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The New World
Since the earliest times, people have speculated about the world in which
they live. Inspired by curiosity, wealth, the quest for scientific knowledge,
or the desire to find a better place to live, explorers have charted the
Earth's surface by both land and sea.
Beginning with the epic voyage of Columbus in 1492, Europeans, in an
attempt to find a western route to India, stumbled onto a continent which
they hailed as a "new world." Although these explorations opened
up the Western Hemisphere to European settlement, they spelled disaster
for the native inhabitants of the American continent.
Places To Go | People To See | Things To Do | Teacher Resources | Bibliography
Places To Go
1492:
An Ongoing Voyage
This virtual exhibit from the US Library of Congress addresses the following
questions: What was life like in the Western Hemisphere and the Mediterranean
before 1492? What spurred European expansion? How did European, African
and American peoples react to each other? What were some of the immediate
results of these contacts? The exhibit also examines the first sustained
contacts between American people and European explorers, conquerors and
settlers from 1492 to 1600.
Ships of Discovery
In the last two decades, Ships of Discovery's research program has searched
for, tested, and excavated several early European shipwreck sites in the
Americas. At this site, you can learn more about the ships dating back
to the era of Columbus--and the modern attempts to discover their remains.
A Treasure Trove
of North American Exploration
This site, based on information in the Rare Book Collection of the National
Library of Canada, shows that the exploration of North America was really
a long, arduous process that took place over hundreds of years. In terms
of geographical discoveries, it took more than four centuries of exploration,
from the time of the arrival of the first Europeans, to discover and traverse
a navigable passage across North America linking the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans--the famous Northwest Passage. This site is an invitation to linger
over first-hand accounts of some of the events marking the gradual exploration
of the North American continent.
American
Memory: Discovery and Exploration
This site documents the discovery and exploration of the Americas with
both manuscripts and published maps. Many of these maps reflect the European
Age of Discoveries, dating from the late 15th century to the 17th century
when Europeans were concerned primarily with determining the outline of
the continents as they explored and mapped the coastal areas and the major
waterways. Also included are 18th and 19th century maps documenting the
exploration and mapping of the interior parts of the continents, reflecting
the work of Lewis and Clark and subsequent government explorers and surveyors.
People To See
Discoverers'
Web
Discoverers' Web provides an exhaustive compilation of Web resources on
every aspect of the history of exploration and discovery. Text-based and
easy to load, the site covers pre-history through modern times, including
non-western explorers. A highlight of the site is its alphabetical list
of links to well over 200 explorers, each of which leads to some specific
information on the particular explorer.
Explorers
of the Millennium
In this web site you will find many interesting facts about world explorers
and the places they have traveled. You can search for more information
about explorers that interest you, and then test your knowledge on the
explorers you have learned about.
Yahoo's
Explorer Page
More explorer links.
Gander
Academy's European Explorers Resources on the World Wide Web
An assortment of links about various European explorers indexed by country.
The Columbus
Navigation Homepage
This site provides fascinating information about the technical data Columbus
used during his explorations. This site includes explanations of dead
reckoning, navigation, as well as insights into the length of a league
and the importance of longitude.
Viking
Discoverers
This site provides links to many sites about the Vikings, the first people
to explore the New World.
Things To Do
Voyages
of Exploration: Discovering New Horizons
Journey through past centuries looking at the world's greatest explorers
and reliving their adventurous expeditions into the unknown. You can learn
about early explorers, the navigational systems they used, or specific
expeditions. It may take awhile to load, but this site is definitely worth
the wait!
An
Adventure to the New World
Acting as an agent of the King and Queen, set forth on a journey to the
new world to claim land, locate a new trading route, and bring back valuables.
Use the links provided to create an "Explorer's Notebook" filled
with information about your voyage.
Become
a Spice Trader
Check out this online simulation that takes you back to the Renaissance
and casts you as the owner of a large sailing ship who sails around the
world trading goods with other countries.
Virtual
Exploration Society
At the site of the Virtual Exploration Society, you can read about exciting
true stories of explorers who have risked life and limb in the pursuit
of knowledge. You can also join in various virtual explorations. Paddle
down the Amazon with Percy Fawcett, drive a dogsled to the North Pole
with Peary and Henson, or risk an ancient Egyptian curse with Howard Carter
as he opens the Tomb of King.
Teacher Resources
Age
of Exploration
The goal of this tour is to help students become familiar with some of
the early European explorers in the Americas. Students must decide why
Spain, England and France sent explorers to the New World.
The Age
of Exploration Curriculum Guide
Teachers can use this curriculum guide in a variety of ways. The curriculum
weaves together visual images, video, and text, as well as materials that
can be downloaded or printed for transparencies, presentations, or reports.
It includes lesson plans, vocabulary, links to related web sites, and
guides to other reference materials.
Kindergarten
Lesson 1: What Is An Explorer
This lesson introduces the concept of explorers and exploration to Kindergartners.
Kindergarten
Lesson 2: What Did Columbus Explore?
Help Kindergartner students learn more about the explorations of Christopher
Columbus with this lesson.
What
Was Columbus Thinking?
In this lesson, students read excerpts from Columbus's letters and journals,
as well as recent considerations of his achievements. Students reflect
on the motivations behind Columbus's explorations, his reactions to what
he found and the consequences, intended and unintended, of his endeavor.
Discovery
Channels: Investigating the Legacies of Exploration and Colonization
In this lesson, students explore the issues surrounding the celebration
of Columbus Day and investigate the impact and legacy of exploration and
colonization through group research. Students synthesize the information
they have gathered and create a first person narrative about exploration
and colonization.
Age
of Exploration
This webquest features explorers, their instruments of navigation, and
the impact of the age of exploration.
Explorers
This webquest has students trace the roots and cite reasons for exploration
from the "Old World" to 'New World" settlements. Students
will learn about the various technological advances that improved man's
ability to explore.
Bibliography
- Adler, David A. A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus. Holiday House,
1992.
- De Kay, James T. De Kay. Meet Christopher Columbus (Step-Up Biographies).
Random House, 1989.
- Fritz, Jean. Around the World in a Hundred Years: From Henry the Navigator
to Magellan. Putnam, 1994.
- Fritz, Jean. Where do you think You're Going Christopher Columbus?
G.P. Putnams Sons, 1980.
- Grant, Neil. The Discoverers. Arco Publishing Inc, 1979.
- Guy, J.A. Drake & the 16Th-Century Explorers (Great Explorer Series).
Barrons Juveniles, 1998.
- Kemoun, Hubert Ben, et al. The Adventures of the Great Explorers (Megascope
Series). Barrons Juveniles, 1999.
- Krensky, Stephen. Christopher Columbus (Step into Reading, a Step
2 Book). Random House, 1991.
- Maestro, Betsy, and Giuhio Maestro. Exploration and Conquest: the
Americas After Columbus: 1500-1620. Mulberry Books, 1994
- Marzollo, Jean and Steven Bjorkman. In 1492. Scholastic Trade, 1993.
- Sis, Peter. Follow the Dream. Dragonfly, 1996.
- Starkey, Dinah. Scholastic Atlas of Exploration. Scholastic, 1993.
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