Description

Early Explorers Unit

Early Explorers Unit is a hands-on unit that combines history and language arts skills! Everything you need to teach a unit about the early Spanish, French, and English explorers can be found here!

What Will I Find In This Unit?

This Early Explorers Unit includes 5 detailed lesson plans. All lessons are hands-on and incorporate literacy skills. Students will investigate–

• Motivations for exploration
• Obstacles associated with exploration
• The outcomes of different explorations in North America
• Christopher Columbus
• Juan Ponce de Leon
• Hernando Cortes
• Francisco Coronado
• Jacques Cartier
• Samuel de Champlain
• Robert La Salle
• John Cabot

While many explorers are covered, the greatest emphasis is placed on Columbus, Coronado, Champlain, La Salle, and Cabot.

This Early Explorers Unit also comes with:

• 10 Worksheets
• 4 Close Reading Passages & Comprehension Questions: All of the passages and questions can also be shared with students digitally and completed using Google Slides.
• 2 Project-Based Activities
• 1 Quiz
• 1 Test
• 1 Interactive Classroom Timeline
• 1 Timeline of Suggested Activities: Provides a timeline for using the activities included within this unit and provides links to websites featuring videos about concepts being taught.
• Answer keys included throughout

Students will become fully immersed in early exploration as they complete hands-on projects and research past events!

Are Digital Resources Included?

All of the passages and comprehension questions within this Early Explorers Unit are also included in a digital format and can be shared with students using your Google Drive. Most worksheets, the quiz, and the test are also provided in both digital and PDF formats.

When you purchase this product, you will be given access to a link that will allow you to open the file in Google Slides. You’ll then share that file with your students. The slides can be printed and adapted for students who prefer to answer the questions by hand. You can also view and print a student’s completed version of the slides. Video tutorials have been included to help you share interactive Google Slides with your students.

What Standards Are Covered?

While this unit is specifically aligned with Virginia U.S. History SOL USI.4a-b, it also closely matches most U.S. History standards related to the early explorers.

What Other Buyers Are Saying:

• “This is a great resource for our explorers unit. It’s engaging and comprehensive and students love activities that go along with it.” (Josh B.)
• “Perfect and easy to understand for my students. I love the worksheets and the passages.” (Susannah L.)
• “This is an amazing resource. My students love it. They are so engaged.” (Heidi H.)
• “Excellent product. No planning needed on my part. The students were engaged and did a great job.” (Lori G.)

You may also be interested in:

• Early Explorers Escape Room
• Early Explorers Task Cards
• U.S. History Unit Bundle
• U.S. History Escape Room Bundle

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Other Information:

©Meghan Vestal, Vestal’s 21st Century Classroom LLC. All rights reserved. This product is to be used by the original downloader only. Copying for teachers, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Teachers may NOT upload the product to school/district servers, or to any website, or share digital or print copies. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All sales are final.

For even more information about how I teach early explorers, check out my “7 Early Explorers Activities” blog post!