Christopher Columbus: Hero or Villain

Click on the link to learn about Christopher Columbus and play the game Rags to Riches

First:  read the information about Columbus

Second: play the rags to riches game- If you win a million dollars, show me!  If not, play until you win.

Third: play the Christopher Columbus Game.  Once you have played the game and have taken the quiz at the end, print your certificate with your name on it.  Give it to me.

Watch Columbus videos    Create a T-Chart with hero in one column and villain in the other.  As you watch, take notes.  After watching the videos, continue researching online.  

Next, write an essay that is at least 5 paragraphs long, to answer the question:   "Was Columbus a hero, or a villain?" 

Remember, when you make a statement about Columbus, you must back it up with facts and details. Not only that, but when you write facts and details- you must prove that it really happened!  In other words, find primary sources that support your claims.  These can easily be found by searching for journals of Columbus, letters from Columbus, letters about Columbus, etc.  Use quotations from the sources you find in your essay.  Keep in mind, when you include a quote to prove your point, you must explain to the reader how it relates to your argument.  

A little help:  use the outline to help you write the essay, it will help keep you on track!

     

Age of Exploration- Vocabulary

Just in case you missed class (there are a few of you), I have listed the vocabulary words students received in class today.  If you do not have a textbook, feel free to look them up on the internet and write down the information on lined notebook paper.  It is due on Tuesday of next week.

The Age of Exploration- Vocabulary (pages 32-49 in textbook)

1. Commercial Revolution:

2. capital:

3. joint-stock companies:

4. Renaissance:

5. astrolabe:

6. monopoly:

7. Prince Henry:

8. caravel:

9. Bartolomeu Dias:

10. Christopher Columbus:

11. Ferdinand and Isabella:

12. viceroy:

13. Line of Demarcation:

14. Treaty of Tordesillas:

15. Vasco da Gama

16. Pedro Alvars Cabral:

17. John Cabot:

18. Amerigo Vespucci:

19. Vasco Nunez de Balboa:

20. Ferdinand Magellan:

The Big Essay

Now that we have researched Pre-Columbian Native Americans, we are ready to answer the question "Were Pre-Columbian Native Americans worthy of respect?".
Keep in mind, we are not trying to judge a civilization based on our values, but rather decide whether or not that civilization had culture.  When historians and archaeologists study a civilization, they look at the culture to better understand its people.  For our purposes, we have divided culture into three parts:  Economic, Social, and Political.

Your job is to prove that Pre-Columbian Native Americans did have economic, social, and political cultures.  Use the notes you wrote on the graphic organizer, and if necessary use the textbook.

Steps in this process:
1.  complete the graphic organizer
2.  complete the outline
3.  write a rough draft
4.  have rough draft peer edited
5.  type a finished essay
6..  score the finished essay on the scoring guide

Turn-in:  graphic organizer, outline, rough draft, the finished essay, and the scoring guide stapled together by the beginning of class, Wednesday, September 17th.

Geography Whiz!

Click on the following links (in order) to play geography games that help you learn the physical features of the United States:

1.  Geographic Regions of the U.S.  (tutorial)

2.  Geographic Regions (game)

3.  Lakes (tutorial)

4.  Lakes (game)

5.  Rivers (tutorial)

6.  Rivers (game)

7.  Oceanography (tutorial)

8.  Oceanography (game)