Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas: Unit for Grades 1–4
Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas: Unit for Grades 1–4
For Grade 1–4 classes studying ocean voyages and early explorers, this unit gives you lessons ready to teach with balance built in. It contains an overview and three sub-units, each with a step-by-step lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with reading passage and word bank, a project or source activity, an answer key and slides, so the story includes the people already living in the Americas.
View the Explorers unit →Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas Unit is a $24.99 digital history unit for Grades 1–4. It includes an overview and three ready-to-teach sub-units. Every sub-unit has a step-by-step lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with a detailed reading passage and word bank, a project or primary-source activity, a complete answer key and slides. The topic is framed factually and respectfully, and the files are available immediately after purchase.
The resources
Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas Unit, Grades 1–4
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Ancient China: Great Wall, Silk & Inventions Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Old Trades & Crafts: from Smith to Baker Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Vikings: Life, Ships & Journeys Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
The real problem
Two sides of every arrival
Children love ships. Tall masts, months at sea, maps with blank edges and sailors who did not know what lay ahead are a strong hook for seven-year-olds. The challenge is what comes after the landing. Older textbooks told the voyage as a simple adventure story, as if the Americas were empty, and that version is still everywhere in picture books and holiday crafts. Today most teachers want children to understand two things at once: that crossing the ocean in a wooden ship was a remarkable and dangerous undertaking, and that millions of people already lived on the land those ships reached, and their lives changed sharply afterward. Explaining that to young students without either glossing over it or overwhelming them takes careful wording. Teachers also have practical problems. Map skills vary widely in a Grade 1–4 room, some children cannot yet read a compass rose, and the vocabulary of navigation is new to most of them. You need lessons that keep the excitement of the voyage, stay accurate, and give every reader in the room something they can do on their own.
Why it fits
How the unit keeps it accurate and exciting
The unit gives structure to a topic where wording matters. These are the pieces you will lean on.
- Reading passages present the voyages factually, so you are not rewriting older one-sided stories yourself.
- Word banks prepare children for sailing and map words before they meet them in the passage.
- Differentiated worksheets let early readers and confident readers follow the same voyage at their level.
- A project or primary-source activity in each sub-unit gives children something concrete to examine or make.
- Slides keep a class of young listeners looking at maps and ships together during instruction.
- Answer keys make checking quick, so you have more time for discussion about both sides of the story.
Getting started
Setting sail with your class
A suggested route through the unit. Adjust it freely to your timetable and your students.
- Start with a map and a questionShow the overview and a simple world map. Ask the class how people crossed oceans before engines, and who they think was living on the other side. Keep both answers on the board for the whole unit.
- Work through sub-unit oneTeach from the slides with the lesson plan in hand. Read the passage together and make sure the word bank terms are clear before students start their worksheet version.
- Keep the second perspective visibleIn each lesson, return to the people already living in the Americas. A short question at the end of every session keeps the story balanced without a separate lecture.
- Use the activities for hands-on workGive real time to the project or primary-source activity in each sub-unit. Young students understand a voyage far better after working with something they can hold, read or build.
- Close with a retellingAsk students to retell one voyage in their own words, including what happened when the ships arrived. Older children can write it, younger ones can draw and label. Check against the answer keys.
What to buy
This unit alone, or a voyage-themed set
At $24.99 the Explorers unit covers one complete topic with three sub-units. If you like the theme of travel and ships, the Vikings unit (life, ships and journeys) adds an earlier set of seafarers at the same $24.99 price. Ancient China (Great Wall, silk and inventions) shows a very different world that traders and explorers wanted to reach, also $24.99. Old Trades & Crafts can round out a study of how ships and goods were made. Note that TEACHMORE15 applies only to Complete Curriculum packages and not to these units.
Honest limits
What you still bring
The unit covers one topic, so it does not replace a full social studies program. Globes, wall maps, picture books and craft materials are yours to provide. Because explorer history is taught differently from place to place, compare the content with your own state, district or homeschool requirements before you plan. If teammates want to use it, send Teach Lessons a short message first. If it does not fit your class, you can exchange it for store credit of equal value within 7 days; it is not a cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is the unit aligned to my state's standards?
No alignment, approval or endorsement is claimed for any state, district or framework. The unit is written for Grades 1–4. Since requirements vary, review the lesson plans and passages after download and compare them with your own standards or homeschool requirements before you schedule the unit.
Does the unit treat the Americas as empty land?
No. The topic is framed factually and respectfully, which means the people already living in the Americas are part of the story. Read the passages before class so you know the exact wording, and add your own discussion questions where your students need more. That way the voyage and its effects on Native peoples are taught side by side.
My second graders cannot read maps yet. Will that be a problem?
Use the slides to show maps together and talk through them as a class. The differentiated worksheets and word banks help newer readers with the vocabulary. You may want a short map warm-up of your own before the first sub-unit. Those first map lessons will help later units too.
Can I teach this in October?
Yes. Many classes cover explorers in the fall. The unit has no fixed dates, so you can place it wherever it fits. Some teachers prefer to teach it next to a study of the First Peoples so children hear both perspectives close together. Just keep the lessons balanced wherever they sit.
What file types and resources are included?
You receive an overview and three sub-units. Each contains a step-by-step lesson plan, a differentiated worksheet with a detailed reading passage and word bank, a project or primary-source activity, a complete answer key and slides. Everything is a digital download available right after purchase. Print the worksheets and project the slides from the same download.
Can our whole grade level use one copy?
The license is for your own teaching. Team or school use is possible after a short message to Teach Lessons, so ask before sharing. You may not redistribute, resell or post the files publicly. A short message before sharing is all it takes to ask, and Teach Lessons will tell you what is possible for your grade-level team.
Bring the voyages into your classroom
See exactly what is in the unit on its product page. The download is ready the moment you check out.
View the Explorers unit →