Age of Exploration Complete Unit Bundle

The Age of Exploration Unit Bundle is perfect for middle school social studies classes. It includes over 150 pages of resources to use in your classroom along with 9 days of detailed lesson plans! Students will have access to both an interactive notebook and a digital interactive notebook, making it easy to learn and study both in the classroom and at home. The bundle includes engaging informational texts, foldables, and vocabulary activities that help students understand and retain the material. A word wall is also included to help reinforce vocabulary learning. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the explorers and European exploration through an assessment. This bundle is a comprehensive and fun way to learn about the New World and the Age of Exploration.

Resources include a paper interactive notebook, a digital interactive notebook for Google Drive, an interactive PowerPoint full of informational text, an interactive foldable about life at sea, corresponding informational text for all, 4 vocabulary activities, a word wall and an assessment!

I know how busy your teaching days are throughout the school year. The Age of Exploration Complete Unit Bundle includes a file with 9 days of detailed lesson plans already completed for you. This bundle is designed to save you valuable time, increase student engagement and bring history to life through a wide variety of activities that prompt students to think critically and creatively in their Social Studies class.

The Age of Exploration Interactive Notebook

These interactive notebook graphic organizers will help students organize information about the explorers during the Age of Exploration!

Interactive notebooks are an effective tool in the classroom. Not only can they assist students in keeping their work organized, but they are also an easy-to-access resource for reference throughout the year.

The Age of Exploration Interactive Notebook graphic organizers resource is intended as a resource for late-elementary and middle school ages.

It does not include any types of informational text for students, but does include 10 different interactive activities to help students organize information and an answer key to use as a guide for each graphic organizer.

The file also includes pictures of every page in use!

1. Cover Page

2. A Vocabulary Activity (plus a blank copy as well to personalize for your own classroom)

3. Navigational Tools (tabs: compass, astrolabe, quadrant, maps, cross-staff and logbook)

4. Early Explorers (tabs to take notes on Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco Nunez de Balboa and Ferdinand Magellan)

5. The Columbian Exchange (students will answer two questions: What was the Columbian Exchange? and What were the effects of the Columbian Exchange?)

6. Map of the Columbian Exchange (a map for students to label)

7. Spanish Exploration (tabs for students to take notes on Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, Juan Ponce de Leon, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Hernando de Soto and Fransisco Vasquez de Coronado)

8. English Exploration (tabs for recording information about John Cabot and Henry Hudson)

9. French Exploration (tabs for students to take notes on Giovanni da Verrazano, Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain and Robert Cavalier de La Salle)

10. Dutch Exploration (tabs for the students to take notes on the travels of Henry Hudson, Willem Janszoon and Abel Tasman)

11. Early Settlements (space for students to take notes on New France, New Netherland and St. Augustine)

Age of Exploration Digital Interactive Notebook for Google Drive

The Exploring the New World Digital Interactive Notebook is intended as a resource for late-elementary into middle school ages.

It includes 11 different digital interactive graphic organizers and an answer key to help students organize the information you teach! There are no types of informational text for students to read.

1. Cover Page

2. A Vocabulary Activity (plus a blank copy as well to personalize for your own classroom)

3. Navigational Tools (compass, astrolabe, quadrant, maps, cross-staff and logbook)

4. Early Explorers (tabs to take notes on Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco Nunez de Balboa and Ferdinand Magellan)

5. The Columbian Exchange (students will answer two questions: What was the Columbian Exchange? and What were the effects of the Columbian Exchange?)

6. Map of the Columbian Exchange (a map for students to label)

7. Spanish Exploration (space to take notes on Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, Juan Ponce de Leon, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Hernando de Soto and Fransisco Vasquez de Coronado)

8. English Exploration (space for recording information about John Cabot and Henry Hudson)

9. French Exploration (space for students to take notes on Giovanni da Verrazano, Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain and Robert Cavalier de La Salle)

10. Dutch Exploration (space for the students to take notes on the travels of Henry Hudson, Willem Janszoon and Abel Tasman)

11. Early Settlements (space for students to take notes on New France, New Netherland and St. Augustine)

12. My Pictures of the Age of Exploration (a blank page for students to add relevant images from their studies on the explorers)

Age of Exploration Interactive PowerPoint Notes

Interactive PowerPoint Notes are a great way to engage your students in content related to your curriculum. This resource is aligned with the Age of Exploration unit in The Teacher's Prep store but can be used independently, as well.

When using this interactive PowerPoint, students can click on elements of the slides to reveal important information about a variety of topics related to the Age of Exploration. (See a comprehensive list of topics included below!)

