Topic: In the era of great geographical discoveries

Author of the script: Marcin Dyś

Target group:

5th grade student of elementary school.

Core curriculum

VIII. Great geographical discoveries. Student:

1) explains the reasons and assesses the impact of geographical discoveries on the socio‑economic and cultural life of Europe and the New World;

2) localizes the expeditions of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan in time and space and localizes the colonial possessions of Portugal and Spain.

The general aim of education

Students will learn about the great geographical discoveries and their impact on the history of Europe.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• learning to learn;

• social and civic competences.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• analyses the causes of geographical discoveries;

• explains what was the common knowledge about the world amongst medieval Europeans;

• describes the figures of the greatest explorers – Christopher Columbus, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and their discoveries;

• characterises the most important inventions of the epoch that made traveling easier;

• shows on the map the lands discovered in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Methods/techniques

• exposing methods: explanations and comments from the teacher;

• programmed methods: using e‑textbook; using multimedia;

• problematic methods: activating methods: discussion;

• practical methods: exercises concerned, working with text;

Forms of work

• collective activity;

• activity in groups;

• individual activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/ felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• multimedia material.

Before classes

The teacher asks the students to recall what trade looked like in the Middle Ages and what was the common knowledge about the world amongst Europeans at that time.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher gives the students the subject, explains the students the lesson objective and the criteria for success.

2. Referring to the homework, the teacher asks the students: How and where did people travel in medieval Europe? Where did pepper, vanilla, silk, cinnamon and cloves come from to Europe? Were they cheap or expensive products and what affected their price?

Realization

1. The teacher asks the students to fulfil Task 1 and Exercise 1. In addition to the information that students should gain from the texts, the teacher tells more about the reasons for geographical discoveries: the change of worldview, the hunger for adventure, the lack of sufficient amount of precious metals and new inventions. When fulfilling instructions, the students should be able to get help from the teacher.

2. The teacher presents the students with inventions that made ocean travel not only easier, but also possible. The teacher tells about new types of vessels – caravel and carrack, about inventing or discovering and improving navigation devices, i.e.: compass, astrolabe, quadrant, chip log. Students look at the gallery in Task 2. When discussing each of them, their images should appear on the board/screen. The students do Exercise 2, completing the descriptions of parts of the ship “Santa Maria”.

3. The teacher asks the students if they have ever heard about the great explorers thanks to whom the geographical discoveries were made. Students should mention, among others, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan. The teacher presents their profiles as true pioneers who took great risks, guided by their knowledge, intuition and willingness to gain fame. The teacher points out that they would not have been able to organise such trips themselves had it not been for the funding and support of the rulers under whose banner they sailed. It was they who entrusted the travellers with their vessels and crew as well as financed their expeditions. Basing on the map (Exercise 3) and an excerpt from the text (Exercise 4), the students describe the Columbus’ expedition. Students can work in pairs. The teacher's help and feedback are recommended.

4. The teacher asks that the students, in pairs (or groups), play the role of one of
   the explorers and write down arguments they would use to persuade the ruler to finance their expedition.

Summary

1. The teacher summarizes the topic. The teacher tells that Christopher Columbus is the most famous of the great explorers, and that his journey in 1492 was considered a breakthrough and the beginning of a new era – the modern era. However, he did not manage to find the way to India, it was made by someone else – the Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama. An equally epoch‑making discovery was made between 1519 and 1522 by the Spanish Ferdinand Magellan, whose expedition finally confirmed the spherical nature of the earth. Basing on the map, the students do Exercise 5 and Exercise 6. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and assessment of the teacher's work and other students.

3. The teacher asks the students to do Exercise 7 and Exercise 8 as a homework.

Summary of the most important contents of the lesson

1. Learning about the reasons for the great geographical discoveries.

2. Learning about the most important inventions of the era of geographical discoveries.

3. Learning about the most important travellers and their discoveries.

4. An indication of the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 as a breakthrough event in the history of mankind.

5. Reflection on the breakthrough significance of geographical expeditions for the awareness and perception of the world by the people of those times.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Great geographical discoveries

New technologies which enabled deep‑sea travel were discovered in the 15th century. Navigation devices were invented. More accurate maps were developed. New types of vessels were built (e.g. three‑mast caravels and carracks).

The desire for profit is at the root of the great geographical discoveries. The Spanish and Portugese rulers tried to find a seaway to India in order to pass over the land route leading through the lands controlled by Muslim Turks. For this purpose, in 1492 an expedition set off under the command of Christopher Columbus. He reached the coast of a new continent, later called America or the New World. Columbus was not aware of the importance of his discovery until the end of his life. He believed that he had actually arrived in India. That is why the indigenous inhabitants of the New World were called Indians. In the years 1519–1522, Ferdinand Magellan's expedition took place, proving the roundness of the globe.