This unit we learned about the Age of Exploration. First we did a KWL for what we knew about the Age of Exploration. Then we learned how to do Cornell notes and with that we took notes on the 3 Gs, or the 3 reasons why explorers came to the New World. The 3 Gs stand for glory, gold, and god. We learned that that's why they traveled to the New World. Then we learned about explorers, like Christopher Columbus. People may think that he is a hero but that's not true. He punished Native Americans by cutting off their hands if they did not do work for him. He was very selfish and used the Native Americans as slaves. After that, we also learned about other explorers like Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, and John Cabot. We learned their travel routes from all over the world (literally). After that we read excerpts from two explorers' journals: Christopher Columbus and Bartolome Las Casas. Their journals are called primary source documents because they are from a person who was there when it happened. Then we learned about the New World and the Columbian Exchange. Did you know that bananas are from the Old World? Last, we learned about the first English settlements in America, like Jamestown, Roanoke, and Plymouth. We did skits that explained the story of how the colonies were founded and one group did a poster.
That's it for now. What did you like doing from this unit? What are your thoughts on Christopher Columbus?
That's it for now. What did you like doing from this unit? What are your thoughts on Christopher Columbus?