Lesson Plan #1

Portugal
Introduction:
To begin this Unit on Southern Europe we will begin on the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula in
beautiful, Portugal. With a long and interesting historical journey and a unique geographical location,
Portugal is a perfect way to introduce the region of Southern Europe.

Objectives:
Content/Knowledge:
1. Students will be able to identify key information about Portugal
2. Students will be able to illustrate the historical journey of Portugal
3. Students will be able to compare and contrast the culture of Portugal to other European
countries and the United States
4. Students will be able to construct knowledge on Portuguese explorers
5. Students will be able to explain different economic information on Portugal
6. Students will be able to describe the government type and processes of Portugal
Process/Skills:
1. Students will be able to work with new websites
2. Students will be able to practice typing and technological skills
3. Students will be able to view different landmarks in Portugal from introduction video
Values/Dispositions:
1. Students will be able to make connections to other places around the world

Standards:
State Illinois Learning Standards
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

17.A.3b Explain how to make and use geographic representations to provide and enhance
spatial information including maps, graphs, charts, models, aerial photographs, satellite images.
17.A.3a Explain how people use geographic markers and boundaries to analyze and navigate the
Earth (e.g., hemispheres, meridians, continents, bodies of water).
17.C.3c Analyze how human processes influence settlement patterns including migration and
population growth.
17.D.3b Explain how interactions of geo-graphic factors have shaped present conditions.
16.A.3b Make inferences about historical events and eras using historical maps and other
historical sources.
16.B.3a (US) Describe how different groups competed for power within the colonies and how that
competition led to the development of political institutions during the early national period.
18.A.3 Explain how language, literature, the arts, architecture and traditions contribute to the
development and transmission of culture.
18.B.3a Analyze how individuals and groups interact with and within institutions (e.g.,
educational, military).
18.B.3b Explain how social institutions contribute to the development and transmission of culture.

National National Council for the Social Studies Standards

1.
2.

I. a. explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures
address similar human needs and concerns
I. c. describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as
expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture;

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

II. c. compare and contrast different stories or accounts about past events, people, places, or
situations, identifying how they contribute to our understanding of the past;
II. f. use knowledge of facts and concepts drawn from history, along with elements of historical
inquiry, to in- form decision-making about and action-taking on public issues.
III. c. use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools such as atlases, data bases,
grid systems,charts, graphs, and maps to generate, manipulate, and interpret information;
IV. b. describe personal connections to placeespecially place as associated with immediate
surroundings
VI. a. examine the rights and responsibilities of the individual in relation to his or her social
group, such as family, peer groups, and school class;

National National Standards for Geography

3: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface
6: How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions
9: The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface
17: How to apply geography to interpret the past

Common Core ELA: Social Studies

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other
information in print and digital texts.

Syntax Procedures

1.

Analytical:
a. Teacher Instructions
1. Instructor will play introductory Portugal YouTube video
2. Instructor will Present Power Point Presentation on Portugal
b. Resource
1. Document 1-1: YouTube Video
2. Document: 1-2: Power Point Presentation
c. Student Activity
1. Student s will watch YouTube Video
2. Students will take out Geography notebooks and take notes on Power Point

2. Practical:
a. Teacher Instructions
1. Instructor will present Portuguese Explorer Fakebook Project
2. Instructor will project assigned explorers (Document 2-1)
3. Instructor will hand out and go through instructions (Documents 2-2)
b. Resource
1. Document 2-1: Assigned Explorers
2. Document 2-2: Instructions
c. Student Activity
1. Students will be assigned an explorer
2. Students will listen to and read instructions on Portuguese Explorer Porject
3. Creative:
a. Teacher Instructions
1. Instructor will hand out assigned biography packets
2. Instructor will monitor reading
3. When students are done reading biography packet they will receive a laptop
4. Instructor will make sure each student is on fakebook website (Document 2-4)
5. Instructor will monitor computer activity
6. Instructor will help students print out work when their factbooks are complete
7. Instructor will collect factbook project
b. Resources
1. Document 2-3: Packet On Explorer
2. Classroom Laptop Set
3. Document: 2-4: Factbook Wesite
c. Student Activity
1. Students will read short biography on assigned explorer

2. Students will highlight biography or write notes in notebook on explorer if they

please
3. Students will receive assigned laptop and go straight to the factbook website
4. Students will design factbook and fulfill all requirements from instructions
5. Students will print out pages of factbook when completed and turn it in to
instructor

