Worlds Collide Slides
HISTORY EXPLORERS Slide 1 of 10
Worlds Collide
The Age of European Exploration in North America
🧭 ⛵ Big Journey
Sailing across a giant ocean to a new land
🌊 🗺️ 🏝️
Interactive Lessons for Social Studies
Set Sail
THE BIG PICTURE Slide 2 of 10
Our Inquiry Journey
We will explore why European countries sent explorers across the dangerous Atlantic Ocean and what happened when they met the people already living here.
⚓
The Great Crossing
Europe ➔ North America
🪙
1. Why did they come?
Discover the three motives: Gold, Glory, and God.
🏕️
2. Who did they impact?
Understand the lives of the Indigenous Nations already here.
🐎
3. What did they trade?
Learn about new plants, animals, and diseases exchanged.
Focus Question: How did these crossings change the world forever?
MOTIVATIONS Slide 3 of 10
The Three G's
Why European rulers sent fleets of ships across the sea.
🪙
1. Gold
Finding riches, precious metals, and valuable goods like fur and spices to bring home.
GETTING RICH
👑
2. Glory
Claiming new lands to make their country larger, more powerful, and famous across Europe.
GETTING POWER
⛪
3. God
Spreading their Christian religion and beliefs to the people in the newly reached lands.
SPREADING BELIEFS
Simplified Tip: Remember the letter G! What was the most important G? Why?
EUROPEAN EMPIRES Slide 4 of 10
Who Came to North America?
Three main European powers competed for land and control.
🇪🇸
Spain
- 📍 Where: Florida & Southwest.
- 🎯 Goal: Gold and minerals.
- ⚠️ Impact: Forced native labor.
⛏️ GOLD MINING
🇫🇷
France
- 📍 Where: Canada & Mississippi.
- 🎯 Goal: Animal fur trading.
- 🤝 Impact: Built trade partnerships.
🤝 FUR TRADING
🇬🇧
England
- 📍 Where: Eastern Atlantic Coast.
- 🎯 Goal: Farm land & permanent towns.
- 🚧 Impact: Took land from natives.
🏡 FAMILY FARMS
Notice the differences: Spain mined, France traded, England settled.
FIRST AMERICANS Slide 5 of 10
Not An "Empty" Land
Before European explorers arrived, millions of Indigenous people lived across North America in thousands of organized, rich communities.
🌽
Farming
Grew corn, beans, squash.
🛶
Complex Communities
Laws, trade, government.
Sharing the Land
Indigenous groups viewed land as a shared, living resource. They did not believe in owning fences or personal land.
🌽 🌲 🛶 🦬 ⛺
Remember: North America was not "discovered"—it was already home to many vibrant cultures.
THE COLLISION Slide 6 of 10
Devastating Impacts
How European arrivals harmed Indigenous populations.
🦠
🤒
1. Deadly Disease
Europeans brought germs (like smallpox). Native populations had no immunity. Illness wiped out up to 90%.
DANGER: SMALLPOX
🚧
❌
2. Loss of Land
Europeans claimed territory, built dividing fences, and pushed Indigenous nations off their homelands.
DANGER: PUSHED AWAY
⛓️
⛏️
3. Forced Labor
Spanish rulers captured, enslaved, and forced native peoples to work in gold mines under terrible conditions.
DANGER: ENSLAVED
Cooperation did happen (mostly French fur trading), but conflict and tragedy were widespread.
COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE Slide 7 of 10
Sharing and Shifting Resources
The movement of living things between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.
Brought to the Americas
- 🐎 Horses: Changed travel and hunting.
- 🐄 Cattle & Pigs: Provided new foods.
- 🌾 Wheat & Rice: Grain crops.
🐎🐄🐷🌾
Sent back to Europe
- 🥔 Potatoes: Fed growing Europe.
- 🌽 Corn (Maize): Easy to grow quickly.
- 🍅 Tomatoes & Cocoa: Changed diets.
🥔🌽🍅🍫
Key Highlight: Horses came from Europe and reshaped Native life on the Great Plains!
COMPREHENSION CHECK Slide 8 of 10
Challenge 1: Who am I?
Match the historical description below to the country that fits best.
🤝
"My explorers worked closely with Indigenous peoples to trade animal furs. We made friendly partnerships instead of taking land."
🇫🇷 France?
⛏️
"We were searching for physical gold and silver. We forced native peoples to work in deep mines and on large farms."
🇪🇸 Spain?
🏡
"We came to build permanent family homes and farms. We pushed Native Americans off their land to make room for our towns."
🇬🇧 England?
Take a moment to discuss with your partner! (Answers: France, Spain, England)
COMPREHENSION CHECK Slide 9 of 10
Challenge 2: True or False?
