5th Grade historians are using a variety of resources and analytical techniques to study some of the early Europeans who set out to explore the New World starting in the late 1400s, often leaving major impacts on people and places they landed that are felt to this day. Students began by independently reading their textbook (TCI’s History Alive!) chapter to understand a bit about the motivations of European monarchs and the sailors themselves—from Cabot to Cartier to Columbus, and more—, when and how they traveled, and some of what happened in their journeys. On Friday last week, students were deep in this unit, unpacking layers of their central text with new information and peer discussion. After their initial readings and some note-taking, students had each developed and pursued an independent question about one of the explorers. I saw wonderings like:
“Why did Columbus kill innocent native people?”
“Why did the Aztec Emperors give Cortes gifts and gold?”
“What happened when Columbus neared the Bermuda Triangle?”
“Did Cartier like the natives he met?”
“If Cabot was a ‘trader’, what did he trade or sell?” and more.
Students’ new findings about the explorers supported them to further analyze the impact. They summarized each explorer’s biography. They used maps, scales, and rulers to answer comprehension questions about the varying journeys. They traded information they had discovered in their independent research and then turned their attention on Friday to this prompt: Plot each explorer on this spectrum (from “most impact” to “least impact” on history) and write two sentences for each individual to explain why you placed them the way you did. As students began their plotting, they discussed with tablemates ideas like, does causing the most destruction count as most impact compared to something like introducing Christianity to a new population? How different must these sailor’s lives and values have been from my own to undertake these missions? What must it have been like? And did anyone feel any regret?