Clash of Cultures Activity
OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to compare and contrast how Europeans living in the 16th century saw the world geographically with how modern day elementary students see the world today.
AGE
3rd-5th grade
ENHANCES
SS.A.6.2.4, SS.A.6.2.2, SS.B.1.2.1, SS.B.1.2.4, SS.B.1.2.5
TIME AND PLACE
Classroom pre-visit activity, 15 minutes
WORKSHEET
16th Century Map pdf (56k)
This file must be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download this program (free), click here.
BACKGROUND
Advances in navigation made it possible for Europeans to cross the open ocean and colonize their New World. Navigators no longer needed to stay within sight of land. Now they could plot their courses by the sun and stars. An armillary sphere (displayed in our visitor center) used by navigators helped to visualize the motion of celestial bodies. The astrolabe (also on display), a forerunner of the sextant, helped determine a ship's position noth or south of the equator. At the time of Columbus, Europeans knew little of the lands outside their borders. Only Europe, Africa and Asia appear in the world map from the late 1400s. Unaware that a new hemisphere lay over the western horizon, Europeans imagined that the fringes of the known world were populated by strange people and fanciful beasts.
EVALUATION
- Oceans and continents missing include: Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, North America, South America (the continent on the lower left could be Australia, though the student may think it is South America and Australia is missing), Antartica.
- We are looking for an answer that revolves around wind or currents.
