| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) list motives for exploration (gold, God, glory); (2) describe new technology (caravel, astrolabe, compass); (3) create a “Explorer’s Journal”. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Maps of routes, pictures of ships, journal template. |
| Key vocabulary | astrolabe, caravel, compass, gold, God, glory |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) “Why did Europeans suddenly sail across oceans in the 1400s? Gold, spreading Christianity, and glory.” |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Motives: economic (spices, gold), religious (convert heathens), personal (fame). 2. Technology: caravel ship, astrolabe (latitude), compass, better maps. 3. Key explorers: Dias (cape of Good Hope), Da Gama (India), Columbus. 4. Write an explorer’s journal entry: “Why I am venturing into the unknown.” 5. Share. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Journal reading; discuss: were they heroes or invaders? |
| Assessment | Journal includes motives and technology. |
| Teacher notes | Set up the encounter narrative. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) define the Columbian Exchange; (2) list items exchanged (plants, animals, diseases); (3) create a visual map of exchange. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Blank world map, item cards (potato, tomato, horse, smallpox), glue. |
| Key vocabulary | Columbian Exchange, Old World, New World, disease, crop |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) “When Columbus connected the Old and New Worlds, everything changed. Food, animals, and diseases moved across the ocean. This is the Columbian Exchange.” |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Define: global transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases. 2. Old World → New: wheat, sugar, horses, cattle, smallpox. 3. New World → Old: potato, tomato, corn, tobacco, syphilis? 4. Create a visual map with arrows showing exchanges. 5. Write an essay: “How did the Columbian Exchange change the world?” |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Map gallery; essay thesis sharing. |
| Assessment | Map accurate; essay shows understanding of global impact. |
| Teacher notes | Emphasise that diseases killed up to 90% of indigenous people. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) trace the scale and routes of the African diaspora; (2) analyze the impact on Africa and the Americas; (3) create a diaspora map with statistics. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Diaspora map, statistics on slave trade, African culture in Americas. |
| Key vocabulary | diaspora, Middle Passage, dispersal, triangular trade, legacy |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) “Between 1500 and 1900, over 12 million Africans were forcibly taken to the Americas. This is the largest forced migration in history.” |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Routes: mainly West Africa → Caribbean and Brazil; later North America. 2. Impact on Africa: loss of population, disruption. 3. Impact on Americas: labour force, cultural influence (music, religion, food). 4. Map the diaspora with numbers. 5. Write a reflective piece: “The African diaspora is a story of tragedy and resilience.” |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Map display; share reflections. |
| Assessment | Map includes data; reflection balanced. |
| Teacher notes | Connect to African heritage in Jamaica. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) compare colonial systems (Spanish, British, French, Dutch); (2) explain mercantilism; (3) create a colonial comparison chart. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Colonial chart, mercantilism diagram, maps. |
| Key vocabulary | colony, mercantilism, metropole, plantation, trade |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) “European countries saw the Caribbean as a money-making machine. The system was called mercantilism – colonies existed to serve the mother country.” |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Mercantilism: colonies supply raw materials, buy back finished goods. 2. Spanish: early colonizers, encomienda. British: sugar plantations, large slave force. French: St. Domingue (Haiti), similar model. Dutch: trade focus, less plantation. 3. Create a comparison chart: country, colonies, main economy, treatment of enslaved. 4. Analyze: which was most brutal? (all were). 5. Write a paragraph answering: “Why were the Caribbean colonies so valuable?” |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Chart review; discussion. |
| Assessment | Chart thorough; paragraph economic reasoning. |
| Teacher notes | Link to why Caribbean is a global crossroads. |
| Objectives | Students will be able to: (1) connect civilizations, exploration, exchange, and colonialism; (2) complete a mind map; (3) quiz. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Large paper, markers, quiz. |
| Key vocabulary | review |
| Engage (starter) | (10 min) “We’ve travelled from ancient Egypt to Caribbean plantations. Let’s connect the dots!” |
| Develop (main) | (35 min) 1. Groups create a mind map showing connections: Africa → Americas via slave trade, Europe → Americas via exploration, etc. 2. Complete a review quiz. 3. Self-correct. 4. Discuss: how does this history shape Jamaica today? 5. Write a reflection. |
| Plenary (close) | (10 min) Mind map gallery. |
| Assessment | Quiz score; mind map shows connections. |
| Teacher notes | Transition to resistance and freedom next week. |