How is your life affected by the Columbian Exchange?
Think about what you ate today. Many plants and animals that we consume each day were not native to the Americas. Without the Columbian Exchange, our diets might be drastically different. The Columbian Exchange also introduced new people, diseases, farming techniques, and religions to the Old and New Worlds.
Activity #1
You are giving a dinner party for your World History classmates. The menu is all planned, but you’ll need to do some shopping. In your town, there are 2 grocery stores. You have to decide where to shop for each of the items that you need for your party.
The NEW WORLD GROCERY only sells products that came from the Americas, “The New World,” to Europe, Africa and Asia via the Columbian Exchange.
The OLD WORLD GROCERY only sells products that came from Asia, Africa, and Europe, “ The Old World,” to the Americas via the Columbian Exchange.
On the next page is your menu. Each item that you need to shop for is linked to a web page that will tell you if the item was native to the Old World or to the New World. Keep track of each item; you’ll need to complete a grocery list before you shop.
Drinks: Lemonade and Chocolate Milk
< Lemons, Sugar> <Cow’s Milk, Cocoa , sugar>
Appetizer: Garden Salad
<Lettuce, tomatoes, green pepper, olive oil, lemon juice>
Main Course: Steak & Baked Potato
<beef, potato>
Dessert: Fruit Salad
<strawberries, bananas, pineapple, peaches, vanilla>
Type your shopping list for each store in the left hand column below the store’s name. When you are finished, delete the clipboard picture to see if your answers are correct.
OLD WORLD GROCERY NEW WORLD GROCERY
CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO DINNER MENU
Activity #2 Review
Which of the maps below shows Columbus’ proposed route to the Indies?
Which of the following dishes includes New World foods?
Delete the picture that you believe shows the correct answer to see if you are right.
Activity #3
The Columbian Exchange involved more than just food items. It also included animals and diseases to the Old and New Worlds.
To complete this activity, you will use the given links to find out more about the animals and diseases that were part of the Columbian Exchange. Proceed to the next page to begin.
Use the arrow tool from the drawing menu to draw lines in the yellow box below showing which animals and diseases came from the “Old World” and which came from the “New World.” The links below will help you find the answers. Delete the star when you are finished to see if your answers are correct.
Link #1 The Columbian Exchange Link #2 Changes…
Link #3 The Columbian Biological Exchange
Activity #4 Vocabulary Review
1) Click on the given link (on the next page) and enter the word diffusion in the Dictionary search box.
2) Find the definition that best describes what took place during the Columbian Exchange.
3) Copy and paste the definition in the first
text box on the next page.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
Click in the text box below to paste your definition.
Now that you have a definition, use your own words to write a short paragraph that explains how the activities of the Columbian Exchange fit your chosen definition. Click in the text box below to begin writing
By now you should be able to describe the cultural diffusion that resulted from the Columbian Exchange. You should also be able to tell the difference between the “Old World” and the “New World.” If not, you should go through the tutorial again.
Click here to go back to the tutorial.
Congratulations! You have finished the Columbian Exchange activities.
*** Now save this file in Mrs. Acton’s common folder or on a disk. Use your first and last name as the file name.
1) Go to the file menu and choose “Save As.”
2) Enter your name as the “File name.”
3) Select either Common Student folder or 3 ½ floppy A: as the location to “Save In.”
4) Click save.
Narrative
This lesson was designed to use with my 10th grade honors World History classes. They are students who have a minimum GPA of 3.7 and strong reading and writing skills.
This lesson applies technology to instruction in the categories of access to reference materials, cognitive assistance, and materials modification with gifted students. To complete this lesson, the students to use pre-selected Internet sites to find answers, and they also use the PowerPoint tutorial that I created. The tutorial is a more detailed version of information they would read in class, thus providing more challenge and enrichment for the students. The links were chosen because they provide information that is well organized and easy to read.
Both the PowerPoint tutorial and the Microsoft Word activity include pictures, animation and text that have been chosen with my students’ needs in mind. Pictures, such as maps, help students visualize ideas and illustrate important information. I used sound sparingly however, because at their age, sound can be a distraction or an annoyance if used too much. However, there are several opportunities for the students to
interact with the program. They work through a series of quiz exercises, and can work at their own pace by clicking on arrows or by clicking the mouse as they are ready to progress.