Learning about the Age of Exploration

Students in Ms. Lingle's sixth grade U.S. History I classes have been learning about the Age of Exploration recently. (SOL US.I4a) To reinforce what they've been learning, she found a board game that her classes played on Tuesday. In groups of five, each student took on the role of an explorer (Francisco Coronado, Robert de La Salle, Samuel de Champlain, King Henry the Navigator, and John Cabot) and facing the same types of challenges attempted to reach their destination first. Ms. Lingle said her students really enjoyed playing it and it gave them a much better sense of what these explorers faced as they set off to explore the New World.

A downloadable PDF of the board game can be found here. This nifty poster also provides some additional information on what it was like to be a sailor on board a ship during this time period.