Document 1-1
Video Introducing Portugal

Document 1-2
Portugal Presentation

Document 2-1

Ben: Vasco Da Gama

Luke: Ferdinand Magellan
Samantha: Bartolomeu Dias
Tanya: Vasco Da Gama
Carlos: Ferdinand Magellan
Phillip: Bartolomeu Dias
Abby: Vasco Da Gama
Rachel: Ferdinand Magellan
Lexie: Bartolomeu Dias
Courtney: Vasco Da Gama
Paul: Ferdinand Magellan
Jason: Bartolomeu Dias
Megan: Vasco Da Gama
Melissa: Ferdinand Magellan
Joe: Bartolomeu Dias
Travis: Vasco Da Gama
Rose: Ferdinand Magellan
Cheyenne: Bartolomeu Dias
Evan: Vasco Da Gama
Ethan: Ferdinand Magellan

Document 2-2

Fakebook Project
You will be assigned a Portuguese Explorer
o Bartolomeu Dias, Ferdinand Magellen, or Vasco Da Gama

Once you are assigned an Explorer you will read a short biography
on your explorer
When you have finished the biography on your explorer you will
be assigned a laptop
Using your assigned explorer you will create a Fakebook which is
a fake facebook page.
On your laptop you will go to http://www.classtools.net/FB/home-page
On your fakebook you will need to add information that you will
be able to find in your short biography
On your fakebook you will need:
o
o
o
o

Date of Birth
Image of Explorer
10 Status updates (or more)- ex. Important Accomplishments
Four friends

When your fakebook is complete please print out the pages of your
fakebook, put your name on it, and turn it in!

Document 2-3

Vasco da Gama
Explorer (c. 14601524)
QUICK FACTS
NAME
Vasco da Gama
OCCUPATION
Explorer
BIRTH DATE
c. 1460
DEATH DATE
December 24, 1524
PLACE OF BIRTH
Sines, Portugal
PLACE OF DEATH
Cochin, India
FULL NAME

Vasco da Gama

Synopsis
Explorer Vasco da Gama was born in Sines, Portugal, around 1460. In 1497, he was
commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East. His success in doing
so proved to be one of the more instrumental moments in the history of navigation. He
subsequently made two other voyages to India, and was appointed as Portuguese viceroy in India
in 1524.

Early Years
Explorer Vasco da Gama was born into a noble family around 1460 in Sines, Portugal. Little is
known about his upbringing except that he was the third son of Estvo da Gama, who was
commander of the fortress in Sines in the southwestern pocket of Portugal. When he was old
enough, young Vasco da Gama joined the navy, where was taught how to navigate.
Known as a tough and fearless navigator, da Gama solidified his reputation as a reputable sailor
when, in 1492, King John II of Portugal dispatched him to the south of Lisbon and then to the
Algarve region of the country, to seize French ships as an act of vengeance against the French
government for disrupting Portuguese shipping.
Following da Gama's completion of King John II's orders, in 1495, King Manuel took the throne,
and the country revived its earlier mission to find a direct trade route to India. By this time,
Portugal had established itself as one of the most powerful maritime countries in Europe.
Much of that was due to Henry the Navigator, who, at his base in the southern region of the
country, had brought together a team of knowledgeable mapmakers, geographers and navigators.
He dispatched ships to explore the western coast of Africa to expand Portugal's trade influence.
He also believed that he could find and form an alliance with Prester John, who ruled over a
Christian empire somewhere in Africa. Henry the Navigator never did locate Prester John, but
his impact on Portuguese trade along Africa's east coast during his 40 years of explorative work
was undeniable. Still, for all his work, the southern portion of Africawhat lay eastremained
shrouded in mystery.
In 1487, an important breakthrough was made when Bartolomeu Dias discovered the southern tip
of Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope. This journey was significant; it proved, for the
first time, that the Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected. The trip, in turn, sparked a
renewed interest in seeking out a trade route to India.

By the late 1490s, however, King Manuel wasn't just thinking about commercial opportunities as
he set his sights on the East. In fact, his impetus for finding a route was driven less by a desire to
secure for more lucrative trading grounds for his country, and more by a quest to conquer Islam
and establish himself as the king of Jerusalem.

