European Exploration And Its Effects
Unit description: Various European powers explored and eventually colonized the Western Hemisphere. This had a profound effect on Native Americans and led to the transatlantic slave trade. In this unit students will study how Europeans traveled to the Americas in search of new trade routes, including a northwest passage. Students will also investigate the interaction between European explorers and Native Americans and how cultural diffusion eventually led to the Colombian Exchange reshaping the lives and beliefs of many people. In addition, students will study the slavery of Africans brought to the Americas during the Middle Passage.
Standards
Standards: 1, 2, 3, 4; Themes: MOV, TCC, GEO, ECO, EXCH
Essential Questions and Big Ideas
Big idea of the Unit: European Exploration had a profound effect on Native Americans and led to the transatlantic slave trade.
Why did Europeans travel to the Americas? What were they searching for?
- Europeans traveled to the Americas in search of new trade routes, including a northwest passage, and resources. They hoped to gain wealth, power, and glory.
Who were some of the most influential explorers of this time and what geographic areas did they explore?
- Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Pedro Cabral, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa were some of the most influential explorers of the Western Hemisphere.
How did the interactions between Europeans and Native Americans affect exploration?
- European interactions with Native Americans resulted in a number of changes, for example Conquests by Cortez and Pizarro resulted in demographic change and the French in Canada impacted the fur trade.
How did the Colombian Exchange affect people living in the Americas?
- Columbian Exchange which reshaped the lives and influenced the beliefs of people.
What is the Middle Passage and why is it so important to our history?
- Americas sold captured Africans as slaves. Their transport across the Atlantic was known as the Middle Passage.
- Slavery supplied the New World with its major workforce and brought enormous profits to international slave traders at the expense of human lives, causing a separation in America.
Download the complete Grade 5 Social Studies Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.