5.3 - European Exploration and Effects

Fifth Grade - Fifth Social Studies - 5.3 - European Exploration and Effects

From EngageNY

Various European powers explored and eventually colonized the Western Hemisphere. This had a profound impact on Native Americans and led to the transatlantic slave trade.

5.3a Europeans traveled to the Americas in search of new trade routes, including a northwest passage, and resources. They hoped to gain wealth, power, and glory.

• Students will investigate explorers from different European countries and map the areas of the Western Hemisphere where they explored including Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Pedro Cabral, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
• Students will map the key areas of the Western Hemisphere colonized by the English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, and Spanish comparing the location, relative size, and key resources of these regions.

5.3b Europeans encountered and interacted with Native Americans in a variety of ways.

• Students will examine how Native Americans viewed the newcomers.
• Students will examine the European interactions with Native Americans using these examples:

                    • Conquests by Cortez and Pizarro and the resulting demographic change
                    • French in Canada and the fur trade

5.3c The transatlantic trade of goods, movement of people, and spread of ideas and diseases resulted in cultural diffusion. This cultural diffusion became known as the Columbian Exchange and reshaped the lives and beliefs of people.

• Students will map the movements of people, plants, animals, and disease between Europe, the Americas, and Africa.

5.3d Africans were captured, brought to the Americas, and sold as slaves. Their transport across the Atlantic was known as the Middle Passage.

• Students will investigate why sugar was brought to the Americas, noting where it was grown and why, and the role of supply and demand.
• Students will examine the conditions experienced by enslaved Africans during the Middle Passage.