Unit 1: Exploration and Colonization

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, many Europeans embarked upon a "New World." Then again, the "new world" wasn't exactly "new" to those who inhabited America for centuries prior to the arrival of Europeans. When worlds collide, it creates challenges for all. Your job during this unit is to investigate what kind of relationship existed between Europeans and Native Americans in the "New World."

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

1. How were the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies different from each other? How were they similar?

5. How did European nations compete to claim lands and riches in the New World?

6. What changes did the arrival of Europeans bring to Native American life?

7. How did early European explorers and settlers influence the formation of America as a nation?(8.1)

4. How and why did the practice of slavery begin and grow in colonial America? (8.7.2)

3. In what way was the Mayflower Compact important to the development of democracy in America(8.2.1)

2. What events, ideas, and social patterns from the colonial period helped to shape American democracy?(8.1)