Unit of Study: 2 Exploration & Discovery Lesson 2: Worlds Collide: The Old World Discovers the New World

Time: 90 min Big Ideas VSC Indicators: 3.10.12.2 - analyze the impact of European exploration and expansion on the peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas. 3.10.12.5 - assess the impact of the transmission of disease, the exchange of ideas, and the movement of plants and animals. Instructional Objectives: Students will examine the impact of European exploration on both the Americas and Europe Students will conduct a debate on whether the discovery of the Americas by Europeans was a net negative or net positive event in history Assessment Limits Covered: Impact of European Exploration on New World - specifically disease and encomienda A study of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations of Latin America would show that these civilizations developed advanced and complex societies before the arrival of the Europeans Essential Questions: How did European exploration impact the populations of the Americas and Europe? What factors enabled Europeans to conquer the Americas so effectively? Warm-up/Motivational Activity: Have students write down a meal that they have eaten this week. They should list every ingredient down to the base ingredient. For example, a hamburger would include the flour to make the bun, the seeds on the bun, the tomato, the meat, the seasoning on the meat etc. Have several students share their meals. As they share their meals, ask them if they know the geographic origin of each ingredient. Students could write these ingredients on note cards and tape them to a world map where they think these ingredients originated. Later in the lesson students will have the opportunity to change any ingredients that are incorrect. The purpose of this activity is for students to understand that all foods were not originally available to everyone. Specific foods grew in specific parts of the world and were only shared when different civilizations came in contact with each other. This will scaffold for the Guns Germs & Steel Episode 2 which deals explicitly with the sharing of plants and animals.

Mini Lesson (direct instruction): Main ideas: The world as we know it has been shaped by the European discovery of the Americas. The people that are here, the languages we speak, the foods we eat - all are a result of the collision of the two worlds. Background on Columbus. Columbus was sailing East to get to China and the East Indies. He estimated the world to be smaller than it was. Had he not discovered the Americas he and his crew would have died. When Columbus & later more Europeans discovered the New World, it was not new - they found advanced civilizations. (New World as example of Eurocentrism it is new to us, so it is new.) Europeans saw the natives as primitive and sought to use them as slaves to produce wealth for their mother countries back in Europe. Review concept of colony, mercantilism, and the favorable balance of trade that Europeans sought after by creating colonies. The major results of Exploration: Columbian Exchange - They shared food, technology, and germs. European Colonialism/Imperialism in the New World The Triangular Trade - Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade First we will discuss how these two worlds were impacted when they began to share food, animals, and germs. Then we will explore what factors gave Europeans such an advantage over the native populations in the Americas that led to European domination in the New World. Guided Practice: Students will watch Episode 2 of the National Geographic Special on Dr. Jared Diamonds Guns Germs & Steel. (approx. 48 min long) Distribute the Episode 2 Journal Assignment. Remind students that they will pay close attention to how each event would be viewed and experienced by their character. Independent Practice: While watching they will take notes on their Episode 2 Journal Assignment Worksheet. It might be useful to review Dr. Diamonds main ideas before watching. While viewing, it is recommended you find 2-3 places to stop and have a student summarize what they have seen/are seeing in the film. Encourage students to comment on/question what they are seeing. Following the viewing, present the following question to students: According to Dr. Diamond, what factors enabled them to so effectively conquer the native people of the Americas?

Allow several students to share their responses. Review/Assessment/Closing: Freewrite - How did mercantilism drive European exploration? Allow several students to share their answers. Homework: Students will finish writing their Guns Germs & Steel Journals. Equipment Needs: Projector, Textbooks, Guns Germs & Steel Episode 2, GG&S Viewing guide, Guns Germs & Steel Episode 2 Journal Assignment Resources Used: Glencoe MWH Textbook pgs. 192-201 PBS GG&S website w/ other resources: http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/educators/index.html