The purpose of this activity is two fold. Students will be introduced to the concept of European Exploration by viewing the eBook, they will then be assigned a specific explorer to research and create their own eBook to share with the class.
Standards covered
5.SS.1.2.1 Discuss the religious, political, and economic motives of voluntary European immigrants to the United States.
5.SS.1.1.1 Describe the interactions between European colonists and established societies in North America.
Learning goals
Students will be able to discuss advances in technology that facilitated European Exploration.
Students will be able to discuss the explorers motivations for exploration.
Students will be able to research to find facts about a specific explorer.
Students will be able to create an eBook.
Students will be able to write text to share their research.
Lesson Sequence
Introductory Activity Students will watch the Introduction to Exploration eBook and complete the discussion questions on page 10.
Research Activity Now that you have been introduced to the how and why of European Exploration, it is your turn to create your own eBook all about one of the European Explorers.
Assigned Explorer:
Your teacher will assign you an explorer to research.
Required information: You must answer the following questions, but feel free to add additional facts as well.
Personal history - where were they born, family, careers and education before becoming an explorer.
What country did they explore for?
What was their personal motivation for exploration?
What were their major accomplishments/discoveries?
How many voyages did they go on?
Project Requirements:
Students will create an eBook containing at least 8 pages (including cover page) on mixbook.com.
Project needs to include an image and text on each page that details the research found in the required information above.
Students will publish their eBook and embed it into the "Explorers eBook" Schoology page in their Social Studies course.
Students will read all eBooks published by classmates.