TEACHER: Tina Ogron, Kris Majich, Suzanne York
TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY 3
LESSON PLAN
TEACHER: Tina Ogron, Kris Majich, Suzanne York
SUBJECT: Social Studies (5th grade)
TITLE OF LESSON: Early EuropeanLand Claims
STANDARD: 5.2.4 Locate on maps of North and South America land claimed by Spain, France, England, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Russia.
OBJECTIVE: Students will identify EuropeanLand Claims on a map of the Americas. Students will explore major reasons for the Spanish colonization of the New World.
Material Needed:
(What primary sources
are using? What maps
are you using?) Social Studies Book
Blank map of North and South America
Colored pencils
A small bag of chocolate coins
Paper or journals to write in
Content Delivery;
(What information will be delivered to
the student before they begin
so they can be successful
at the activity and understand its purpose?)
Students will read about Early European land claims from their textbooks. They will make generalizations connecting their knowledge of the various European explorers to the areas they colonized. They will use this information to identify land claims on a map of North and South America. Students will identify land claimed by England, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Russia, and Sweden. Students will analyze their maps make generalizations as to which countries led in the colonization of the New World.
Activity;
(What activity will be done to teach the concept?)
Students will be divided into cooperative teams of varied size and assigned a name of a European nation involved in exploration and colonization. The size of each team will correspond with the size and power of those nations. For example, Spain might have 10 students on the team, whereas Sweden might only have two students. Each country should choose a King or Queen. The teacher will explain that there is gold hidden in the classroom and challenge the “nations” to seek out the gold for their country. The gold might be in the form of a small bag of chocolate coins covered in gold foil. The King and Queen are not allowed to seek out the gold. They can however, give directions to their explorers.
After the gold has been the claimed, it is given over to the King or Queen to do with as they please. They might reward the explorer who actually found it, they may keep the rest for themselves or share it with their team.
Student Assessment;
(What type of work will
be assigned to students to allow
them independent or group
practice with the concept?)
Students will then join the teacher in a reflective conversation about the activity:
What made you want to find the gold?
Did the limited amount of gold make you look harder for it?
How did you feel when someone else found it?
How did you feel about the King or Queen having the power to share it or not?
If the “Spain” team finds the gold… make the point that more powerful and better equipped countries had an advantage. You might connect this to their knowledge about Spanish explorers with:
What riches were the Spanish interested in?
Why were the conquistadors so driven to find wealth?
Did they allow anything (anyone) to stand in their way?
End the assessment with a “quick write”: What did you learn today about the New World Land Claims?