The New World: Encounter & the Americas
Essential Question
What happened when two worlds that never knew each other suddenly met?
This is the week US History begins. The student studies the moment two worlds that had never known each other suddenly met: Columbus's voyages, the Columbian Exchange, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires, and Magellan's circumnavigation. Turning to North America, they meet the rich pre-Columbian peoples — the mound builders, the Pueblo, the Eastern Woodlands nations — and the first European settlement in what is now the United States. Columbus and the conquest are treated honestly: extraordinary achievement and grave injustice held together truthfully.
Liturgical note: Ordinary Time; the season just before Lent.
Threads at a Glance
What Each Thread Covers This Week
Columbus and the Spanish voyages; the Columbian Exchange; the conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires; Magellan's circumnavigation
Manifest Destiny, Texas, Mexican-American War, Gold Rush
Christopher Columbus (a balanced, honest treatment)
The Americas; North and South America, the Caribbean, and the great routes of exploration
Art of the Americas — Maya, Aztec, and Inca art and architecture; the first Spanish colonial and mission art
A meeting of worlds — indigenous American music and the first European sacred music in the New World
St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe (1531)
Zeal (missionary love for souls)
YOUCAT — the Ten Commandments (4-5): honor your parents; respect for human life (Q367-Q382)
Capitalization and proper-noun conventions
Expository — explain the Columbian Exchange (cause and effect)
Weekly Writing Assignment
Two Worlds, One Exchange: Explaining the Columbian Exchange
Write an expository essay explaining the Columbian Exchange: the vast transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old World and the New after 1492. Explain what was exchanged in each direction and trace at least three important effects (for example: how American crops changed Old World diets and population; how Old World diseases devastated Native populations; how horses transformed Native life). Be accurate and even-handed: the Exchange brought both benefits and catastrophe. Do not argue a side; explain the cause-and-effect connections clearly.
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- Clearly defines the Columbian Exchange in an introduction
- Explains what moved in BOTH directions (Old World to New, New World to Old)
- Traces at least three specific cause-and-effect relationships
- Is even-handed, presenting both benefits and harms without sensationalism
- Capitalizes proper nouns correctly (this week's grammar) and is organized and proofread
The Week
Four Days of Learning
- St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe10m
- Columbus, the Conquest, and Magellan's Voyage30m
- YOUCAT: The Fourth and Fifth Commandments15m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Zeal10m
- Manifest Destiny20m
- Art of the Americas: Maya, Aztec, Inca, and the First Mission Art25m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Catechism Review: The Dignity of Every Life5m
- Capitalization and Proper-Noun Conventions20m
- The Americas and the Routes of Exploration30m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Christopher Columbus — A Balanced, Honest Look15m
- A Meeting of Worlds: New World Music20m
- Writing Workshop: Explaining the Columbian Exchange20m
- Our Lady of Guadalupe — Week Synthesis5m