Publication Date: September 2, 2004, Updated October 22, 2004
Standards:
- Social Studies 5.2, #2 - Explain the aims, obstacles, and accomplishments of the explorers, sponsors, and leaders of key European expeditions and the reasons Europeans chose to explore and colonize the world.
- Language Arts Standards:
- 1.2 Students read narrative and expository texts.
- 2.0 Students read for information and understanding, and for critical analysis and evaluation.
Key Concepts: 5.2, 5.3
Vocabulary: explorer, colony, route, motive, sponsor
Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of the explorers, sponsors and leaders of key European expeditions and the reasons Europeans chose to explore and colonize the world through interactively completing a wall matrix, then independently writing a summary about an explorer of their choice from the wall matrix.
TCI Strategies: Skill Builder
EL/Inclusion: Hands on mapping, visual learning (matrix, transparency).
Materials:
- History Alive! America’s Past Interactive Student Notebooks
- Materials from Lesson 5 History Alive! America’s Past
- Transparency 5
- Information Master (2 copies)
- Student Handout 5A
- Student Handout 5B
- tape
- Student Workbook pages 20 & 21
- butcher paper (1 sheet)
Procedure:
Preview -
- Step 1- Ask students to answer the following question in their notebooks: Why would you want to go to an amusement park (give examples)? What would you hope to bring back? Give students time to respond in their notebooks. Have students do a pair/share, then ask for students to share some of their answers with the class.
- Step 2 - Explain to students that it was a similar situation for the explorers going to the New World. They had things they personally hoped to gain, but not only did they have personal goals, they were expected to gain certain things by those who sent them. (Refer back to Lesson 4 Skill Builder).
- Step 3 - Front load Vocabulary into student notebooks with short definitions provided by the teacher.
Social Studies Skill Builder - Have the class do Lesson 5 Skill Builder steps 1-6 from History Alive! America’s Past.
Interactive Writing -
- Using the matrix (generated in the Social Studies Skill Builder), the teacher will direct the class in interactively writing a summary about Christopher Columbus. Included in the summary will be all of the information provided in the matrix (Personal Background, Sponsor, Motives, Dates, Route of Exploration, and Impact).This will serve as an example for students so that they may perform the next step of the lesson.
Processing -
- Using the class created summary as a model, the teacher will direct students to write their own summary of the explorer of their choice (excluding Columbus) including what the impact of the exploration was to both the New and Old Worlds (ties to Preview).
Technology Component: Overhead transparency of matrix.
Resources: Pictures in History Alive! America’s Past.
Assessment:
- 1 - Preview assessment - a walk and check/stamp notebook assessment.
- 2 - Assessment provided for Lesson 5 in History Alive! America’s Past.
- 3 - Writing assessment - Rubric as follows:
- Grade - A - 4 - Writing includes all of the elements in the matrix.
- Grade - B - 3 - Writing includes 4 of the elements in the matrix.
- Grade - C - 2 - Writing includes 3 of the elements in the matrix.
- Grade - D - 1 - Writing includes 2 of the elements in the matrix.
- Grade - F - 0 - Writing includes 1 or fewer of the elements in the matrix.
Reflection:
I modified the Skill Builder as I was teaching. In order for students to write about explorer’s routes and where they visited they mapped them, and also wrote on the map the places they explored.
Students’ samples revealed that by doing the Skill Builder, students were clearly able to describe all of the pertinent information about the explorer they had researched. I only had one student who scored a 0 on the rubric for their writing.
Next time I will extend the lesson and have the students not only write a summary about their explorer, but go a step further and choose another explorer (other than Columbus) that they did not research, and demonstrate their understanding of the matrix by writing about that explorer.
