To commemorate the observation of Columbus Day, we’ve collected Learning Network lessons and features on explorers and exploration, along with related resources from The Times and around the Web.
Student Crossword
Lesson Plans
Discovery Channels
Exploring issues surrounding the celebration of Columbus Day and the impact and legacy of exploration and colonization.
Stories That Go With the Territory
Investigating expeditions throughout history to new or uncharted territories.
Declarations of Independence
Learning about American Indians past and present.
Imperial Notions
Researching colonization and the pros and cons for rulers and the ruled.
‘I Cannot Tell a Lie’
Examining and debunking historical myths.
You Know What?
Gauging knowledge of literature and history and connecting it to understanding of our world.
Show and Tell
Examining images of artifacts depicting the early Americas.
We the People: Considering Howard Zinn’s Approach to History
Comparing Howard Zinn’s approach with other history narratives.
Game On!
Creating board games that teach about exploration, heroism, pioneering and discovery.
Current Connections
Examining current events and American history as they relate to an Op-Ed piece.
Tribal Truths
Researching and analyzing the interactions of American Indian tribes with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
Warm Thoughts about the Cold
Learning about life at the South Pole.
Vikings in Vinland
Creating geographic maps that illustrate Viking explorations of North America.
Just a ‘Fellow Traveler’ in the Human Experience
Connecting space exploration with everyday life today.
Dream Big
Creating proposals for adventurous experiences like space exploration.
Selected New York Times Articles
Christopher Columbus
Seeking Columbus’s Origins, With a Swab
Scientists Say Mummies’ Lice Show Pre-Columbian Origins
Genetic Study Bolsters Columbus Link to Syphilis
Hoping DNA Will Discover Columbus, Post-Mortem
New Theory Puts Chinese Fleet Ahead of Columbus
Robert E. Peary
Times Traveler blog: Dispatch Offers Outside Glimpse of Peary
Times Traveler blog: Peary Ends Narrative; Times Loses Exclusive
Times Traveler blog: Historic Issue on Peary’s North Pole Feat
Times Traveler blog: Relics of Previous Arctic Ventures Recovered
Ernest Shackleton
Sept. 11, 1916: Shackleton’s Men Kept Hope of Rescue High
March 25, 1916: Shackleton Ship Helpless in Ice Drifts 500 Miles
Other Explorers
Dot Earth blog: Here’s to Jacques-Yves Cousteau
NASA at 40, June 19, 1983: Shuttle Rockets to Orbit with Five Aboard
Dec. 12, 1903: Memorial to an Indian Woman
Polar Sidekicks Earn a Place on the Map
