Stage 1 Desired Results

Established Goals : STANDARD 3.3

The student will study the exploration of the Americas by
a) describing the accomplishments of Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Len, Jacques Cartier, and
Christopher Newport;
b) identifying the reasons for exploring, the information gained, the results of the travels, and the impact
of the travels on American Indians.
Essential Questions:
How does information gained by the explorers and the results of their travels relate to me? (Interpretation)
What are the strengths and weaknesses of exploring? (Perspective)
Understandings:
The students will understand that life today is impacted by the findings of the explorers because their
actions effect the future.
The students will understand that exploring can have positive and negative consequences that can occur
unconsciously, and it is important to consider the impacts prior to exploring.
Students will Know:
Explorer: A person who travels seeking new discoveries.
European: A person from one of the countries in Europe.
Sponsor: A person or organization that provides funds for a project or activity carried out by
another, in particular.
Expedition: an excursion, journey, or voyage made for some specific purpose,as of war or
exploration.
Fountain of youth: fountain that the natives of Cuba told Ponce de Leon about that was said to
cure all illnesses and keep a person young.
Voyage: a long journey involving travel by sea or in space.
Renaissance: rebirth
Settlement: a place, typically uninhabited, where people establish a community.
Disease: illness or sickness
Christopher Columbus: Italian explorer sponsored by Spain, sponsor provided money,
food, ships, supplies, history: born in 1451, time of new ides and discoveries in Europe
(Renaissance), people were making new maps of new lands, building ships to use to explore,
Vikings landed in America 500 years before Christopher Columbus (He did not know that),
reasons: explored to find a western sea route to Asia for spices and silks, Portugal refused to
sponsor him, left in 1492 with three ships (the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria), thought he
was in India so he named the native people Indians, wanted to find a western sea route to Asia,
accomplishments: did not discover America (people already lived there), voyage started
regular contact between America and Europe, sailed from Europe to America, crossed the
Atlantic Ocean not knowing where he would land, first European to discover a sea route to
America (discovered Western Hemisphere- San Salvador), returned three more times, discovered
the western hemisphere

Juan Ponce de Leon: sponsor: Spanish explorer sponsored by Spain, required to

acquire his own vessel, used one of Columbuss ships (Santa Maria), also the Santiago and the
San Cristobal, 60 member crew, history: travelled with Christopher Columbus on his second
voyage, governor of Puerto Rico then removed, shot during a voyage and died on the way back
to Cuba, explored the Bahamas, reasons: explored to discover riches (gold) and land to
conquer, in 1511 landed in Cuba, left in 1513 in search for the fountain of youth on the Bimini
Islands, landed in Florida instead, accomplishments: claimed the Bahamas for Spain before
finding Florida,first European to land in Florida (near St. Augustine), gave Spain a claim to
Florida, in 1511 landed in Cuba, left in search for the fountain of youth
Jacques Cartier: sponsor: French explorer sponsored by France, history: French
navigator, gave Canada its name, sent by King Francis, explored the Americas (particularly
Brazil) before making voyages to North America, first voyage-sailed on April 20, 1534 with two
ships and 61 men (arrived 20 days later), explored west coast of Newfoundland, discovered
Prince Edward Island and sailed through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, second voyage- King Francis
sent Cartier back the following year because he was so impressed with Cartiers first voyage,
sailed in May with three ships and 110 men, Cartier captured two Indians and used them as
guides, navigated the St. Lawrence and established a base, later he sailed down the river to
modern day Montreal (welcomed by the Iroquois), Iroquois told Cartier about riches further
down the river, a harsh winter kept them from traveling, Cartier and his men waited until spring,
in the meantime they managed to anger the Iroquois, captured a few of the Iroquois chiefs and
returned to France without any riches, third voyage- departed in May 1541 with five ships, set up
camp near Quebec, found an abundance of what he thought was gold and diamonds, abandoned
the settlement and sailed back to France, the gold and diamonds Cartier brought back were
worthless, his career as an explorer ended with his return due to bad relations with the Iroquois
and abandoning the settlement before the incoming colonists reached North America,
reasons: explored to colonize the New World, expedition to find the Northwest passage,
during the third voyage Cartier set out to establish a permanent settlement along the St.
Lawrence River, accomplishments: explored the St. Lawrence River Valley (near Quebec,
Canada), gave France a North America claim
Christopher Newport: sponsored by England, history: sailor and privateer, best known
as captain of the Susan Constant (largest of three ships that carried settler in 1607 to Jamestown),
made several voyages of supply between England and Jamestown, captain of Sea Venture, Sea
Venture wrecked in Bermuda, shipwreck led to England claiming Bermuda as a permanent
settlement, Cape Henry Lighthouse in VA is close to the proximity to the spot where Newport
settled in VA in 1607, founder of Jamestown, reasons: explored to discover riches, to find a
western sea route to Asia, to colonize Virginia, accomplishments: arrived at present day
Jamestown, made four voyages, brought more people to Jamestown, one of the first men to reach
the fall line of the James River, negotiated peacefully with Chief Powhatans Indian tribes
The accomplishments/discoveries of the explorers still have an influence on the world today.
The United States is a diverse country.