First Voyage
Historians know little about why exactly da Gama, still an inexperienced explorer, was chosen to
lead the expedition to India in 1497. On July 8 of that year, he captained a team of four vessels,
including his flagship, the 200-ton St. Gabriel, to find a sailing route to India and the East.
To embark on the journey, da Gama pointed his ships south, taking advantage of the prevailing
winds along the coast of Africa. His choice of direction was also a bit of a rebuke to Christopher
Columbus, who had believed he'd found a route to India by sailing east.
Following several months of sailing, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope and began making his
way up the eastern coast of Africa, toward the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean. By January,
as the fleet neared what is now Mozambique, many of da Gama's crewmembers were sick with
scurvy, forcing the expedition to anchor for rest and repairs for nearly one month.
In early March of 1498, da Gama and his crew dropped their anchors in the port of Mozambique,
a Muslim city-state that sat on the outskirts of the east coast of Africa and was dominated by
Muslim traders. Here, da Gama was turned back by the ruling sultan, who felt offended by the
explorer's modest gifts.
By early April, the fleet reached what is now Kenya, before setting sail on a 23-day run that
would take them across the Indian Ocean. They reached Calicut, India, on May 20. But da
Gama's own ignorance of the region, as well as his presumption that the residents were
Christians, led to some confusion. The residents of Calicut were actually Hindu, a fact that was
lost on da Gama and his crew, as they had not heard of the religion.
Still, the local Hindu ruler welcomed da Gama and his men, at first, and the crew ended up
staying in Calicut for three months. Not everyone embraced their presence, especially Muslim
traders who clearly had no intention of giving up their trading grounds to Christian visitors.
Eventually, da Gama and his crew were forced to barter on the waterfront in order to secure
enough goods for the passage home. In August of 1498, da Gama and his men took to the seas
again, beginning their journey back to Portugal.

Da Gama's timing could not have been worse; his departure coincided with the start of a
monsoon. By early 1499, several crewmembers had died of scurvy and in an effort to economize
his fleet, da Gama ordered one of his ships to be burned. The first ship in the fleet didn't reach
Portugal until July 10, nearly a full year after they'd left India.
In all, da Gama's first journey covered nearly 24,000 miles in close to two years, and only 54 of
the crew's original 170 members survived.

Second Voyage
When da Gama returned to Lisbon, he was greeted as a hero. In an effort to secure the trade route
with India and usurp Muslim traders, Portugal dispatched another team of vessels, headed by
Pedro lvares Cabral. The crew reached India in just six months, and the voyage included a
firefight with Muslim merchants, where Cabral's crew killed 600 men on Muslim cargo vessels.
More important for his home country, Cabral established the first Portuguese trading post in
India.
In 1502, Vasco da Gama helmed another journey to India that included 20 ships. Ten of the ships
were directly under his command, with his uncle and nephew helming the others. In the wake of
Cabral's success and battles, the king charged da Gama to further secure Portugal's dominance in
the region.
To do so, da Gama embarked on one of the most gruesome massacres of the exploration age. He
and his crew terrorized Muslim ports up and down the African east coast, and at one point, set
ablaze a Muslim ship returning from Mecca, killing the several hundreds of people (including
women and children) who were on board. Next, the crew moved to Calicut, where they wrecked
the city's trade port and killed 38 hostages. From there, they moved to the city of Cochin, a city
south of Calicut, where da Gama formed an alliance with the local ruler.
Finally, on February 20, 1503, da Gama and his crew began to make their way home. They
reached Portugal on October 11 of that year.

Later Years
Little was recorded about da Gama's return home and the reception that followed, though it has
been speculated that the explorer felt miffed at the recognition and compensation for his exploits.
Married at this time, and the father of six sons, da Gama settled into retirement and family life.
He maintained contact with King Manuel, advising him on Indian matters, and was named count
of Vidigueira in 1519. Late in life, after the death of King Manuel, da Gama was asked to return

to India, in an effort to contend with the growing corruption from Portuguese officials in the
country. In 1524, King John III named da Gama Portuguese viceroy in India.
That same year, da Gama died in Cochinthe result, it has been speculated, from possibly
overworking himself. His body was sailed back to Portugal, and buried there, in 1538.

