This lesson plan is designed to be one activity used for a 7h or 8h grade social studies class in a two or three week unit on the discovery of the New World or North and South America. The lesson can be used for all ability levels and should last for one class period. This plan is the first in a series of three that will introduce the students to the different explorers that participated in the discovery of the Americas. Prior to this lesson, students will have been given a demonstration of the Explorers of the New World software features and would have been introduced to new vocabulary terms that they will encounter. After the demonstration, the students should feel comfortable navigating through the program themselves.

In this lesson plan the students will have the opportunity to use Explorers of the New World for an activity that will allow them to explore the route that Columbus sailed that landed him in the Caribbean Islands, not India as he had thought. There are many details of the explorers that the students may not be aware of, but through the use of this program the students will gain a better understanding of how the Americas were discovered. The students will be using this software independently in a computer lab, the teacher monitors their progress and provide necessary technical assistance.

1. The students will be able to complete a worksheet pertaining to Christopher Columbus's journey to the

New World that focuses on their ability to obtain the necessary information from the software.

2. The students will be able to write a brief paragraph describing an event in Columbus's journey that surprised them

or seemed interesting to them and why they had the reaction they did to that event.

• Use of a computer lab with computers for all the students

• Explorers of'the New World software program

• Copies of the students assignment sheet

• Copies of the student software reference page (teacher produced)

• Pen or pencil

• Notebook

Begin by asking the students to share with the class anything' that they may know about the different explorers who traveled to the Americas, also known in the past as the New World. I will write their responses on the computer lab board. Then I will explain that the assignment for today is to conduct their own exploration of Columbus's journey by finding the answers to the worksheet that will be provided to them. The students will be using this computer software program periodically during the unit.

1. Hand out the computer software reference sheet. Using the main computer that is hooked up to a television

monitor, review with the program with the students.

2. Hand out the assignment sheet.

3. Review with the students what the assignment is and ask questions periodically to check for understanding.

4. Have the students log on to their computers and have the main menu on their screen.

5. The students will have the remainder of the class period to complete the worksheet. Students who finish the

assignment early will pass in the completed worksheet and receive their homework assignment, which is to write a

brief paragraph describing an event in Columbus's journey that surprised them or seemed interesting to them and

why they had the reaction they did to that event.

With approximately five minutes left in the class each student will have the opportunity to share with the class one new interesting fact that they discovered about Columbus and his journey to the New World. We will add them to our list that we made in the beginning of the class and discuss what we learned from the program.

Evaluation for this lesson will be done through teacher observation of the students progress with using the software program, and completion of the worksheet about Columbus's journey. Also, at the beginning of the next lesson I will collect the paragraphs that they wrote and assess their understanding of the event that they choose and their reasoning behind choosing that event.