Lesson 1 Migration of the First Americans

LESSON ONE - MIGRATION of the FIRST AMERICANS

Benchmarks: SS.8.2.2 -Historical Perspectives and Interpretations - Describe why different people may have different perspectives of the same historical event and multiple interpretations should be considered in order to avoid historical linearity and inevitability.

Rationale: The benchmarks addressed in this lesson involve historical perspectives. You are to trace the migratory patterns of the very first Americans. Please draw, label the time periods, and also label each native group according to name on a map. You may color code the map.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dd8bg6c5_1hbhtrzd2

Students: Please write the following summary into your composition SS book on page 4:
Asian hunters became the first Americans when they migrated over the glaciers of Beringia
and into the North and South America 30,000 years ago. These nomadic natives finally settled
into areas where they began to grow crops. This is called agriculture. As the Ice Age ended 10,000 years ago, so did the migration from Asia.
In the year 1,000 Anno Domini (A.D.) during the Fall of the Roman Empire, a barbarian group known as the Vikings sailed from Norway to Iceland, and subsequently migrated to Greenland. From Greenland, the Vikings migrated to an area in north America known as Newfoundland (L'Anse aux Meadows).
Almost 500 years later, in 1492, an Italian seaman named Christopher Columbus persuaded the Spanish monarchy (Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand) that he could find a sea route to China and India. When Columbus reached the island of San Salvador, he mistakenly called them "Indians" (rather than their tribal names) since he thought that he had reached India. When Columbus returned to Spain, the Spanish Queen sent many Conquistadors (Spanish Generals) to the New World and verify if the rumors of gold were true.
Spain found gold in America but also brought back tobacco, indigo, and potatoes which could be sold in Europe. Sir Francis Drake promised Queen Elizabeth I gold if he had her permission to raid and pilfer Spanish ports in Spain , Mexico, and California. The raids by Sir Francis Drake's sea dogs at the Port of Cadiz set up the scenario for the great sea battle for the Spanish Armada to attack England in 1588. After England defeated the Spanish Armada, England envied how the Spanish capitalized on America's natural resources and decided to take advantage of it by establishing a colony called Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.