Text Set

By: Lauren Blackburn

Hailey Simmons
Rebecca Wood

Standard
3.3 - The student will study the exploration of the
Americas by a) describing the accomplishments of
Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Len, Jacques
Cartier, and Christopher Newport

Essential Questions
Who were some of the important European Explorers
from Spain, England and France?
What were the different motivations of the early
European explorers?
What were the successes of these early European
explorers?

Essential Knowledge
Terms to know
-explorer: A person who travels seeking new discoveries
-European: A person from one of the countries in Europe

-Deadly diseases were introduced.

-Exploration later led to settlement.
-The settlements led to relocation of the American
Indians from their homeland.

Text Set Read Alouds

Yolen, J. (1996). Encounter. Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt--This book tells the story of the Native
Americans first encounters with Christopher
Columbus through the eyes of a young boy who
warns his people that the explorers werent
there to become friends, but to discover the
treasures of the land. It then flashes forward to
when the boy is a man and tells how the settlers
changed the culture of the Native American
people.

Text Set Read Alouds

Boyd, B. (2004). Jamestown Journey.
Williamsburg, VA: The Daily Press, Inc.--- This
would be a great read aloud to engage the
students by introducing them to a new
format of lecture through the comic book
style of Chesters Comix. The read aloud
could focus on the chapter related to
Christopher Newport, but the students
could later explore the other information
independently or during a unit on
Jamestown. The comic book style will be a
great way of engaging the students who are
not interested in reading.

Text Set Read Alouds

Readers Theatre:

After learning about the explorers,

the class will participate in a Readers
Theatre of Christopher Columbus
journey. The Readers Theatre tells
why Columbus wanted to travel to the
Indies and how he was able to get the
funds to travel. It also provides
specific details of the voyage such as
the names of the ships Columbus was
given, and the specific goods he found
in the Americas.

Read aloud source adapted

from: DeRubertis, B. (1992) Holidays
and heroes: Columbus day. Kane Press.

Text Set Small Group Readings

Marzollo, J. (1948). In 1492. Scholastic Inc.
-- The book contains basic information
about Christopher Columbus that extends
upon the basic rhyme In 1492, in
Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean
blue. The funny pictures and easy to
remember rhymes will engage students
who are not on grade level, and help
them remember the information as well
as develop fluency. Additionally, by
combining information about Columbus
with the easy to process rhymes, students
will be exposed to and hopefully intrigued
by poems as a genre.

Text Set Small Group Readings

Solomon, S. (2013). Christopher Newport:
Jamestown explorer. Penguin Publishers.-This non-fiction picture book about
Christopher Newport contains a good
amount of factual information to help
explain Newports motivations and
successes as a leader of the Jamestown
colony. However, it will still be engaging
for students within the small group setting
since it documents Newports adventures
with shipwrecks, pirates etc.

Text Set Small Group Readings

Eagen, R. (2005). Ponce de Leon: Exploring
Florida and Puerto Rico. Crabtree Publishing
Company.-- This book describes who Juan
Ponce de Leon was and why he was given
the opportunity to explore the Americas in
honor of his country. The book describes
what Leon discovered and his journey
settling in America. The book includes great
pictures, and we would recommend this for
a group that is reading above grade level.

Text Set Independent Reading

Clements, G. (2004). The picture history of
great explorers. London: Frances Lincoln
Childrens Books.-- Although this childrens
version of a reference book has a large
amount of information on a variety of
explorers and detailed pictures, there is a lot
of text on the page which may be
overwhelming for students. This book also
gives an opportunity to practice using an
index, table of contents, and glossary and
other features of a reference book. This
book would be a great option for students
who are above grade level to explore
independently.

Text Set Independent Reading

Taylor-Butler, C. (2008). Explorers of North
America. Childrens Press.--This book is
recommended for third grade reading level. It
has a lot of different chapters that have
information about the early settlers, but also
those that followed them in discovering
North America. The student would be able to
use their skill and knowledge about an index
and table of contents to find the chapter that
pertains to the settlers we are studying. The
language of the book is easy to read and
understand. There are lots of great pictures
that will grab the readers attention and
make this book more engaging.

Text Set- Independent Reading

Herr, M. (2008). Exploring the new world:

An interactive history adventure.
Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. -- This
book is centered around Columbuss
travels to the Americas from both
European and Indian points of view
depending on which paths the reader
chooses. The choose your own
adventure will excite even the resistant
reader to get involved and re-read taking
a different path each time.

Levels of Difficulty
Read Aloud- Chester the Crab Comic Above Grade Level;
Encounter On Grade Level
Small Group- In 1492 Below Grade Level; Christopher
Newport: Jamestown Explorer On Grade Level; Ponce de
Leon Above Grade Level
Independent- The Picture History of Great Explorers Above
Grade Level; Explorers of North America-- On Grade Level;
Exploring the New World Above Grade Level
Readers Theatre- On Grade Level

Displaying the Information

As a whole class, we will create a
poster marking the explorers journeys
Including starting points/end points
Students will add notes on the map of
interesting or important facts theyve
learned
Teacher will help guide towards
including SOL objectives- what
motivated the explorers and their
successes