Diverse groups of people live in the areas that were settled by the explorers.

Canada is a nation apart of North America.

French is one of the languages spoken in Canada.

Cows and pigs were brought from the Old World to the New World.

Tobacco and potatoes were brought to the New World from the Old World.

The larger horses from Europe were brought to America by the settlers.
Trade was established between Europe and North America.
The positive and negative effects that the explorations had on the explorers and American
Indians.
The European explorations introduced deadly diseases to the American Indians.
Many American Indians died.
The Europeans eventually settled in the areas that the explored.
New items were brought back to their sponsored nation.
American Indians had to relocate as a result of the European settlements.
The Western Hemisphere was introduced to the Eastern Hemisphere.
The explorers gained wealth and fame that they tool back to their sponsored nation.

Students will be Able to:

Identify Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Leon, Jacques Cartier, and Christopher.
Describe the accomplishments of these explorers.
Interpret the relationships between the European explorers and the American Indians.
Conclude how the European explorations affects the present day world.
Explain the impact that the explorers had on the American Indians.
Compare and contrast the impacts of exploration on the explorers and American Indians.
Justify the explorers reasons for exploration.
Argue that the explorations were not all successful.

References
"European Explorers. (2009). Retrieved May 29, 2014 from
http://europeanexplorers.weebly.com/index.html .
Explorers of the Unknown. (n.d.). SOL Teacher. Retrieved May 29, 2014 from
https://sites.google.com/a/solteacher.com/olteacher-com/home/third-grade-virginiasol-resources/3rdgrade-virginia-social-studies-sol-resources/sol-3-3-explorers.
Explorers Theme Unit. (n.d.). EdHelper.com. Retrieved May 29,2014 from
http://edhelper.com/explorers.htm.
History and Social Science Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework 2008: Grade Three.
Z Schiffman. (n.d.). How was the world changed by the Age of Exploration? [Web log entry]. Retrieved
from https://sites.google.com/a/mcauliffe.me/zach-schiffman-s-captain-s-b-log/impact-ofexploration/social-studies-posts/how-was-europe-changed-by-the-age-of-exploration.
Virginia 3rd Grade Social Studies SOL Resources Binder. (2012). LiveBinders. Retrieved May 29,
2014, from http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/300672 .

Stage 2 Determine Acceptable Evidence

What evidence will show that students understand?
Performance Tasks:
Interpretation
EQ: How does information gained by the explorers and the results of their travels relate to me?
EU: The students will understand that life today is impacted by the findings of the explorers
because their actions affect the future.
So What?: You are a childrens book author, and a fourth grade teacher from a nearby elementary
school contacts you to write a story about the explorers and how their findings influence the
society that we live in today. The teacher is going to use this book to help her students make
connections with the explorers. The narrative must include at least two accomplishments from
each explorer and how each of the accomplishments relates to present day. Pictures must be
included, but they can be drawn, printed, painted. Its your choice! Local childrens book authors
will be invited to class to listen to each students story.
Perspective
EQ: What are the strengths and weaknesses of exploring?
EU: The students will understand that exploring can have positive and negative consequences
that can occur unconsciously, and it is important to consider the impacts prior to exploring.
Lets Go on Vacation: You are an explorer, and you have been contacted by a travel agency to
create a brochure that travel agents can use with their clients to encourage them to vacation in
these areas. The brochure should include the pros and cons of visiting the location and the impact
that the vacationer could have on the area. A local travel agency will be contacted to visit the
classroom in order for the students to convince the travel agents to use their brochures.
Other Evidence:
Students will be given a handful of short quizzes to assess recognition of the explorers names,
sponsors, and accomplishments.
Unit Contract- The students will complete a contract throughout the unit.
Explorer Games with Recording Sheets- Students will interact with the unit material in an
interact way through games. The recording sheets will align with each game to track students
thinking.
Homework and in-class assignments that support my inferences of understanding.

 Journal Entries- How do the accomplishments of the explorers affect me? What are the

strengths and weaknesses of exploring?

Student Self-Assessment and Reflection:
Exit Tickets- The students will complete an exit slip after each performance task. The tickets

will ask students to indicate one things they are proud of, one thing that helped them complete
the assignment, and whether they enjoyed the activity.
Exploration Bowl- A fishbowl will be placed in the middle of the classroom for students to
submit additional questions they have about the content. They will be given a response from
the teacher, and they will be given time to share their question and answer with a classmate.
The students will be required to put at least two questions in the bowl every week.

