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 dkeegan@oceanside.k12.ny.us
"It is not
nonviolence if we merely love those that love us. It is nonviolence
only when we love those that hate us."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Menu of Activities and Resources
Standards Addressed:
1,
2, 3, 4
Unit
of Study: Unit II
"European
Exploration and Colonization of the Americas"
Overview
Welcome to all 7th grade students at Oceanside Middle School.
This activity will ask you to explore the colonization of America
in the 17th Century. It is the hope of your teachers that
you work hard, thoughtfully examine the documents presented
to you, and gain a better understanding of the forces that drove
colonization, the experiences faced by colonists in the New
World and the impact this encounter had on the Native Americans.
All students must complete the section titled Academic Level.
However, students wishing to gain an enriched understanding
of colonization are encouraged to participate in the Scholastic
Level Challenge outlined below.
Good Luck!
Vocabulary
The terms and concepts which appear
below are important in gaining a thorough understanding of Colonization.
- colonization
- racism
- prejudice
- impact
- culture
- economic
- social
- political
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- migration
- nativism
- ethnocentrism
- mercantilism
- slavery
- migration
- imperialism
- genocide
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Academic Level Activities
All students are responsible
for completing this part of the challenge. You will given
two days in the Computer Lab (Room 324) or the Library in order
to complete this assignment. You are also welcome to use
the your home computer to examine the documents provided.
Click
on the link below to launch the Colonial Webquest.
Academic
Webquest
Scholastic Level Activities
If you have linked to this section, you have either decided
to do the Scholastic Challenge or are thinking about
doing it. This section is also about colonization, but
it includes an interesting twist: students choosing to participate
will be asked to explore the colonization of the Americas and
compare it with the colonization of Africa and Asia in the late
1800's. If you are unsure whether to participate in this
challenge, read the requirements below:
Assignment
Students choosing to participate in the Scholastic
Challenge must fully examining each study, develop an
essay supporting either Thesis 1 or Thesis 2, which appear
in the box below.
Students participating
in the Scholastic Challenge must engage in the
following study:
In
what ways are the protests of Asians to Vasco DaGama celebrations
similar to the protests of Native Americans and their advocates
to Columbus Day celebrations? In a separate paragraph, discuss
whether these criticisms are fair.
Use the links below to help you understand these important questions.
Links
"Vasco
DaGama - Explorer or Exploiter?"
"East
Jeers West Over Explorer"
Goodbye
Columbus!
"Native
America Genocide"
Film
Connection
In addition to this research, students choosing this study are
encouraged to watch the film "Gandhi" which illustrates the
effects of colonization on India and explores the suspicion
and resentment held by the Indians and the British
for the other group.
Thesis
1
Europeans colonized the Americas, and Asia (India)
in order to bring civilization, religion, and government
to these regions. The European nations should be
honored and praised for spreading their culture and bringing
civility to the uncivilized.
Thesis
2
European colonization in the Americas,
and Asia clearly represented imperialistic nations searching
for greater land, wealth, and authority. The European
nations should not be honored as discoverers or as people
spreading civilization; Instead, they should be seen as
conquerors, destroying advanced cultures and societies
in the pursuit of greater power. |
Connections To Our
World
Congratulations! If you have made it this far you
have completed both the Academic and Scholastic Activities.
It is our hope that you have built up a strong understanding
of colonization - both in America and around the world.
What
many of us fail to see is the connection between colonization
and imperialism. While colonization is often seen as the
physical process of claiming, governing, and utilizing
the resources of a land, imperialism is the wider term for a
nation's ambition to create an empire. Throughout history
imperialistic nations have used military force and brute power
to further their colonial possessions and build their empires;
but the world we live in a smaller world due to technological
innovations and a global economy. Some now theorize that
globalization (or the global economy) is the new form of imperialism.
Using the links below, examine this theory and develop a 1 page
opinion piece that shows an understanding of the question below:
Is globalization
the new imperialism?
"Democracy
in America: The Reluctant Superpower"
Disinfo
"World
Culture Resists Bowing to Commerce"
Globalization
Essential
Questions
- Do
people ever have the right to take another’s property?
If so, when?
If not, why not?
Why did Europeans believe they had the right to take
and use land that had been Native American land?
- Within
a few generations of the European's arrival, the Native American
population of the Americas was reduced by 90%. What
caused this decrease? Was it essential? Is this an example
of genocide? Was
the purpose of European colonization to spread civilization
or promote national interest?
- Between
1500 and 1750, the nations of Western Europe took over almost
all of North and South America. Between 1750-1900, they
did the same in Asia and Africa. They claimed to have
done so to spread Christianity and their idea of civilization.
The greatest immediate changes that resulted from this conquest
and colonization were that the natives in these areas became
poorer while Europe became immensely rich and powerful.
Do you think the Europeans were being honest when they claimed
to be doing this for the good of Native Americans, the Asians,
and the Africans?
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