UbD Lesson Plan

Title:

Subject/Cour

Trans-Oceanic Exchange and its Global Effect

se:

(5th century)

World History

Topic:

Grade:

Designer(s):

Increase in trade, globalization,

9-10th

Amanda Hoag

growth of empires

Stage 1Desired Results

Established Goals: State Standards/Competencies and
Curriculum Codes
5.1 Cross-temporal or Global Expectations
Analyze the global impact and significant developments caused
by transoceanic travel and the linking of all the major areas of the
world by the 18th century.
5.1.1 Emerging Global System Analyze the impact of increased
oceanic travel including changes in the global system of trade,
migration, and political power as compared to the previous era.
5.2 Interregional or Comparative Expectations
Analyze the impact of oceanic travel on interregional
interactions.
5.2.1 European Exploration/Conquest and Columbian Exchange
Analyze the demographic, environmental, and political
consequences of European oceanic travel and conquest and of
the Columbian Exchange in the late 15th and 16th centuries by
describing the geographic routes used in the exchange of
plants, animals, and pathogens among the continents in the late
15th and the 16th centuries
explaining how forced and free migrations of peoples (push/pull

factors) and the exchange of plants, animals, and pathogens

impacted the natural environments, political institutions,
societies, and commerce of European, Asian, African, and the
American societies
5.2.2 Trans-African and Trans-Atlantic Slave Systems Analyze
the emerging trans-Atlantic slave system and compare it to other
systems of labor existing during this era by
using historical and modern maps and other data to analyze
the causes and development of the Atlantic trade system,
including economic exchanges, the diffusion of Africans in the
Americas (including the Caribbean and South America), and the
Middle Passage
5.3.2 East Asia through the 18th Century Analyze the major
political, religious, economic, and cultural
transformations in East Asia by
analyzing the major reasons for the continuity of Chinese
society under the Ming and Qing
dynasties, including the role of Confucianism, the civil service,
and Chinese oceanic exploration
Understandings:
Essential Questions:
Students will understand that . .
.
How did transoceanic
Transoceanic travel was
travel increase trade
the first steps towards a
between Europe and the
global world.
rest of the world?
The exchange brought on
What was the goals of
by transoceanic travel had
empires engaging in
significant long term
transoceanic travel in the
effects on the world
15th and early 16th
population some of which
century?
What occurrences were the
were unintentional
The goals of transoceanic
direct results of
travel varied depending on
transoceanic travel?

the empire initiating it, but

were usually centered
around religion, wealth,
and power.

Students will know . . .

What were the three
empires that began the
tradition of maritime
exploration?
What advancements made
transoceanic travel
easier/possible.
What each empire hoped
to gain from their travels?
What the immediate
results were of each
voyage.
How these voyages
opened the door to further
exploration.

How was transoceanic

travel the first step to a
global world?

Students will be able to . . .

Identify the three empires
that began the tradition of
transoceanic travel, who
lead each expedition, and
what the goals were for
the empires.
Reason why the empires
would choose maritime
travel over traditional land
travel.
Recall the advancements
in ocean travel that had to
occur for transoceanic
travel to be possible and
describe how each
advancement made it
possible.
Elaborate on how the first
three empires
advancements opened the
door to further exploration.
Review the exchanges that
took place as a result of
transoceanic travel and
evaluate their benefits to

the world at the time.

Stage 2Assessment Evidence

Performance Task:
Students will, in groups, read primary documents from the
beginning of transoceanic travel in order to develop upon prior
knowledge and build an understanding of who, why, and to what
end, an empire would engage in transoceanic travel. They will
discuss in their groups their answers to prompt questions and
then present their findings to the class. Similarities and
differences between the empires will then be discussed as a class.
Key Criteria: to reflect Performance Tasks. Examples are Rubric,
Checklist, etc.
Oral Presentation and Group Discussion Rubric (Found in
resources)

Other Evidence. Summarized (tests, essays, work sample(s),

etc.
Homework: Students will look up an explorer who engaged in
transoceanic travel between 1400 and 1750 (not including
ones I mentioned in detail) and write a brief, to 1 page
paper on who they were, what country they sailed for (if
any), and what the goals of their travel was. They will then
give a brief argument about how this explorer contributed to
globalization through their transoceanic travels.
Short Constructed Response Rubric (Found in Resources)

Stage 3Learning Plan

Learning Activities:
1. Warm-Up: Catch Recall
a. Using 1 soft ball. Students pass the ball from player to
player while calling out their answer. Student cannot
hold onto the ball for more than 3 seconds without
passing.
b. Question: Try and name as many countries as you can
who controlled land on more than one continent before
1750. (Before the U.S. was its own country).
c. Possible answers: Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Dutch,
Russia
d. What country made the claim that the sun never set on
its empire? (Britain)
e. What European country controlled the most territory in
the Americas? (Spain)
f. Who was the first non-natives to reach America? (Vikings
or Polynesians)
2. Power point
a. Our world would not be what it is today had people not
decided to put a boat in the water and traveled into the
unknown.
b. Were discussing transoceanic travel, what brought it
about, and how it transformed the world.

