Do you explicitly teach history vocabulary words? While vocabulary is usually associated with Language Arts instruction, these lessons can be powerful tools when teaching history.
However, sifting through your history units to find meaningful vocabulary terms can be time-consuming. To get you started, I’ve created an Age of Exploration vocabulary list with definitions and teaching suggestions.
I’ve also created a list of the words in Google docs that you can download below.
Why Teach Age of Exploration Vocabulary?
Vocabulary is the key that unlocks understanding. If students don’t know certain words, there are some concepts they will not understand.
For example, imagine you are teaching a lesson about the precedents set by George Washington’s presidency. If your students do not understand the word precedent, most of your discussion will go right over their heads! Sure, students can use context clues to pull together a meaning. But the word being explicitly taught, students will not be able to grasp the whole meaning of the word – with all of its nuances and deeper implications.
In this blog post for Middle grades educators, Lauren Brown illustrates the power of vocabulary. She said:
Students often whine about vocabulary tests. They don’t see the point of memorizing a bunch of words that, to them, just mean the same thing as other words they already know. “Why do we need to know squalid,” they ask. “Can’t we just say dirty?”
But the [immigrant] tenements weren’t just dirty. They were, according to one definition of squalid, “extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect.” This seven-letter word speaks volumes about the conditions of the urban poor at the turn of the century in a way that “dirty” or “really bad” doesn’t convey.
According to Brown, “vocabulary is a tool of thought.” As such, student thought can be simplistic if they do not have a rich vocabulary. Conversely, students can have more complex thoughts when they develop a more complex vocabulary.
Tips for Teaching Age of Exploration Key Terms
To develop a vast vocabulary, students need both direct and indirect instruction. In addition, students need to be exposed to the words multiple times. As vocabulary words are studied repeatedly and in various meaningful contexts, student understanding will increase.
Here are some of my favorite ways to teach vocabulary:
First, teach the meaning of each word using Marzano’s six-step approach. This process includes the following steps:
- Explain: Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
- Restate: Students restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.
- Show: Students construct a picture, pictograph, symbolic representation or act out the term.
- Engage: Engage students in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms.
- Discuss: Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
- Play: Involve students in games that enable them to play with the terms and reinforce word knowledge.
*This blog post describes some excellent websites and apps that can help you in this six-step process.
Play games with the words. Playing games with vocabulary terms will help students understand and internalize word meanings in a fun and non-threatening environment. For example:
- Charades: In this game, students “act out” the vocabulary word without speaking while the other members of their team try to guess what the vocabulary word is.
- Create a Skit: Split up your class into groups of two or three. Give each group one vocabulary word and 5-10 minutes to create a skit that illustrates that vocabulary word. Allow students access to readily available props like paper, desks, chairs, whiteboards, books, etc. Then, students have one minute to present their skit to the class. To make this even more challenging, don’t allow students to talk during their performances!
- Guess My Word: First, write each vocabulary word on a sticky note. Next, place one sticky note on each student’s forehead (or back). Then, students ask questions to determine what word is written on their sticky notes.
- This can be done in several different ways. For example, students can do this in small groups, or you can have one student come up in front of the class.
- Students guessing must ask YES or NO questions. Ex: Am I a verb? Am I a noun? Do I have a prefix? Would I come after BIRD in the dictionary?
- Optional: students guessing can access the list of vocabulary words.
Why I Chose these Age of Exploration Words
When searching for vocabulary words, I tried to include a mix of words students would experience throughout their study of social studies (like hemisphere) as well as words that are more specific to studying the Age of Exploration (like caravel). I also chose words students would likely encounter multiple times in my Age of Exploration unit!
Age of Exploration Unit | Age of Discovery | 5th Grade – 8th Grade
15 Age of Exploration Words
- Age of Exploration – A time period when European countries explored other areas of the world in search of land, goods, and trading partners. This was also called the Age of Discovery.
- Hemisphere – One-half of the Earth. The northern and southern hemispheres are divided by the equator. The eastern and western hemispheres are divided by the meridian.
- Trade Route – A path used by traders.
- Navigation – The art of guiding a ship from place to place safely.
- Caravel – A small, fast ship used by Spanish and Portuguese explorers for long journeys.
- Magnetic Compass – A navigational tool that uses a magnetized needle. This magnetic needle aligns with the Earth’s magnetic field to point north.
- Astrolabe – A tool to measure a ship’s latitude at sea by measuring the angle between the horizon and the stars.
- Colonization – The act of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.
- Conquistador – A colonizer, especially one of the Spanish conquerors in the New World.
- Pre-Columbian civilization – Indigenous civilizations which rose, flourished, and fell in the Americas before 1492.
- Slavery – When a person owns another person as property.
- Atlantic Slave Trade – From 1500-1800, millions of Africans were captured and forced onto ships going to the Americas. Once there, they were sold into slavery.
- Columbian Exchange – An exchange of diseases, plants, animals, and humans between the Old World and the New World.
- Old World – The part of the world that was known by Europeans before the Age of Exploration; The eastern hemisphere (Europe, Asia, and Africa).
- New World – The part of the world that was not known by Europeans before the Age of Exploration; the western hemisphere (North and South America).
Get the FREE Age of Exploration Vocabulary List
I hope these tips and resources help to make vocabulary learning more exciting and meaningful in your classroom.
Download the free Age of Exploration Vocabulary List
Need vocabulary words for a different unit of study? Check out more history vocabulary lists.
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