Ferdinand Magellan
Explorer (c. 14801521)

QUICK FACTS
NAME
Ferdinand Magellan
OCCUPATION
Explorer
BIRTH DATE
c. 1480
DEATH DATE
April 27, 1521

PLACE OF BIRTH
Sabrosa or Porto, Portugal
PLACE OF DEATH
Mactan, Philippines
FULL NAME
Ferdinand Magellan

Synopsis
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal circa 1480. As a boy, he studied mapmaking and
navigation. By his mid-20s, he was sailing in large fleets and was committed in combat. In 1519,
with the support of King Charles V of Spain, Magellan set out to circumnavigate the globe. He
assembled a fleet of ships and, despite huge setbacks, his own death included, proved that the
world was round.

Early Life
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal, either in the city of Porto or in Sabrosa, circa 1480.
His parents were members of the Portuguese nobility, so after their deaths, when he was just 10
years old, Magellan became a page for the queen. Magellan studied at Queen Leonora's School
of Pages in Lisbon and spent his days poring over texts on cartography, astronomy, and celestial
navigationsubjects that would serve him well in his later pursuits.

Navigator and Explorer

In his mid-20s, Magellan joined a Portuguese fleet that was sailing to East Africa. He soon found
himself at the Battle of Diu, in which the Portuguese destroyed Egyptian ships in the Arabian
Sea. He also explored Malacca, located in present-day Malaysia, and participated in the conquest
of Malacca's port. It is possible that he sailed as far as the Moluccas, islands in Indonesia, then
called the Spice Islands. The Moluccas were the original source of some of the world's most
valuable spices, including cloves and nutmeg. The conquest of spice-rich countries was, as a
result, a source of much European competition.
While serving in Morocco, Magellan was wounded, and walked the remainder of his life with a
limp. After his injury, he was falsely accused of trading illegally with the Moors, and despite all
of his service to Portugal, and his many pleas to the king, any further offers of employment were
withheld him.
In 1517, Magellan moved to Seville, Spain, to offer his skills to the Spanish court. In the three
years following his departure from Portugal, he had religiously studied all of the most recent

navigation charts. He had also benefited from the mistakes and discoveries of several other
explorersChristopher Columbus's "discovery" of North America and Vasco Nez de Balboa's
march across the Panamanian isthmus to the Pacific Ocean were just two of the many events that
inspired Magellan's bold quest for an all-water passage to farther-flung, spice-rich lands.

Final Years
Magellan devised a plan for circumnavigating the globe, and King Charles V of Spain gave it his
blessing. On September 20, 1519, he set out with a fleet of five ships, beautifully named but
hardly adequate to sail the distances he proposed. The fleet sailed first to Brazil and then down
the coast of South America to Patagonia. There, an attempted mutiny took place, and one of the
ships was wrecked. Despite the setback, the crew continued on with the four remaining vessels.
By October 1520, Magellan and his men had entered what is now called the Strait of Magellan. It
took them over a month to pass through the strait, during which time the master of one of the
ships deserted and sailed back home. In March 1521, the fleet anchored in Guam.
It is a lesser-known fact that Magellan became involved in a local war in the Philippines, where
he was killed in battle on April 27, 1521. It's also largely unknown that it was the remaining
members of his crew, namely Juan Sebastin del Cano, who actually completed the
circumnavigation of the globe. The following year, on September 8, 1522, despite having almost
lost their lives in their efforts, the remainder of Magellan's fleet returned to Spain, thus proving
that the globe was in fact round.

Bartolomeu Dias
Explorer (c. 14501500)

QUICK FACTS
NAME
Bartolomeu Dias
OCCUPATION
Explorer
BIRTH DATE
c. 1450
DEATH DATE
May 29, 1500
PLACE OF BIRTH
Portugal

PLACE OF DEATH
South Africa
AKA
Bartholomew Diaz
FULL NAME
Bartolomeu Dias

Synopsis
Born in 1450, Bartolomeu Dias was sent by Portuguese King John II to explore the coast of
Africa and find a way to the Indian Ocean. Dias departed circa August 1487, rounding the
southernmost tip of Africa in January, 1488. The Portuguese (possibly Dias himself) named this
point of land the Cape of Good Hope. Dias was lost at sea during another expedition around the
Cape in 1500.

