Glen Grove Elementary School

Age of Exploration

Columbus Navigation
http://www.columbusnavigation.com
Learn how Columbus tried to determine his latitude using celestial navigation on his first voyage across the Atlantic.

Discovery and Exploration
http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/discovery.html
For advanced reading levels. This site offers research tools with maps, travel literature, and atlases; links to bibliographies, journals, and biographies; as well as time lines and historic information.

Interactive World Explorers
http://www.mrnussbaum.com/explorersflash.htm
Select a nation to learn more about their explorers. No need to register.

Little Explorers Picture Dictionary
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/indexe.shtml
Very basic picture dictionary at a modest reading level which provides information about different explorers. Students may search for names alphabetically or click on predetermined categories such as "Americas" or "Early 1500s" to find information about specific explorers. Many of the entries include extra links.

Who Goes There: European Exploration of the New World
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002678F/welcome.htm
This ThinkQuest Junior activity was developed by 5th & 6th graders students. This could be used as a resource - includes and overview of the various motives behind exploration, information about individual explorers categorized by country, and several activities (i.e. crossword puzzles, word searches) students can complete using their knowledge of explorers.

1492: An Onging Voyage
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/1492/intro.html
Explore the interaction between explorers and Native Americans in 1492. Use this site from the Library of Congress to discover what the New World was like before and immediately after Columbus's visit.

The European Voyages of Exploration
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya
This site focuses on 15th & 16th century Spain & Portugal, what motivated the explorations sponsored by these two nations and the consequences of exploration. You can see thru this tutorial how the geographical, political, and cultural patterns of the era were affected.

Explorers WANTED!! Webquest Activities
http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/KingsParkES/technology/t4t/explorers/index.htm
http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/KingsParkES/technology/webquests/explorers/index.htm
How adventurous are your students feeling? Are they sturdy enough to make an ocean crossing, map uncharted territories, and create their very own countries? Then you've come to the right place, as this unit on explorers and exploration offers an exciting webquest, student worksheets, and printable passports.

The Mariners' Museum
http://www.mariner.org//educationalad/ageofex
CURRICULUM guide - use lesson plans, vocabulary activities & links to other Web sites along with the museum's exhibit to learn about maritime discoveries from ancient times through the travels of Captain Cook.

Renaissance - Exploration & Trade
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/exploration.html
Renaissance sailors continued to use exploration tools developed during the Middle Ages. Learn what a trader's life was like. Click on Become a Spice Trader, and make decisions that may affect your profit.

Compiled by Mary Lou Baldwin
Technology Facilitator
checked 12/07