Georgia SS3H2.b
The Standard
Describe the accomplishments of: John Cabot (England), Vasco Núñez de Balboa (Spain), Hernando de Soto (Spain), Christopher Columbus (Spain), Henry Hudson (The Netherlands), and Jacques Cartier (France).
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Social Studies · Describe European exploration in North America.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students match six European explorers to the countries that sponsored their voyages. They describe each explorer’s route, land claim, or major result using maps and key facts.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can explain that Balboa reached the Pacific, de Soto crossed the Mississippi, and Hudson explored the Hudson River. They also connect Cabot with England, Columbus with Spain, Cartier with France, and each explorer with the correct region.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may confuse an explorer’s birthplace with the country that sponsored the voyage. They may also say explorers discovered empty lands, even though Indigenous peoples already lived throughout the Americas.
How to Assess It
- Give students six explorer cards. Have them match each explorer to a sponsoring country and write one accurate accomplishment for each.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Place yarn routes on a large map, then add explorer, country, and accomplishment labels to each route.
Write a comparison of two explorers, including their sponsoring countries, routes, and one way their voyages differed.
Play a three-card matching game using explorer names, sponsoring countries, and accomplishment clues.
Use a current map to locate the Hudson River, Mississippi River, Pacific Ocean, and St. Lawrence River, then connect each to an explorer.
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Printable SS3H2.b Worksheet
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Related Standards
- SS8H1.b
Explain reasons for European exploration and settlement of North America, with emphasis on the interests of the Spanish and British in the Southeastern area.
- SS8H1.c
Evaluate the impact of Spanish contact on American Indians, including the explorations of Hernando DeSoto and the establishment of Spanish missions along the ba...
- SS3H2
Describe European exploration in North America.
- SS3H2.c
Describe examples of cooperation and conflict between European explorers and American Indians.
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