Stage 3- Planning Learning Experiences

*Disclaimer:
Students will complete a contract throughout the unit. They will be given 30 minutes every
Wednesday and Friday.
Students will be given exit tickets throughout the unit to summarize and solidify content.
Students will be required to put two additional questions they have about the exploration
content in the Exploration Bowl once a week.
1. A map of the world during the time period of the first explorers will be shown to the students.
Students will do a think-pair-share answering questions regarding the map. The content of the
lesson will be mapped out for the students.
2. The essential questions will be introduced, and the performance tasks will be explained.
3. Key vocabulary terms will be introduced as needed by the various learning activities and
performance tasks.
4. Christopher Columbus will be introduced and studied. Students will watch a short mini
biographical video about Christopher Columbus. The students will be instructed write down
as much information as they can during the clip.
5. The students will be put into groups of 3 or 4. They will be given sticky poster paper, and
they will be instructed to compile and organize all the information they learned from the
video. The students will present their posters to the class, and the posters will be hung around
the room. T: Product
6. Juan Ponce de Leon will be introduced and studied. Students will each be given an iPad or
laptop. They will be directed to go to my portaportal site. They will be instructed to use the
links provided on my portaportal to answer specific questions about Juan Ponce de Leon.
7. Students will be put into groups of 3 or 4. They will be given sticky poster paper, and they
will be instructed to compile and organize all the information they learned from the websites.
The students will present their posters to the class, and the posters will be hung around the
room. T: Product
8. Jacques Cartier will be introduced and studied. Students will be given an article about
Jacques Cartier. There will be three articles that the students could get to read. The students
will be directed to read and take notes on the article. T: Content, Process

9. Students will be put in groups of three. Each article will be represented in every group. The
students will compile and organize the information they learned from each one of their
articles. They will use sticky poster paper to organize their findings. The students will present
their posters, and their final product will be posted around the room with the other explorer
posters. T: Product
10. Christopher Newport will be introduced and studied. The students will work in pairs to learn
information about Newport. Each pair will be given three childrens books about Newport.
They will use the information in the texts to answer questions. T: Content
11. The pairs will partner with another pair to compile and organize their information about
Newport on a sticky poster pair. The groups will present their posters to the class, and the
posters will be collected to be posted around the classroom. T: Product
12. Students will listen to the Discoverin America song to the tune of Party in the U.S.A by
Miley Cyrus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWY50mH5awQ). The students will be
put in pairs or in groups of three, and they will be instructed to create a song like the one they
heard. However, they will be required to use a different song. They will present their songs to
the class either by singing it or reading the lyrics.
13. Students will use any available resources in the classroom to create a tab booklet of the
explorers. The students will included important information and a picture of each explorer. T:
Process
14. Students will do a simultaneous round table. The students will be in groups of four and each
student will have a piece a paper with a different explorer named at the top. The students will
be instructed to write as much information about that particular explorer as they can in the
allotted time. Each student will indicate and write with a different color. This round table will
be used as a formative assessment.
15. Students will play explorer games. These games will have recording sheets to track students
thinking. These recording sheets will be a formative assessment.
16. The students will complete a journal entry that answers the question: How do the
accomplishments of the explorers affect me?
17. Students will complete a PBE. They will create a childrens book about the explorers
accomplishments and how their findings influence the society we live in today.
18. Students will present their childrens books to local childrens book authors.
19. Students will be given a blank world map. As a class, the students will color code and label
the sea routes the explorers took and their final destinations. The students will use a different
color for each explorer. The students will also indicate whether the explorers had interactions
with American Indians in these areas.
20. Students will listen to a read aloud that indicates interactions the explorers had with the
American Indians. The class will have a discussion about the events of the story as a class.
21. Students will be divided into groups of two, four, or six groups. Students will be assigned to
be a reader, a facilitator, or a recorder. Students will be given copies of accounts of the
explorers through the perspective of the American Indians and accounts of the American
Indians through the perspective of the explorers. The students will listen to the reader of the
group as the reader proceeds through the document. The facilitator will collect from the group
the major ideas from the document. The recorder will record the information.
22. As a class, the reader of each group will report the major ideas that each group compiled The
teacher will make a list on the white board. The students will then discuss the similarities and
difference of the documents.

23. Students will be given an iPad or a laptop, and they will be instructed to follow along with a
narrated powerpoint about the American Indians and the European Explorers. The students
will also be given a cause and effect organizer. The students will be directed to go through the
powerpoint slides on their own and indicate the causes and effects of exploration for both the
American Indians and explorers. When they are done, the students will share their findings
with a partner.
24. Students will complete a journal entry that answers the question: What are the strengths and
weaknesses of exploring?
25. Students will complete a PBE. They will create a brochure that travel agents can use with
their clients to encourage them to vacation in these areas. The pros and cons of visiting the
location and the impact that the vacationer could have on the area should be included.
26. A local travel agency will be invited to the class, and students will present and convince the
travel agents to use their brochures.
27. Stations will be set up around the classroom. Each station will have the products that the
students created throughout the unit. For example, the childrens books will be one station,
the brochures will be another station, etc. The students will be put into small groups and
given about five minutes at each station. The students will be given a recording sheet to
complete. At each station, they will be required to look through the materials and record on
their recording sheet one thing they learned by making each one of these products and one
thing they want to learn now after learning this content.
28. After the students have gone through all of the stations, they will be invited back to their
seats to revisit the essential questions of the unit. They will be asked to pull out their journals
and add any additional comments to the questions: How does information gained by the
explorers and the results of their travels relate to me? What are the strengths and weaknesses
of exploring?