Early Explorers. Teacher Activity Packet. Grades South Columbus Blvd Philadelphia PA Group Sales:

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1 Early Explorers Teacher Activity Packet Grades South Columbus Blvd Philadelphia PA Group Sales:

2 To The Teacher: We are so excited that you scheduled a visit for your class to Independence Seaport Museum. To both prepare your students for their museum visit and as a wrap up after, we have created this packet for you to use in the classroom. We hope the activities included will complement your visit and inspire your students to want to learn more. We look forward to seeing you! The Education Department About the Lesson: Overview The activities in this packet are designed to encourage creative thinking and introduce students to the topics of early navigation and world exploration. The first activity asks students to locate and name continents on a map. The second activity introduces students to the tools early explorers used. The third activity is a writing activity that allows students to use their imaginations to create a journal. Objective Students will understand the motivations, dangers, rewards and hardships of being an early European explorer determined to see the new world. Directions Activity 1: Explore Geography Make a copy and distribute the Explore Geography map to each student. Instruct students to identify and label each continent. Ask students to chart their own course on the map as if they were leading an exploration of their own. Activity 2: Explorer Vocabulary Read over the vocabulary as a class or hand out a copy to each student. After the class is familiar with the vocabulary terms ask them to fill in the matching worksheet. Activity 3: Exploration Journal In this activity students imagine they are early explorers. Ask them to look at the pictures of landscapes and write a journal entry about what they see.

3 EARLY EXPLORERS INTRODUCTION Europe during the time of Columbus had a population of about 60 million people. Europeans at this time had little contact with outsiders. Growing, raising or making for themselves what they needed, most Europeans felt no need to venture beyond the safe and familiar boundaries of their isolated world. Those few who were ambitious enough to seek new experiences in strange places faced discouraging obstacles. Small, slow ships, snaking their way along the coast, took two months just to travel from one end of the Mediterranean Sea to the other. Travel over land, even more difficult and time-consuming, was limited for the most part to mule trains, trudging along the ruts and bumps of ancient Roman roads. THE MEN Europe was far from ready for the age of Exploration. Since the onset of the Black Death in 1346 the people of Europe had experienced wave after wave of deadly diseases, varied from time to time with famines and war. Death was constantly with them, from bodies along the roadside to the death of family members. Young or old, rich or poor, the people knew it did not matter, death struck everyone, and life was unsure and easily lost. This made for hard men with little regard for the feelings of others. In addition their society was desperately poor. This meant they had to compete not just to get ahead but also to stay alive. They soon learned success was temporary and fleeting, so they became gamblers eager to take a risk. So, what were the men who became explorers like? They were for the most part poor, accustomed to going hungry, cold or sick and knowing they had to keep working because there was no one to help them if they failed. They were gamblers, risk takers, and ruthless when it came to getting what they wanted. The odds were against them when they sailed into the unknown in the their frail wooden ships, guided by crude instruments, through uncharted seas. The challenges were great but so were the rewards: the search for gold and glory, the spirit fueled by missionary zeal, and a desire for knowledge. All they needed was a good ship and a star to steer her by. THE SHIPS The Portuguese were the first to realize the need for a new type of ship. Caravel Their first ships were slow and clumsy. They could sail no closer to the wind then 67 degrees and were difficult to turn once started. The Portuguese developed a new ship type, the caravel that answered these problems. The ship had center-mounted rudders; better sail plan and improved materials. The deck planks were sealed with oakum (shredded hemp) and companionways were reduced in size and number to help make the ship watertight. The hull was reinforced with the use of skids (large planks fixed to the side of the ships that function much like a bumper on a car).

