Grade 5 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 5, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
America Will Be

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 5, Lesson 2: Portuguese and Spanish Exploration (pp. 109-115)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Change Portuguese explorers opened trade routes with Asia and Spanish explorers encountered and conquered civilizations in the Americas.

List the names of the explorers discussed in this lesson and have students take note of where they sailed on their trips as they read. Then ask them why each explorer wanted to make each journey and whether or not it was successful. You might also want to help volunteers trace the explorers' routes on a world map.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Have students choose one explorer to study. Then assemble a group of volunteers into a panel of explorers (one student for each explorer) and have their classmates ask them questions about where they explored, what their experiences were like, and what their reasons for going were.
Draw the outline of a world map. Have students attach pieces of yarn from Spain and Portugal to the Americas to show the routes of Columbus, Cortés, da Gama, and Dias. Then have them choose one explorer and draw a picture of his experience after landing. Attach pictures to the map.

Social Studies Center | Houghton Mifflin Social Studies | Grade 5 Home
Education Place | Site Index

You may download, print, and make copies of Lesson at a Glance pages for use in your classroom, provided that you include the copyright notice shown below on all such copies.