th - 8th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Using video content and assessment integration, students will learn about the early explorers to the New World.
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Australia's Explorers

For Students 3rd - 8th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart resource provides a framework in which students can explore and research some of Australia's early explorers.
Handout
Enchanted Learning

Enchanted Learning: Ferdinand Magellan: World Explorer

For Students 3rd - 5th
A short biography of Ferdinand Magellan.
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...
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...
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,...
Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Explorers for Kids: Ferdinand Magellan

For Students 1st - 9th
On this site, learn about the first explorer to sail around the world. This site contains the biography and life of explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Explorers for Kids: Sir Edmund Hillary

For Students 1st - 9th
Explore the biography and life of explorer Sir Edmund Hillary on this website. Learn about the first man to climb Mount Everest.
Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Crossword Puzzle Game for Kids: Explorers

For Students 9th - 10th
An online interactive crossword puzzle that tests students knowledge of explorers.
Handout
Internet History Sourcebooks Project

Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Ferdinand Magellan's Voyage Round the World

For Students 9th - 10th
A recount by a member of the crew of the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan to the Philippines in the 16th century, where he was killed, and of the remaining voyage his crew took in the eastern oceans, then back to Spain.
Handout
Internet History Sourcebooks Project

Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Sir Francis Drake's Voyage Round the World

For Students 9th - 10th
An account of Sir Francis Drake's voyage to the South Seas, and then around the Earth, that he began in 1577. The narrative is attributed to Francis Pretty, a member of the crew.
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: How the Crusades Led to the Finding of the New World

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The lesson will help students to discover the importance of the Crusades to the expansion of many European countries. Students will also be introduced to new products and find out why explorers were willing to risk all to locate new...