4 Activity 1

5 Activity 2 Explorer Vocabulary Every early explorer needed to know how to get from one place to another. There were certain tools, dangers, and methods that every explorer needed to be familiar with in order to make the journey from home to the new world. Read over the following vocabulary words. ASTROLABE - (From the Greek "astrer" [star] and "labin" [to take].) An astronomical instrument used by ancient Greeks and others to measure the height above the horizon of celestial bodies. The Seaman's astrolabe was a simple device used for measuring the altitude of the sun or a star for fixing one's approximate latitude. It consists of a heavy brass ring fitted with an alidade or sighting rule pivoted at the center of the ring. Suspended vertically from a shackle at the top of the ring, the alidade was positioned to sight the sun or star and the angle was read off on-scale marks on the ring. COMPASS - An instrument whose magnetized metal needle aligns itself with the magnetic fields of the earth. This causes one end of the needle to point north. Mariners used this information to navigate the ship. The Chinese are said to have invented the first compass over 2000 years ago. CHART - A map displaying various graphic representations. Often these are maps of waterways. Early versions of these water charts were called portolans. LATITUDE - Imaginary lines running east to west on the surface of the earth. The latitude determines location north or south on the globe. LONGITUDE - Imaginary lines that run north to south on the surface of the earth. The prime meridian is 0 degrees. Each 15 degrees of longitude equals one hour of time. NAVIGATE - To direct or manage a ship on its course. NORTH STAR - A second magnitude star found at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper and almost at the north celestial pole. Also called the Pole Star or Polaris. SCURVY - A deficiency of vitamin C. Symptoms include nausea, weakness, loss of hair and teeth, and eventual death. It was caused by a lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet. More sailors died of this than any other cause. CROSS STAFF - Astronomers used the cross-staff for measuring the angle between the directions of two stars. Other, older instruments for this purpose existed, used by scholars such as Hipparchos and Ptolemy, but none was as portable, which made the cross-staff eminently suitable for navigation at sea. Ships' officers used it to measure the elevation angle of the noontime Sun above the horizon, which allowed them to estimate their latitude.

6 Match the word to the picture. CROSS STAFF LONGITUDE COMPASS LATITUDE ASTROLABE CHART (Portolan)

7 Activity 3 Exploration Journal Early explorers who traveled from Europe to North America encountered many new sights that were both exciting and sometimes scary. Look at the 4 different landscape scenes. Imagine that you are an explorer seeing the new world for the first time. Write a journal entry for each scene. Describe how you would feel if you were in the scene. How would you describe what you see to people back in Europe? What would you be doing in the scene? Remember to use as many descriptive words as possible!

8 SCENE 1

9 SCENE 1

10 SCENE 2

11 SCENE 2

12 SCENE 3

13 SCENE 3

14 SCENE 4

15 SCENE 4

16 Resources Books Explorer Rupert Matthews This is an exciting look at the hazardous and perilous world of exploration. Real-life photographs of famous explorers' equipment and personal possessions, as well as the objects they found offer a unique "eyewitness" view of the exploration of the world. New York, NY : Dorling Kindersley, The Early American Wilderness : As the Explorers Saw It Bill Lawrence A powerful recreation of a wilderness lost to the inexorable march of civilization, drawn largely from journals and letters kept by explorers from the Norsemen of the sagas to the Lewis and Clark expedition. New York : Paragon House, Map Mania : Discovering Where You are and Getting to Where you Aren't Michael A Dispezio Fun and informative activities, humorous geography quizzes make this a kid-friendly volume. Aspiring cartographers can chart the neighborhood, make a compass and create a 3-D map out of clay. New York : Sterling Pub., Latitude Hooks and Azimuth Rings : How to Build & Use 18 Traditional Navigational Tools Dennis Fisher These 18 projects fall roughly into three categories: decorative, useful, and somewhere in between. Each of the devices discussed here--with simple, proven building instructions complemented by clear illustrations--has at one time or another been used for the practical business of navigation, and each is worth reviving for its beauty, historic value, or sheer usefulness. Camden, Me. : International Marine, Learning About the Settlement of the Americas With Graphic Organizers Wirkner, Linda Three worlds meet -- The first Americans -- Columbus's voyage and Spanish exploration -- Early English, French, and Dutch exploration -- The early English colonies -- The slave trade -- Three worlds meet in New York -- Europeans and native Americans -- Slavery in the colonies -- The New Americas. New York : PowerKids Press, Ship David Macaulay Describes wooden ships or caravels of the fifteenth century and follows archaeologists as they uncover a lost caravel in the Caribbean Sea. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1993