Grade 7 Unit 9 The Wonder of Cultural Encounters
SKU:
g7m9
CA$44.00
CA$44.00
per item
In this unit, your child will journey into the Age of Exploration, reframed as the Age of Cultural Encounters, to examine how global exploration shaped our world. Rather than focusing only on European “discoveries,” the lessons highlight the voices of Indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans, encouraging students to think critically about history and its consequences.
They will:
- Learn about the Age of Cultural Encounters (15th–17th centuries), exploring why Europeans sought new trade routes and how these encounters reshaped the world.
- Study the lives of seven major explorers: Columbus, da Gama, Cabot, Magellan, Cartier, Champlain, and Jeanne Baret through stories, drawings, and writing.
- Reflect on how exploration led to colonization, cultural clashes, environmental changes, and the transatlantic slave trade, making connections to issues still relevant today.
- Undertake an independent explorer project, researching one explorer in depth and creating a board game that teaches about their voyages, challenges, and consequences—including the possibility of “redo” cards that imagine better choices and more respectful interactions.
- Optionally write a reflective journal entry from their explorer’s perspective, looking back on their life and considering what they might have done differently.
- Explore math through probability and circle graphs connected to trade and statistics.
- Investigate science with a special project on electricity, magnetism, and circumnavigation.
- Deepen their portfolio with maps, illustrations, summaries, and creative projects, documenting both learning and reflection.
Children see this era not just as “discovery” but as a complex web of encounters that forever changed the world. By combining critical thinking, creativity, and compassion, they begin to reimagine history with a more balanced and human perspective.
This purchase includes one digital curriculum unit with 15 days of lesson plans and 5 days of flexible projects. This unit will inspire you with beautiful images, clear instructions and exciting project ideas.
And that's not all. You will also gain access to the Wonder Hub, which includes supporting documents, videos, resources, and community.
The Wonder of Cultural Encounters
Learning Standards
Each subject is interwoven into the broader theme of cultural encounters, allowing students to approach the topic from multiple perspectives and develop a well-rounded understanding of this critical historical period.
Language Arts
Concepts: Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world. Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens.
Connections: Students will explore how stories and texts help us understand ourselves and connect with others across time and place. Throughout the unit they will examine the perspectives of both European explorers and the indigenous peoples they encountered, encouraging critical thinking and reflection. Your child will study an explorer of their choice in depth, from the perspective of the explorer and the perspective of the "discovered" people considered. They will create a board game that incorporates these events, lessons and consequences into a learning experience for the players. Bringing and balancing these perspectives within our modern consciousness brings greater awareness and understanding. This unit will teach students to question what they read, hear, and view, contributing to their growth as informed and engaged citizens.
Social Studies
Concept: Economic specialization and trade networks can lead to conflict and cooperation between societies.
Connection: This unit focuses on the economic and social dynamics of the Age of Cultural Encounters. Students will learn how trade networks and economic specialization led to both cooperation and conflict between societies. The unit will highlight European explorers' challenges in establishing trade routes in already populated regions and the ensuing conflicts. By examining these historical events, students will gain a deeper understanding of how these encounters shaped the world we live in today.
Math
Concept: Data from circle graphs can be used to illustrate proportion and to compare and interpret.
Connection: Students will engage with data and probability concepts by creating circle graphs. They will work with ratios, percentages, decimals, and whole numbers to illustrate proportions and make comparisons. This mathematical exploration will help students understand the scale and impact of cultural encounters during this period, using data to bring historical events to life.
Science
Concept: The electromagnetic force produces both electricity and magnetism.
Connection: Your child will investigate the relationship between magnetic force and electricity by running different hands-on experiments.
Language Arts
Concepts: Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world. Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens.
Connections: Students will explore how stories and texts help us understand ourselves and connect with others across time and place. Throughout the unit they will examine the perspectives of both European explorers and the indigenous peoples they encountered, encouraging critical thinking and reflection. Your child will study an explorer of their choice in depth, from the perspective of the explorer and the perspective of the "discovered" people considered. They will create a board game that incorporates these events, lessons and consequences into a learning experience for the players. Bringing and balancing these perspectives within our modern consciousness brings greater awareness and understanding. This unit will teach students to question what they read, hear, and view, contributing to their growth as informed and engaged citizens.
Social Studies
Concept: Economic specialization and trade networks can lead to conflict and cooperation between societies.
Connection: This unit focuses on the economic and social dynamics of the Age of Cultural Encounters. Students will learn how trade networks and economic specialization led to both cooperation and conflict between societies. The unit will highlight European explorers' challenges in establishing trade routes in already populated regions and the ensuing conflicts. By examining these historical events, students will gain a deeper understanding of how these encounters shaped the world we live in today.
Math
Concept: Data from circle graphs can be used to illustrate proportion and to compare and interpret.
Connection: Students will engage with data and probability concepts by creating circle graphs. They will work with ratios, percentages, decimals, and whole numbers to illustrate proportions and make comparisons. This mathematical exploration will help students understand the scale and impact of cultural encounters during this period, using data to bring historical events to life.
Science
Concept: The electromagnetic force produces both electricity and magnetism.
Connection: Your child will investigate the relationship between magnetic force and electricity by running different hands-on experiments.