Name _______________________ Class____ Date ________

Age of Exploration Project

Part 1: You will draw a Caravel ship on a full-size Poster board (same size as the Geography project
poster board)
*Must be freehand, NO PRINTS on posterboard. Step by step instructions on how to freehand a
Caravel can be found on the web at the following address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw50rCTtj9E
How to draw a Caravel ship
Part 2: For your Age of Exploration project you will choose one of the eight European Explorers listed
below to captain your ship:
Please place a checkmark beside your chosen explorer:
1. Vasco de Gama
3. Ferdinand Magellan

______
______

2. Bartolomeu Dias
4. Hernan Cortes

5. Christopher Columbus ______

6. Hernando De Soto

7. John Cabot

8. Sir Francis Drake

______

______
______
______
______

You will be required to list the following information on your project:

1. Name of your ship.
2. Your captains name (from the list above)
3. Birth date and death date of your captain.
4. What flag (country) your captain is sailing under.
5. What your captain is searching for (the New World, a sea route to Asia, spices, gold, fame, etc.)
6. Where they landed (what country or area).
7. What they actually found or discovered once ashore.
8. Did the captain, crew, and ship make it back to their home port?
9. What cargo did they unload at their home port?
10. Draw, then attach (tape or glue) the provided map onto your poster board showing the route your
ship travelled.
BUT, thats just the beginning!

Society at Sea
Ships operated as mini societies. And like the societies that shipmates left behind on land, workers
were in different social classes that contributed different skills for daily life. Even though captains
held the most power, everyone depended on one another for survival on these dangerous voyages. And
if one thing was certain, it was the uncertainty of survival. Learn about the various roles on a ship,
from leg-shaving apprentices to tooth-pulling barbers!
Part 3: You will have a crew of TEN (plus yourself of course).

For this project you will:

* Draw, Label, and Define your crew members by title: (1. Page; 2. Apprentice; 3. Sailor; 4. Gunner;
5. Carpenter; 6. Caulker; 7. Cooper; 8. Diver; 9. The Barber; 10. Officer; 11. The Captain) and give
each of them names. *You can be the captain OR you can be one of the crew, but you must list and
define all crew members and explain what their job is.*
To assist you in your crew roles and definitions, I have provided you with some of the following crew
information.
1. Page. Pages were often orphans, aged 8 to 15. They cleaned everything on the ship, and they had to work
the pumps to keep the boats afloat. Pumping water was so tiring that some people died trying to keep the
water out.
2. Apprentice. Apprentices were a little bit older than pages, and apprentices had more responsibilities.
They were the ones who operated the sails. But they also had to shave the legs and polish the toenails of
their masters. Gross!
3. Sailor. If the apprentice polished those toenails to perfection (and did everything else required), he
became a professional sailor. An expert in all areas of the ship, the sailor would do everything from running
ropes to navigation. Sailors could expect to hold this position till they were 40, or until they died . . . which
often came much sooner than age 40. Above the sailor were the skilled men, such as
4. gunners,
5. carpenters,
6. caulker, 7
. cooper and 8. divers. Their job titles speak for themselves. You must look up the definitions of these
positions on your own.
9. The Barber. At first glance, taking along a guy just to give haircuts seems like a waste of resources on
the ship. But the barber did much more than cutting hair. The barber was also the doctor, dentist and
surgeon. Can you imagine getting your tooth pulled at the hair salon?
10. The Officers. They got their toenails polished. They also guarded the goods on the ship, plotted the
course, and generally made sure everything was in order.
And finally, the 11.Captain. The captain was in charge of the entire operation and signed off on every
decision.

Research organizer #2
You will be required to list the following information on your poster board
* You will Draw, Label, and Define your crew members by title & name
Additional definitions of crew and duties performed not listed above (you must research these
on your own)
1. gunners-

2. carpenters-

3. caulkers-

4. coopers-

5. divers-

Research organizer #1
You will be required to list the following information on your poster board
(Try www.yahoo.com or www.Google.com for info on your explorer)
Your chosen explorer (Captain) is: ___________________________________________
1. Your ships name:
_________________________________________
2. Birth date and death date of your captain. Born __________ Died ________

3. What flag (country) your captain is sailing under.

4. What your captain is searching for (new land, sea route to Asia, spices, gold, fame, etc.)

5. Where they landed (what country or area).

5. What they actually found or discovered once ashore.

6. Did the captain, crew, and ship make it back to their home port?

7. What cargo did they unload at their home port?

8. Draw, (or print and attach with tape or glue) a small map onto your poster board showing the route
your ship travelled to, and back (if they did not make it back mark with an X where they sank or were
lost or died).
**You will be graded on completion of all parts of the project, and be required to present your project to
the class.** GOOD LUCK!