Explorer Research Completed

Students worked hard to complete all the elements of the social studies research assignment. We enjoyed listening to the presentations of our classmates and learning all about "their" explorer.

Students dressed as their chosen explorer and using the document camera and the SmartBoard, they shared their maps, their time lines, navigational tools, and artifacts representing their voyages.

It was interesting to hear the presentations in chronological order of discoveries and to see how different European countries focused on different aspects of exploration and conquest. Some countries focused more on conquest, some focused on a search for the Northwest Passage, and some developed trade with the native people.

Our next focus in social studies will be to learn about the origins of slavery in the New World.

Nearly Done!

This image is a drawing of the only ship of Magellan to finish circumnavigating the globe. Magellan is one of the many explorers we have been researching for the last few weeks. We will soon create "Treasure Chests" in which we will place all the work each student has completed. We will begin giving presentations at the end of this week so that our classmates can learn some of the interesting facts about the men we have been studying.

All students have finished making maps of their explorer's routes, timelines of important events in the explorer's life have been completed, artifacts representing each explorer have been created, and we are putting the final touches on our written essays.

In the process of this research project students have kept track of the specific reference resources used, learned how to take notes from their reading, written "hooks" for their essays, developed thesis statements about the importance of "their" explorers, and learned how to use the thesis statement to help organize their essay. Later this week we will use an online program to create "Works Cited" pages to accompany the essays.

Students have worked very hard on this extended project. It's been impressive to see them share research information and help each other with technical questions related to using Google Docs and their netbook computers. We are now looking forward to hearing the oral presentations and seeing our classmates dressed up as their particular explorer.

Explorers - Where Did They Go?

We've finished reading Routes of Exploration to the New World, Chapter Five in our Social Studies Alive textbook. In this chapter we read about eight different European explorers, their motives, routes, and discoveries. The explorers we learned about in the text were Columbus, Cabot, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, Cartier, Coronado, Hudson, and de La Salle.

Our next task is to broaden our knowledge of one particular explorer from the European Age of Exploration and Discovery. Students chose from a list of several different European explorers including, in addition to those mentioned above, de Vaca, Champlain, de Soto, da Gama, and Magellan.

Each student will be compiling notes about "their" explorer before they: create a map showing the routes of discovery, create a timeline of the explorer's life, write a five paragraph essay focusing on their explorer's importance, create or find artifacts that represent the explorer, and finally dress in the style of their explorer to present their research to the class.

Routes of Exploration to the New World and HIstory Alive Tutorial

Image via WikipediaWe have nearly completed our study of routes European explorers took to the new world. Students have completed their mini-research projects and their products. Many students have given their presentations to the class. We have learned about Spanish, English, and French sponsored explorers such as Cortes, Coronado, Cabot, Hudson, Cartier, de la Salle, Ponce de Leon, and others. This week we will wrap up the unit as students turn their research into short essays.

Students will write about why the Europeans came to the New World, how their arrival affected history, and what areas of North America were claimed. We will work on perfecting our thesis statements and adding supporting details in the body of the essay.


As we complete this unit of study students can practice for the unit test which will be given next week. Our social studies text has a wonderful online tutorial available at History Alive You will notice a link to this site listed on the sidebar to the right. Students can simply follow the link, sign in and take the "test". This is unit 5 so students should select that chapter when given the option. I urge them to use their textbooks to find answers if necessary. Using the textbook also helps when students forget the spelling of difficult words or the names of specific explorers. Finally, upon completion of the tutorial students will see a screen informing them of their grade and showing which questions were incorrect. I ask students to print these out and bring them back to school. If printing is a difficulty, students can simply copy the score and ask a parent to check and sign the paper before it is returned to school. These online tutorials are a wonderful way to "study" for the test.