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:: Calendar Resources

THE EXPLORERS PAGE

SEPTEMBER 28TH, 1542 Explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived today at what came to be known as San Diego, California. Cabrillo National Monument marks his landing at Point Loma Head. View the Point Loma Lighthouse here.

A PLAY ABOUT EARLY EXPLORERS:
Looking for some new ideas for Columbus Day? Columbus appears in this play, written by a 2nd grade teacher to introduce major European explorers from the 15th century.

EXPLORE THE EXPLORERS:
From pre-Columbus, to Marco Polo, Cabrillo, Cartier, Henry Hudson, or Sir Francis Drake, learn a bit about the world's explorers and their missions, then complete some student activities and quizzes with this resource for elementary classrooms.

SANTA BARBARA MISSION COLORING PAGE:
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It's known as the Queen of the Missions, and I can vouch that it is indeed lovely! (If you ever travel to Santa Barbara in May, try visiting the I Madonnari - or chalk painting festival - at the mission!) Print out this page for 1st grade students to color, or as a cover graphic for reports, bulletin board image, etc.

EXPLORE CALIFORNIA MISSIONS:
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What was life like, living in a Mission in California? Take a look at living quarters for La Purisma Mission , and get a glimpse into everyday life. Use the 2nd link above to conduct a virtual and informational visit to all 21 of the California Missions.

CALIFORNIA MISSIONS WORDSEARCH:
Find all twenty-one missions in this printable wordsearch, for any unit on California and its Missions. Watch out for all of those "San" prefixes though!

CALIFORNIA MISSIONS INTERACTIVE:
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Want an online journey to the Missions of California? See what these 4th graders from Newhall Elementary have put together for you. For another virtual tour, join two cyclists on their field trip as they journey to twelve of the twenty-one missions in California. Pictures are included with the reports at the 2nd link above.

EARLY EXPLORERS TEACHER ACTIVITY PACK:
Four landscape scenes act as prompts for student "explorers", pretending they are seeing this new land for the first time and describing it for the people in the Old World. An explorer glossary is included, along with a latitude and longitude matching exercise, background content, and a map labeling exercise.

LATITUDE - THE ART & SCIENCE OF 15TH CENTURY EXPLORATION:
Just how did those early explorers find their way to the New World, and then back home again? Learn all about latitude, the science of sailing, math in maps, beacons, known maps, Earth's magnetism, and all the factors that shaped the early explorer's journey in the 15th century.

EXPLORER POEMS:
Review these poems on various explorers, all written and contributed by students. Your own students can illustrate some of the poems, create a timeline, and then create their own explorer poems.

OUTSTANDING EXPLORERS:
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From the ancient Egyptians, to the Vikings and the European explorers, right up to modern day explorer Robert Ballard, students can create their own trading cards with facts and figures on explorers they find fascinating. (Use the 3rd link above to replace the incorrect listing for "The Age of Exploration" resource used for these activities.)

EVERYDAY EXPLORERS ACROSS THE SEASONS:
Call in your modern day explorers for these wonderful activities, accompanied by numerous online resources to help you get started.

AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS:
Here's a different take on the usual explorer unit. This package focuses on one of the world's most interesting places, Australia. Learn about the grand adventures and the big names in Australian history with these online modules. (We recommend elementary students stick to the site-driven resources in brown rectangle boxes, rather than outside links.) Students can work in teams to create presentations, with Australian maps, posters, and lore.

MATCH THE EXPLORERS:
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Who explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River? And where did Hernando de Soto travel to? Your students will have to be up on their explorers to match up all these terms! By the time they get to the 2nd link, they will have to be quick on their toes to match up the answers in a concentration game.

EXPLORER QUIZ:
So your students think they know a lot about the European explorers by now, right? Have them try this online quiz of 18 questions to make sure they know Cortez from De Soto.