Virginia SOL 2.6
The Standard
The student will use history and social science skills to identify the geographic location, use of resources, and contributions of European explorers, and their influence on the development of North America, including, but not limited to the English, French, and Spanish
Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students locate regions explored or settled by the English, French, and Spanish on a map of North America. They connect each group with resources, routes, settlements, trade, and lasting influences such as languages and place names.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can match each European group to a region and resources such as fish, furs, land, or gold. They can explain one way exploration changed North America, including effects on Native peoples.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think explorers found empty land rather than places where Native peoples already lived. They may mix up regions or assume every group explored for the same resources and created the same kinds of settlements.
How to Assess It
- Give students a blank North America map with three regions marked. Ask them to label English, French, and Spanish, then add one resource and one lasting influence for each.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Students color-code a map, place resource cards in each region, and trace English, French, and Spanish exploration routes with yarn.
Ask students to write: How did European exploration change North America for settlers and for Native peoples?
Play a card sort where students match each European group with region, resource, route, settlement, and influence cards.
Examine North American place names such as Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia, then connect each name to Spanish, French, or English influence.
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Printable 2.6 Worksheet
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