Integrated
Literacy
Assignment
Kelsey Faber
GLCE: U1.4.4 Describe the Columbian
Exchange and its impact on Europeans,
American Indians, and Africans.
The Columbian Exchange Chart
This chart shows what
plants, crops, and diseases
were moved between the
Old World and the New
World.
Population Graph
This graph shows how the
number of Indians and
Europeans in the New
World changed after
1492.
Artwork
To introduce this topic, one idea is for
students to complete a 10x10 activity.
Have them think of 10 observations and
10 questions about the artwork.
Chapter Book
Who Was Christopher Columbus?
by Bonnie Bader
Lesson Plan Idea
Another Lesson Plan Idea
http://msh.councilforeconed.org/lessons.php?lid=68379
New World/Old World food and disease trading.
Video Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbrNDwXYBao
This YouTube video gives an overlook at the Columbian Exchange and how it
affected the people and the economy.
Website
http://public.gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/hist106web/site19/
Website discussing the Columbian Exchange in relation to technology, disease, animals,
and plants.
-Europeans brought new technology, such as written language, to American Indians
-Disease spread between the New and Old World, making its way through Africa and into
Asia
-Horses were brought to the New World for transportation, labor, and food for American
Indians
-Potatoes and Maize were two important plants brought back to the Old World
Another Website/Activity
http://wgvu.pbslearningmedia.
org/resource/midlit11.soc.
splcol/the-columbian-exchange/
Short online activity/worksheet
about the positive and negative
effects of the Columbian Exchange
Content Magazines
Activity Book
Teacher Reference Book
This book is a great teacher
reference book about the
Columbian Exchange.
Song
The Columbian Exchange
(sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
The Columbian Exchange
Started trading long ago
Many items became new
To Natives, Europeans, too
Diseases came from far and wide
Wiped out Natives - many died
Many Natives got a treat
Honey, bees, and some wheat
They now had pigs and some sheep
Sugar made their coffee sweet
Don’t forget the knives and guns
That came from Europeans
Europeans, they did get
Corn, beans, squash, and chocolate
Turkey and tomatoes
Pumpkins and tobacco
On the land, they learned to plow
And the Natives showed them how
Political Cartoon
After students know more about the
topic, have them brainstorm their own
political cartoon or joke about the
effects of the Columbian Exchange
from the perspective of either the
Europeans, American Indians, or
Africans.
Sources
Bader, B., & Harrison, N. (n.d.). Who was Christopher Columbus?
The Columbian Exchange (n.d.). In Middle School World History. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
The Columbian Exchange (n.d.). In WGVU Learning Media. Retrieved from http://wgvu.pbslearningmedia.
org/resource/midlit11.soc.splcol/the-columbian-exchange/
Crosby, A. W. (1972). The Columbian exchange: Biological and cultural consequences of 1492. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Explorers poem and Columbian Exchange song (2015, September 20). In YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=syNLZY3ff4Q
Haworth, N. (Narrator). (2012). Columbian Exchange [Online video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=hbrNDwXYBao
History of the Columbian Exchange (n.d.). In Columbian Exchange on North Carolina. Retrieved October 25, 2015, from http:
//columbianexchangeonnorthcarolina.weebly.com/
Malone, C., Gray, S., Ross, S., & Ryan, K. (n.d.). The Columbian Exchange. In Young Teacher Love. Retrieved from http://public.
gettysburg.edu/~tshannon/hist106web/site19/
Sources (continued)
Nannini, K. (2013, January). Social Studies Freebies and Ideas - The Columbian Exchange. In Young Teacher Love. Retrieved
from http://youngteacherlove.com/social-studies-freebies-and-ideas/
Reis, R. A. (n.d.). Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration for kids with 21 activities.
The Value of Study Abroad in the Age of Digital Reproduction (2012, August 7). In Not Hemingway's Spain. Retrieved from http:
//nothemingwaysspain.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-value-of-study-abroad-in-age-of.html
https://www.google.com/search?
q=the+columbian+exchange&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=652&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CAY
Q_AUoAWoVChMIoI29zsjhyAIVxkomCh1QfgG#tbm=isch&q=columbian+exchange+population+chart&imgrc=GKSl3cruTv84aM%3A
(1992, August). Kids Discover, 2(8).
(2011, September). Cobblestone, 32(7).