Unit Packs / The Age of Exploration
The Age of Exploration
Students begin with medieval travelers who crossed Afro-Eurasia, read Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Indigenous-encounter accounts of the voyages of the 1400s and 1500s, and weigh the arguments of Sepúlveda and Las Casas along with the exchanges and conflicts that followed contact in the Americas.
Unit question: Why did people cross oceans in the 1400s and 1500s, and what did their meetings bring to the peoples involved?
Suggested grades: 7, 10 (adaptable 6-12)
Day-by-day calendar
- Day 1
Launch the unit
TimelineWalk the era timeline; students note three turning points.
MapLocate the places in this unit on the source map.
QuestionPost the unit question: Why did people cross oceans in the 1400s and 1500s, and what did their meetings bring to the peoples involved? Students write a first-guess answer to revisit on Day 10.
- Day 2
Investigate: What did medieval travelers notice about other worlds?
Source setWork through the suggested sequence of 6 sources with the graphic organizers.
Leveled readingsUse grade 4, 7, or 10 versions of key passages next to the original wording for readers who need support.
- Day 3
Lesson: Gallery Walk: Through Travelers’ Eyes
Teach itRun the lesson kit (copy the Slides and Lesson Plan from the set page).
Quick checkClose with the 5-question Quick check (copy the student Doc; answer key included).
- Day 4
Investigate: Why did people explore, and what did their voyages bring?
Source setWork through the suggested sequence of 10 sources with the graphic organizers.
Leveled readingsUse grade 4, 7, or 10 versions of key passages next to the original wording for readers who need support.
- Day 5
Lesson: Voyage Stations: Motives and Meetings
Teach itRun the lesson kit (copy the Slides and Lesson Plan from the set page).
Quick checkClose with the 5-question Quick check (copy the student Doc; answer key included).
- Day 6
Investigate: What happened when Europe and the Americas met?
Source setWork through the suggested sequence of 7 sources with the graphic organizers.
Leveled readingsUse grade 4, 7, or 10 versions of key passages next to the original wording for readers who need support.
- Day 7
Lesson: Historian’s Lab: Station Rotation
Teach itRun the lesson kit (copy the Slides and Lesson Plan from the set page).
Quick checkClose with the 5-question Quick check (copy the student Doc; answer key included).
- Day 8
Corroborate across sets
OrganizersPairs choose one source from each set and complete the Sourcing, Contextualization, Corroboration organizer: where do the sources agree, and where do they differ?
- Day 9
DBQ workshop
DBQ builderBuild a DBQ packet from “What did medieval travelers notice about other worlds?”: pick 5 to 7 sources and print.
DBQ builderBuild a DBQ packet from “Why did people explore, and what did their voyages bring?”: pick 5 to 7 sources and print.
DBQ builderBuild a DBQ packet from “What happened when Europe and the Americas met?”: pick 5 to 7 sources and print.
WorkshopStudents annotate the documents and outline an answer.
- Day 10
Final writing task
Writing taskWrite an argument: What mattered most in driving the voyages of exploration: trade, faith, power, or knowledge? Use at least four sources from at least two sets, include at least one voice from outside Europe, and explain how each author’s position shaped what he reported.