Unit overview of the Age of Exploration

1. The quest for the Holy Land during the Crusades drove individuals and ideas out of the Middle
East and into the Mediterranean and Western Europe. That migration helped spark the
Renaissance, a rebirth of art, music, and invention. Europeans jockeyed for power using
improved sailing technology to explore further faster. The desire for riches led to the discovery of
the Americas by Spain, sparking a chain reaction that impacted the entire Atlantic world.
During this unit, your student will be completing the missions below to learn and practice
important material and test their understanding.
1. Locate and describe the geography of Western Europe and Asia.
2. Explain how Western Europe transitioned from the Dark Ages to an age of innovation during the
Renaissance.
3. Identify new technologies developed during the Renaissance and describe how those technologies
encouraged exploration by sea.
4. Identify discoverers of the Americas before 1492 and determine the impact they had on the
Amerindian tribes inhabiting the continent.
5. Compare the civilizations of the Americas and Western Europe in the 15th century.
6. Describe how the Age of Exploration transformed the Atlantic World.
7. Demonstrate your understanding of the causes of the Age of Exploration and its impact on the
Atlantic world.
Make sure to visit Mr. Shomaker’s “Homework Helps” hyperdoc at:
https://goo.gl/XNzhV3 for videos, practice materials, study guides and
games, and practice tests.

2. THE AGE OF EXPLORATION
COURSE: AMERICAN HISTORY GRADE: 7TH
4.0
More complex
learning target
In addition to score 3.0 performances, the student went beyond—either by making in-depth
inferences and applications, by teaching others, or understanding at a higher level than what was
taught.
3.5
The student met learning target without errors and without help. The student was able to go
beyond target with a cue or hint. In addition to score 3.0 performance, the student demonstrates
in-depth inferences and applications with partial success.
3.0
TARGET
Challenging, but
attainable
The student met the learning target without errors in the concept being taught and without help.
The student demonstrates understanding by the following:
1) I can analyze the causes of the Age of Exploration.
2) I can compare and contrast the cultures of Pre-Columbian American Indians and Western
Europeans.
3) I can explain the effects of European, American Indian, and African contact on the Atlantic world.
The student exhibits no major errors or omissions.
2.5
The student understands the concepts and is able to apply knowledge with no major errors or
omissions. The student did not meet learning target due to several minor errors.
2
Simpler learning
target
The student knows simpler concepts, but cannot do more difficult problems. The student is
beginning to use knowledge of simple concepts to solve basic problems such as the following:
1) I can locate major geographic features of the Atlantic world on a map.
2) I can identify major events that happened in Europe between the Dark Ages and the Renaissance.
3) I can identify new technologies developed during the Renaissance.
3) I can recall features of Pre-Columbian American Indian civilizations (including: technology, art,
religion, and war), as well as identify features of Western European and African society in the 15th
century.
1.5
Even with help, the student is behind in terms of meeting the learning target. The student is
unable to recall the most basic concepts without help. The student may be able to demonstrate
partial knowledge of the score 2.0 elements.
1 Even with help, no understanding of the skill is demonstrated
0 No evidence