🐎
1. Horses were native to North America and were sent to Europe.
FALSE!
🦠
2. Up to 90% of native populations were killed by European illnesses.
TRUE!
🥔
3. Potatoes and corn originated in Europe and were brought to America.
FALSE!
Answers: 1. False (Horses came from Europe) | 2. True | 3. False (Potatoes/Corn went to Europe)
NEXT STEPS Slide 10 of 10
📝
Ready for Your Mission!
Now we will use our hands-on task cards and graphic organizers to organize our new knowledge and show what we learned!
Get ready to use your worksheets!
Great job! Let's build history expertise together.
Voyage Match Task Cards
VOYAGE MATCH
PART 1: CUT-OUT CARDS
Directions: Carefully cut along the dashed lines of each card. Use these cards to fill in the Sorting Board on Page 2!
COUNTRY
SPAIN
Ruled southern parts. Looked for golden treasures. Enslaved native populations.
CARD #1
COUNTRY
FRANCE
Ruled northern river areas. Partnered with Native Americans for beaver fur trade.
CARD #2
COUNTRY
ENGLAND
Settled eastern Atlantic coast. Cleared forests to farm. Pushed Native populations off land.
CARD #3
MOTIVE
GOLD
Acquiring quick riches, precious raw materials, and high-value trade items to sell.
CARD #4
MOTIVE
GLORY
Claiming large amounts of land to make European kingdoms look stronger and bigger.
CARD #5
MOTIVE
GOD
Converting Indigenous populations to accept Christian beliefs, churches, and customs.
CARD #6
RESOURCE 🐎
HORSES
Brought to the Americas. Transformed native hunting, speed, and travel styles.
CARD #7
RESOURCE 🥔
POTATOES
Sent back to Europe. Easy to grow, high in energy, and helped feed growing populations.
CARD #8
IMPACT
GERMS
Invisible illnesses like smallpox. Wiped out up to 90% of entire local populations.
CARD #9
IMPACT
LAND LOSS
Settlers put up fences, constructed towns, and pushed Indigenous tribes away.
CARD #10
IMPACT
FORCED WORK
Capturing and enslaving Native Americans to dig mines and grow crops on plantations.
CARD #11
IMPACT
FUR TRADE
Native and French groups teamed up to trap and sell rich animal skins back to Europe.
CARD #12
Unit: Age of Exploration (Specialized Adaptations) Page 1 of 2
VOYAGE MATCH SORTING BOARD
Place or paste your cut-out cards into the correct spaces below.
Name:
Date:
The Three Empires
Place Spain (Card 1), France (Card 2), and England (Card 3) in these target slots.
Spain Slot
PASTE CARD 1 HERE
Explorer Impact Graphic Organizer
UNIT: AGE OF EXPLORATION
Clash of Worlds Organizer
Name:
Date:
Concept Summary
Three powerful European empires sailed to North America. Each country had different motives (reasons) for coming, and each treated the Indigenous peoples in very different ways.
The Three Empires Comparison Chart
| Empire & Region | Main Motive (Why?) | Treatment of Native Peoples | Primary Focus |
|---|
| SPAIN | | | |
| Southern parts (Florida, Southwest US, Mexico) | | | |
| Gold and God
Wanted physical riches and to spread religion.
|
Extremely harsh.
They Indigenous peoples, forcing them to work in dangerous gold mines and farms.
|
MINING & WEALTH
|
| FRANCE
Northern river paths (Canada, Mississippi River)
| Fur Trade & Glory
Wanted beaver furs and to expand empire size.
|
Cooperative / Partnership.
Built trading . They worked together to hunt and trade furs.
|
BEAVER FURS
|
| ENGLAND
East Atlantic Coast (The 13 Colonies)
| Land & Settlements
Wanted farm land for growing families.
|
Displacement (Pushing away).
Took ancestral territory, built fences, and Native nations off their land.
|
SETTLEMENTS
|
Word Bank for Chart
Use these vocabulary terms to fill in the blank lines in the chart above:
Enslaved
Partnerships
Pushed / Displaced
Quick Check: Contrast Goals
How did the goals of France (Fur Trade) differ from the goals of England (Permanent Settlements) when interacting with Indigenous people?
Accommodated Resource Guide Page 1 of 2
UNIT: AGE OF EXPLORATION
Exchange & Impact Analysis
Name:
Date:
The Exchange of Resources
The arrival of Europeans started the exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between hemispheres. Write three items into each bubble below from the lists.
🌍 From Europe to the Americas
Items: Horses, Pigs, Wheat, Smallpox Germs
