Grade 7 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 14, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Across the Centuries

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 14, Lesson 2: Adventure and Profit (pp. 371-376)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Technology Prince Henry the Navigator's fascination for exploration opened the way for scholars from Islamic Spain and the Middle East to share their geographic knowledge with Europeans, and for Portugal to establish colonies on the West African coast.

Have students look at the picture of the caravel on page 373. Explain what earlier European seacraft had been like--designed to hug the coasts, unable to sail into the wind, and so on. How might safer, swifter ships encourage trade and exploration? How might increased interest in trade and exploration contribute to a new interest in learning and to the spread of culture to Europe from Islamic Spain and the Middle East?

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 imagine a visit to Henry the Navigator's center for navigation and exploration. Ask them to write a letter home, describing some of the people they have met and what they have learned about geography, shipbuilding, mapmaking, and navigational equipment.
Ask students to think of some realm of the earth or solar system that people do not know well. Then have them design and illustrate the new technology that will allow people to study the unknown region.

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