An ambitious plan
Almost nothing is known about the life of Bartolomeu de Novaes Dias before 1487, except that
he was at the court of Joo II, king of Portugal (1455-1495), and was a superintendent of the
royal warehouses. He likely had much more sailing experience than his one recorded stint aboard
the warship So Cristvo. Dias was probably in his mid- to late 30s in 1486 when Joo
appointed him to head an expedition in search of a sea route to India.
Joo was entranced by the legend of Prester John, a mysterious and probably apocryphal 12thcentury leader of a nation of Christians somewhere in Africa. Joo sent out a pair of explorers,
Afonso de Paiva (c. 1460-c. 1490) and Pro da Covilh (c. 1450-c. 1526), to search overland for
the Christian kingdom in Ethiopia. Joo also wanted to find a way around the southernmost point
of Africa's coastline, so just a few months after dispatching the overland explorers, he sponsored
Dias in an African expedition.
In August 1487, Dias' trio of ships departed from the port of Lisbon, Portugal. Dias followed the
route of 15th-century Portuguese explorer Diogo Co (c. 1450-c. 1486), who had followed the
coast of Africa as far as present-day Cape Cross, Namibia. Dias' cargo included the standard
"padres," the limestone markers used to stake Portuguese claims on the continent. Padres were
planted at the shoreline and served as guideposts to previous Portuguese explorations of the
coast.
Dias' expedition party included six Africans who had been brought to Portugal by earlier
explorers. Dias dropped off the Africans at different ports along the coastline of Africa with

supplies of gold and silver and messages of goodwill from the Portuguese to the indigenous
people. The last two Africans were left at a place the Portuguese sailors called Angra do Salto,
probably in modern Angola, and the expedition's supply ship was left there under guard of nine
men.

Exepedition Around South Africa

In early January 1488, as Dias' two ships sailed off the coast of South Africa, storms blew them
away from the coast. Dias is thought to have ordered a turn to the south of about 28 degrees,
probably because he had prior knowledge of southeasterly winds that would take him around the
tip of Africa and keep his ships from being dashed on the notoriously rocky shoreline. Joo and
his predecessors had obtained navigational intelligence, including a 1460 map from Venice that
showed the Indian Ocean on the other side of Africa.
Dias' decision was risky, but it worked. The crew spotted landfall on February 3, 1488, about
300 miles east of present-day Cape of Good Hope. They found a bay they called So Bras
(present-day Mossel Bay) and the much warmer waters of the Indian Ocean. From the shoreline,
indigenous Khoikhoi pelted Dias' ships with stones until an arrow fired by either Dias or one of
his men felled a tribesman. Dias ventured further along the coastline, but his crew was nervous
about the dwindling food supplies and urged him to turn back. As mutiny loomed, Dias
appointed a council to decide the matter. The members came to the agreement that they would
permit him to sail another three days, then turn back. At Kwaaihoek, in present-day Eastern Cape
province, they planted a padro on March 12, 1488, which marked the easternmost point of
Portuguese exploration.
On the journey back, Dias observed the southernmost point of Africa, later called Cabo das
Agulhas, or Cape of Needles. Dias named the rocky second cape Cabo das Tormentas (Cape of
Storms) for the tempestuous storms and strong Atlantic-Antarctic currents that made ship travel
so perilous.
Back in Angra do Salto, Dias and his crew were aghast to find that only three of the nine men
left guarding the food ship had survived repeated attacks by locals; a seventh man died on the
journey home. In Lisbon, after 15 months at sea and a journey of nearly 16,000 miles, the
returning mariners were met by triumphant crowds. In a private meeting with the king, however,
Dias was forced to explain his failure to meet up with Paiva and Covilh. Despite his immense
achievement, Dias was never again put in a position of authority. Joo ordered that henceforth,
maps would show the new name for Cabo das Tormentas--Cabo da Boa Esperana, or Cape of
Good Hope.

Advisor to Vasco da Gama

Following his expedition, Dias settled for a time in Guinea in West Africa, where Portugal had
established a gold-trading site. Joo's successor, Manuel I (1469-1521), ordered Dias to serve as
a shipbuilding consultant for the expedition of Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524).
Dias sailed with the da Gama expedition as far as the Cape Verde Islands, then returned to
Guinea. Da Gama's ships reached their goal of India in May 1498, nearly a decade after Dias'
historic trip around the tip of Africa.
Afterward, Manuel sent out a massive fleet to India under Pedro lvares Cabral (c. 1467-c.
1520), and Dias captained four of the ships. They reached Brazil in March 1500, then headed
across the Atlantic toward South Africa and, further ahead, the Indian subcontinent. At the feared
Cabo das Tormentas, storms struck the fleet of 13 ships. In May 1500, four of the ships were
wrecked, including Dias', with all crew lost at sea.

Document 2-4

www.classtools.net/FAKEBOOK