Grade 7 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 14, Lesson 3

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Across the Centuries

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 14, Lesson 3: Exploring the Americas (pp. 377-381)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Change Columbus's arrival in North America ushered in a new era of European travel and colonization, changing the lives of native peoples and shifting economic power in Europe.

Write the following headings on the board: Spanish, English, French, Native Americans. Ask students to brainstorm and then list how each of these groups might view the arrival of Europeans in the Americas in 1492, by the mid-1500s, and by the mid-1600s. Help students see that people's perceptions of the European "discovery" of the Americas changed over time.

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

Ask students to imagine that they are among the arrivals during the early years of colonization. They have come from England, France, or Holland in the late 1500s. Have them choose an occupation (fur trapping, farming, etc.) and a destination (Atlantic seaboard, Canada), then write a series of journal entries in which they record their first impressions of their new life. Entries should include details about the landscape, food, and native people as well as how the reality of their situation fits with the expectations they had before they left Europe.
Divide students into two groups in order to debate the following question: Columbus's arrival in the Americas should/should not be seen as a cause for celebration. Students should consider the points of view of both Europeans and Native Americans as they prepare their arguments.

Social Studies Center | Houghton Mifflin Social Studies | Grade 7 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.