Social Studies - United States History I
Lesson Plans

U.S. I Strand 1: THREE WORLDS MEET

(Prehistory-Ca. 1650)

Europe's exploration of America had a profound impact on the world. For thousands of years, complex and sophisticated American Indian civilizations had flourished in the Americas, separated from other parts of the world by vast bodies of water. After Columbus' arrival, the lands of the Western Hemisphere were forever connected to the rest of the world. The international slave trade forced millions of Africans to the Americas, bringing these "three worlds" together in unprecedented ways. Patterns of trade, exploration, conquest, and settlement have ramifications that continue to the present day.

Possible Guiding Questions to Consider:

• How do historians and archeologists construct interpretations from artifacts, oral histories, legends, primary sources, and other evidence?
• What were the motives that led to European exploration?
• What were the effects of European exploration, especially on the indigenous populations encountered?
• How has physical geography affected cultures historically? How does it affect cultures today?
• How is your own cultural history woven into the history of America?

U.S. I Standard 1.3:

Students will draw from multiple perspectives and cite evidence to explain the effects of European exploration, specifically on Africa, the Caribbean, and North and South America.

• Colonial Encounters: George Washington and Native Americans
  Students will be able to analyze various primary sources, identify key elements of those sources, and make a reasonable claim based on their analysis of the sources. Students will be able to create an evidence-based argument, based on primary sources that interpret George Washington?s views of Native American tribes and the land they occupied.
• Columbian Exchange
  This lesson is one that is used as part of the "Three Worlds Meet" Unit for 8th grade U.S. History.  Other parts of this unit include reasons for European Exploration and Consequences of European Exploration.The lesson plan includes lecture notes on the Columbian Exchange.  There are links to the guided notes and Google Slides Presentation.  For a more in depth lesson, the teacher can also use some video clips that have been linked here. The assessment of this lesson is an activity where students will analyze a favorite recipe based on their knowledge of the Columbian Exchange. ImageColumbian Exchange Lesson © 2024 by Cindy Whitaker is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
• What's In a Name?
  Structured as game questions, this activity challenges students to identify cities, states and geographical features whose names tell the story of the Indigenous, Spanish and Mexican settlement that predated the U.S. The investigative questions can be used alone as a geography trivia game, as a matching activity, or in conjunction with analysis of historical maps.

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Robert  Austin and see the Social Studies website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

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