There's also a version compatible with Google Slides included! It's not interactive, due to the way Google Slides is designed, but has all the information that your students need to complete the interactive notebooks.

The Age of Exploration Interactive PowerPoint is intended as a resource for late-elementary and middle school ages. It is not editable.

The file was created using PowerPoint 2013. The animations may not play properly on older versions.

Topics Included:

1. Vocabulary

2. Navigational Tools (compass, astrolabe, quadrant, maps, cross-staff and logbook)

3. Early Explorers (Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco Nunez de Balboa and Ferdinand Magellan)

4. The Columbian Exchange (students will answer two questions: What was the Columbian Exchange? and What were the effects of the Columbian Exchange?)

5. Map of the Columbian Exchange

6. Spanish Exploration ( Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, Juan Ponce de Leon, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Hernando de Soto and Fransisco Vasquez de Coronado)

7. English Exploration (John Cabot and Henry Hudson)

8. French Exploration (Giovanni da Verrazano, Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain and Robert Cavalier de La Salle)

9. Dutch Exploration (Henry Hudson, Willem Janszoon and Abel Tasman)

10. Early Settlements (New France, New Netherland and St. Augustine)

Age of Exploration Activities and Accordion Foldable

Engage your students in learning about the Age of Exploration through a variety of activities, including informational text, a vocabulary activity, an activity that gives students the opportunity to compare various reasons for exploration, doodle notes and an accordion-style foldable that guides them in synthesizing the information they've learned to embark on their own journey as a captain during the Age of Exploration.

The resource includes paper pages for printing. There are two foldables: one in black and white and one in color. There are three pages of informational text and three corresponding one-page activities that coincide with the text.

Resources about the Age of Exploration Included:

1. A Sailor's Life at Sea - students will read about the daily life and hardships that sailors experienced while traveling across the world's oceans.

2. Tools of the Traveler - students will use this informational text to learn about the purpose of the quadrant, astrolabe, spyglass, compass and cross-staff.

3. Reasons for Exploration - this text includes information about the reasons behind the explorations of Spain, Portugal, England, France and the Netherlands.

4. Life at Sea Vocabulary Activity - students will define terms from the informational text and draw a picture to further engage in the key words.

5. Reasons for Exploration - students will describe the goals of the European regions that sent explorers to discover new lands.

6. Life at Sea Doodle Notes - this activity helps students process and take notes on the life of a sailor at sea.

(Answer keys included for #4-6)

7. Captain's Log during the Age of Exploration

-This foldable gives students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they've learned in a novel way. In the foldable, they become a captain during the Age of Exploration and map out their journey, give reasons for their expedition, explain the life of the sailors on their ship and the hardships they'll face, learn about the "Sea of Darkness", compare their goals with that of explorers from the Age of Exploration, answer situational questions to determine the best tools to use, and more!

Age of Exploration Vocabulary Activities

Engage your students in content vocabulary for the Age of Exploration unit with these four activities! This resource includes a matching game, crossword puzzle, matching one-page activity and a graphic organizer to define words and write a corresponding sentence for each term - a perfect resource for student binders!

Inside this resource you will find:

1. Matching Game

2. Matching Activity

3. Crossword Puzzle

4. Definitions and Sentences Graphic Organizer

What words are included in this activity?

• navigation
• circumnavigate
• explorer
• conquistador
• mission
• northwest passage
• compass
• astrolabe
• quadrant
• maps
• cross-staff
• logbook

Age of Exploration Word Wall

Reinforce the Age of Exploration Unit content vocabulary by building a word wall in your classroom! This resource makes it easy to give students an opportunity to visually review vocabulary terms and definitions every time they walk into your classroom. Just print and go!

What words are included in this resource?

• navigation
• circumnavigate
• explorer
• conquistador
• mission
• northwest passage
• compass
• astrolabe
• quadrant
• maps
• cross-staff
• logbook

Age of Exploration Test

Assess your students' knowledge of the Age of Exploration with a test that includes multiple question types.

The test includes:

• 6 vocabulary matching items
• 5 multiple choice questions
• 5 true/false questions
• 7 map identification questions (students must mark key locations on a map)
• 6 fill in the blank questions
• 4 written short response questions

Total: 33 questions

Take a peek at the preview for a better look at what is included in this resource.

Happy Teaching! :)

Let's Connect!

The Teacher's Prep Blog

The Teacher's Prep on Facebook

The Teacher's Prep on Pinterest

The Teacher's Prep on Instagram