California's Explorers

Take your students on a voyage to early California! This print-and-go reading set covers the explorers who mapped California's coast and the reasons it took so long to reach. Each page has a short, kid-friendly passage and two quick activities. No prep needed. Just print and teach!

What's Inside (8 pages)

• 1 overview page: Why Explore California? Covers New Spain, gold, the search for a sea route to Asia, and how winds, currents, mountains, and deserts made travel hard
• 5 explorer pages: Hernán Cortés, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Sir Francis Drake, Sebastián Vizcaíno, and Bering and Cook in the North Pacific
• 1 summary page: How Explorers Changed California, with a timeline ordering activity
• 1 answer key with sample answers for every written response
  Features
• Short passages (about 100 words) written at a grade 4 reading level
• Mixed activity types: true/false, word bank fill-ins, matching, circle two, number the events, and one-sentence responses
• Black-and-white friendly design with engaging line art

• How to Use It in Your Classroom

• Unit lessons: teach one explorer a day across a week.
• Small groups or stations: give each group an explorer, then build a class timeline together.
• Review: use the summary page as a quick check before moving on to the missions.
• Homework or sub plans: each page works on its own.
  A perfect lead-in to your California missions unit and a great fit for 4th grade California history!