Alabama Social Studies SS24.6.2a
The Standard
- SS24.6.2
- Compare and contrast the reasons for British, French, and Spanish colonization in North America as well as why individuals migrated to the colonies, including mercantilism, religious persecution, poverty, oppression, and new opportunities.
Summarize how the Crusades, Reformation, and Renaissance influenced European exploration and describe how individuals contributed to these movements.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how the Crusades increased European interest in Asian goods, how Renaissance mapmaking supported voyages, and how the Reformation shaped later settlement. They name a person in each movement and explain what that person did.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can make a cause-and-effect chart with one clear link from each movement to exploration or settlement. They can explain that Pope Urban II called for a Crusade, Fra Mauro drew a world map, and Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may say the Reformation caused Columbus's 1492 voyage, though it began later. They may think the Crusades were voyages to North America rather than campaigns that increased contact and trade between Europe and Asia.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to write three cause-and-effect statements, one for each movement, and name one person and action connected to each.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a blank map and cards labeled Asian trade, sea voyages, and religious settlements; have them mark where each took place.
Ask, "Columbus sailed in 1492. Could Martin Luther's 1517 protest have caused his voyage? What changed afterward?"
Run a card match: pair Urban II, Fra Mauro, and Martin Luther with "called a Crusade," "drew a world map," and "challenged the church."
Bring a jar of pepper; have students compare a modern shipping route from India with a sea route Europeans sought for spices.
Free download
Printable SS24.6.2a Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SS24.6.2a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- SS24.8.8a
Explain the political and cultural consequences of the Crusades, the Reconquista, the Spanish Inquisition, and the establishment of the Ottoman Empire.
- SS24.8.10
Analyze the factors that contributed to the Reformation and explain how it affected the religious and political unity of Europe.
- SS24.8.8
Analyze the social, political, and economic changes leading up to the Renaissance and Reformation in later medieval Europe and surrounding regions.
- SS24.8.11a
Summarize how expanding knowledge of geographical features and the development of navigational technology contributed to global exploration by Europeans.
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson