Unit 3 – Early Exploration & Settlement

In this unit we are starting in on the European involvement in our state history. There is a lot to cover but resources can be hard to come by. As I write this I am in a bit of a time crunch – having just come off of the holidays and running a bit behind. I am going to go through this more lightly that I had originally planned. Feel free though to take your time and dig deeper. If you are in Southern California there are probably monuments etc to go see. Take advantage of this! Go see them and talk about what it must have been like to see this area for the first time. If you are in other parts of our state, then go out into the more rural parts. Up in the hills or to a park where you can see what the trees were like and the terrain was like. Imagine you are an explorer and have to carry all your supplies. There is no real “end spot” or “destination” to your trip. How does that feel? What is that like? If the weather is good and you are so inclined, this would be a great time for a local backpacking trip. Keep it close and simple. It doesn't have to be through Destination Wilderness or anything. Hike from one side of the hill to the other and maybe spend the night outside. These are just ideas. Again, have fun!

In this unit we will cover:

Study British

- put British flag on topographical map

- is there a monument in SF to go see?

Study Spanish explorers

  - who and why

  - add flags

  -forts

       - fort field trip

Study Russians

  -add forts to to pographical map with Russian flag.

  - field trip to Fort Ross

A quick note about Fort Ross. They have an awesome program for schools it is an overnight program. The problem is that you have to sign up for it a year in advance and have to have a group to go! If you are in the middle of 4^th grade now, it will be too late. If you live near by, go for it! Otherwise, it doesn't sound like there is a lot to see that makes it worth a long drive or trip. More information can be found here: http://www.fortrossstatepark.org/ Registration opens in April for the overnight trips the following school year. They are on a first come first served basis, so have your stuff together!

ABOUT EARLY EXPLORERS &PIRATES!:

Some Early Spanish Explorers were Hernan Cortez and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. They explored, mapped and traded with the Spanish settlement in Manilla. They had their Spanish Galleons sailing that rout for 125 years. Then came Sir Frances Drake from England. His job was to raid the Spanish ships for England. Spain and England were at war at the time and this was a major source of funding for the Spanish. Drake was so successful that one of his ships almost sank from the weight. If your child is interested in pirates – go with it! My family is descended from what we believe to be British pirates. This is an opportunity to tie my son's family tree to history. It is also fun to dig up the pirate theme. Since my son isn't totally into pirates and we took a bit of a long break over the holidays and are now a bit behind where we want to be, I just mentioned it and moved on. You could have a lot of fun here though.  There is a website that I found that has an account of Drakes voyage by Francis Pretty, One of Drake's Gentlemen at arms.  Go here: http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/news/drake1.htm  There is a whole conspiracy part to this story too.  It is said that Drake thought he found the Northwest passage and Queen Elizabeth I kept everything secret and the secret died with them all.  Now, 500 years later, the old maps and documents have been found.  Interesting stuff if you want to dig it out. 

PLACES FOR INFORMATION:

I cheated a bit here. I have a friend who teaches 4^th grade and passes on a copy of her curriculum: “History – Social Science California Studies” by Houghton Mifflin. I was having a hard time finding a lot of easy to read information on these explorers. I also ran out of time so here is my cop out. I am sure that there are good books and websites out there for information that would be much more thorough than what I did. Please feel free to post and share if you find something.

There is a book called: “Exploration of the California Coast” by Clarissa Aykroyd, that I got from the library for our next lesson. It has chapters on Cortez, Cabrillo, Drake, Vizcaino and more. This book might be a good place to start and could serve as your main research material. It is easy enough to read (for a non fiction) that the kids can take turns reading with you.

We have all imagined being explorers at one time or another in our lives. Play into this and HAVE FUN!

HEADS UP!

We are going to be gluing little houses/missions/forts etc to our map in this unit.  That means that you need to track down said houses/missions/forts etc.  Don't panic!  Hit up your local Goodwill or some such.  See what kind of games they have.  Monopoly has houses and hotels aka settlements and missions!  If all else fails, get out that leftover salt clay (or make some more) and fashion them yourselves.  Nothing fancy!  Simple and easy here, ok?