Outlining: Age of Exploration
Activity Description
Although I had come to value the importance of student autonomy, I also wanted to make sure that my students were gaining important basic academic skills. Therefore, I did take some time completing what my students deemed to be “boring” tasks to give them the chance to develop and hone these skills. When I taught a unit on the Age of Exploration, I focused on teaching my students how to read a textbook and outline the information. This section will discuss how the students were given autonomy in that matter.
Relevant Lesson Plan: Introduction to Exploration
Rita Wahba World History, 9th Grade Period 3, 50 minutes
Subject of lesson: Introduction to Exploration
OVERVIEW / RATIONALE
This lesson will continue the theme of Change and Progress from the previous unit. Students will examine the Age of Exploration and come to understand how the Western World expanded to the Americans during the 15th and 16th centuries.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS/ ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Why do people explore?
What were the motives of the Europeans during the Age of Exploration?
How does new technology produce change in a society?
Why is Columbus credited with “discovering” America?
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to explain how and why Europeans began expanding to America.
Students will be able to analyze images and text relating to the exploration of the New World.
Students will be able to imagine life as an explorer and understand what it was like to live during these times.
Students will be able to outline a paragraph.
Students will become familiar with the new technologies that made exploration possible.
STANDARDS
8.1.9 A - Analyze chronological thinking.
8.1.9 B - Analyze and interpret historical sources.
8.4.12 A - Evaluate the significance of individuals and groups who made major political and cultural contributions to world history since 1450.
8.1.9 C- Analyze the fundamentals of historical interpretation.
MATERIALS
Textbook
Paragraph from Western Civilizations p. 310
Slides
OPENER
Do Now: Where do you want to travel? Why? How difficult is it for you to get there? (It can be a real or fictional place.) 3 minutes
Review the Do Now: Students will share their answers and respond to their peers’ answers. Teacher will moderate the discussion.
BODY OF THE LESSON
Motives for Travel
Why did the Europeans begin travelling across the oceans?
As a class, we will read the excerpt from the textbook p. 529-530 and practice outlining. Students will be told that they have to underline the important words and determine how to group the ideas. It is my intention that this will help scaffold the second part of the lesson, where students will outline a section on their own.
God, Gold, Glory
Then, I will show the class my outline.
God
¤Religious passion
¤Desire to convert natives
Gold
¤Expand trade – spices & metals
¤Profit
Glory
¤National pride
¤Adventure
¤Power
New Technology
What allowed the Europeans to travel?
Students will read the excerpt from Western Civilizations, p. 310 “The Technology of Ships and Navigation”
After students read these excerpts, they will work on creating an outline of the information on their own. Some students will then teach the class the information using the outlines that they created.
Life of an Explorer (this part will not be analyzed)
What was it like to be an explorer?
Use this interactive graph so that students can understand the life of an explorer - http://www.history.com/interactives/age-of-exploration
Examine life on the boat, what people ate, diseases that they suffered from, and uncertain ends.
Diary Entry or Postcards from the Past - Write a Postcard or Diary entry: Imagine that you are an explorer. Create a postcard that you would send to your family member that describes your journey. Alternatively, students could write a diary entry to demonstrate that they understood the infographic.
CLOSURE
Review the material – why did Europeans begin to explore the new world? What allowed them to do so?
ACCOMMODATIONS
The Do Now is relatable to all students, so they should all be engaged and interested from the beginning of the lesson.
This lesson includes activities that appeal to students who prefer to read text and students who prefer to evaluate images.
I broke down the skill of outlining so that students would be able to understand it in small steps and ask any questions along the way.
ASSESSMENT / EVALUATION
-Reaction to the Do Now
-outlines, especially of the technology session
-diary entry or postcard
Subject of lesson: Introduction to Exploration
OVERVIEW / RATIONALE
This lesson will continue the theme of Change and Progress from the previous unit. Students will examine the Age of Exploration and come to understand how the Western World expanded to the Americans during the 15th and 16th centuries.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS/ ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Why do people explore?
What were the motives of the Europeans during the Age of Exploration?
How does new technology produce change in a society?
Why is Columbus credited with “discovering” America?
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to explain how and why Europeans began expanding to America.
Students will be able to analyze images and text relating to the exploration of the New World.
Students will be able to imagine life as an explorer and understand what it was like to live during these times.
Students will be able to outline a paragraph.
Students will become familiar with the new technologies that made exploration possible.
STANDARDS
8.1.9 A - Analyze chronological thinking.
8.1.9 B - Analyze and interpret historical sources.
8.4.12 A - Evaluate the significance of individuals and groups who made major political and cultural contributions to world history since 1450.
8.1.9 C- Analyze the fundamentals of historical interpretation.
MATERIALS
Textbook
Paragraph from Western Civilizations p. 310
Slides
OPENER
Do Now: Where do you want to travel? Why? How difficult is it for you to get there? (It can be a real or fictional place.) 3 minutes
Review the Do Now: Students will share their answers and respond to their peers’ answers. Teacher will moderate the discussion.
BODY OF THE LESSON
Motives for Travel
Why did the Europeans begin travelling across the oceans?
As a class, we will read the excerpt from the textbook p. 529-530 and practice outlining. Students will be told that they have to underline the important words and determine how to group the ideas. It is my intention that this will help scaffold the second part of the lesson, where students will outline a section on their own.
God, Gold, Glory
Then, I will show the class my outline.
God
¤Religious passion
¤Desire to convert natives
Gold
¤Expand trade – spices & metals
¤Profit
Glory
¤National pride
¤Adventure
¤Power
New Technology
What allowed the Europeans to travel?
Students will read the excerpt from Western Civilizations, p. 310 “The Technology of Ships and Navigation”
After students read these excerpts, they will work on creating an outline of the information on their own. Some students will then teach the class the information using the outlines that they created.
Life of an Explorer (this part will not be analyzed)
What was it like to be an explorer?
Use this interactive graph so that students can understand the life of an explorer - http://www.history.com/interactives/age-of-exploration
Examine life on the boat, what people ate, diseases that they suffered from, and uncertain ends.
Diary Entry or Postcards from the Past - Write a Postcard or Diary entry: Imagine that you are an explorer. Create a postcard that you would send to your family member that describes your journey. Alternatively, students could write a diary entry to demonstrate that they understood the infographic.
CLOSURE
Review the material – why did Europeans begin to explore the new world? What allowed them to do so?
ACCOMMODATIONS
The Do Now is relatable to all students, so they should all be engaged and interested from the beginning of the lesson.
This lesson includes activities that appeal to students who prefer to read text and students who prefer to evaluate images.
I broke down the skill of outlining so that students would be able to understand it in small steps and ask any questions along the way.
ASSESSMENT / EVALUATION
-Reaction to the Do Now
-outlines, especially of the technology session
-diary entry or postcard