Before the break 6th graders read sections of 1493 by Charles C. Mann, answering the essential question: How did the arrival of the Europeans to America bring about unexpected and unintended consequences for the people and environments of both the New and Old World?
From there, the students learned the importance of the Columbian Exchange and how the movement of people, animals, plants, cultures and disease influenced the Eastern and Western hemisphere. Each student picked a commodity/disease and researched the following questions:
- Where and when did food/disease originate?
- Where and how did your food/disease travel after the Columbian Exchange?
- Where are the food/diseases grown/around today?
- Where is the good most produced and consumed today OR what areas/regions are most impacted today?
After researching, the students took the information they learned and answered each question in a paragraph. They then traced the travel of their good/disease after the Columbian Exchange on a map. The end result was an informative poster that highlighted the commodity/disease that crossed the Atlantic Ocean after 1492.