c. Go over objectives.
d. Prior to about 1400 most trade and interaction between
nations took place over land. Point out major routes on
map and how it segregated some areas.
e. Advancements in knowledge and technology made
transoceanic travel possible.
f. Begin to get students thinking about why countries
would want to travel across oceans with prompt
questions on slide.
3. Activity:
a. Identify three major transoceanic voyagers.
b. Divide students into 3 groups and give them readings.
(Each group gets a different reading). Have them go
through their reading as a group discussing the prompt
questions.
c. Bring class back together and have each group present
their findings. As a class discuss how each empire is
similar or different from the others.
4. Video:
a. Play crash course world history video to provide addition
information https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NjEGncridoQ
5. Power point (continued)
a. Have students identify anything they can think of that
would have been a result of transoceanic travel.
b. Go through next three slides identifying major trade
routes that were formed as a result and what items
spread. How did their spread effect the world?
c. Explain that travel did not stop with those three
empires/explorers. More explorers and more countries
set out. Each contributed more and more to the

expansion of global networks.

d. By 1750 the original three empires and others had
spread their control to the other half of the world. Trade
and exploration led to colonization.
6. Entrance Ticket
a. Bring to class tomorrow: Students will look up an
explorer who engaged in transoceanic travel between
1400 and 1750 (not including ones I mentioned in detail)
and write a brief, to 1 page paper on who they were,
what country they sailed for (if any), and what the goals
of their travel was. They will then give a brief argument
about how this explorer contributed to globalization
through their transoceanic travels.
Resources
(Follow)

Short Constructed Response Rubric

Name:_______________________
Topic:_______________________

Hour:___________

Score Point 3
These responses state or imply the main idea of the prompt. They include
completely relevant, specific details. The language is appropriate to the topic and is
directed at the appropriate audience. There may
Score Point 2
These responses state or imply the main idea of the prompt. They include vague
and/or partially relevant details. The language is somewhat appropriate to the topic
and the audience. There may be mechanical and/or grammatical errors that
partially interfere with comprehension.
Score Point 1
These responses state or imply the main idea of the prompt. They include few if any
details. There may be mechanical and/or grammatical errors that interfere with
comprehension.

Rubric for Oral Presentation and Group Discussion (10 points)

Name:__________________
Date:___________________

Hour:__________________

You will be graded from the following five required categories for this
presentation. Each category is worth a possible 2 points.

______/2 Answers all prompt questions completely (Makes honest attempt on

questions that require speculation)

______/2 Gives examples from the reading to support their answers

______/2 Is clear and direct when presenting ideas

______/2 Participates in discussion using knowledge gained from reading

______/2 Is attentive when others are presenting

Score:__________________

Zheng He's Inscription

This inscription was carved on a stele erected at a temple to the goddess the Celestial Spouse at
Changle in Fujian province in 1431.

Record of the miraculous answer (to prayer) of the goddess the Celestial Spouse.
The Imperial Ming Dynasty unifying seas and continents, surpassing the three dynasties even
goes beyond the Han and Tang dynasties. The countries beyond the horizon and from the ends of
the earth have all become subjects and to the most western of the western or the most northern of
the northern countries, however far they may be, the distance and the routes may be calculated.
Thus the barbarians from beyond the seas, though their countries are truly distant, "with double
translation" have come to audience bearing precious objects and presents.
The Emperor, approving of their loyalty and sincerity, has ordered us (Zheng) He and others at
the head of several tens of thousands of officers and flag-troops to ascend more than one hundred
large ships to go and confer presents on them in order to make manifest the transforming power
of the (imperial) virtue and to treat distant people with kindness. From the third year of Yongle
(1405) till now we have seven times received the commission of ambassadors to countries of the
western ocean. The barbarian countries which we have visited are: . . . altogether more than
thirty countries large and small. We have traversed more than one hundred thousand li of
immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising sky-high, .
. . Truly this was due to the majesty and the good fortune of the Court and moreover we owe it to
the protecting virtue of the divine Celestial Spouse. . . .
[A lot of praise to the Celestial Spouse]
. . . We, Zheng He and others, on the one hand have received the high favor of a gracious
commission of our Sacred Lord, and on the other hand carry to the distant barbarians the benefits
of respect and good faith (on their part). Commanding the multitudes on the fleet and (being
responsible for) a quantity of money and valuables in the face of the violence of the winds and
the nights our one fear is not to be able to succeed; how should we then dare not to serve our
dynasty with exertion of all our loyalty and the gods with the utmost sincerity? How would it be
possible not to realize what is the source of the tranquility of the fleet and the troops and the
salvation on the voyage both going and returning? Therefore we have made manifest the virtue
of the goddess on stone and have moreover recorded the years and months of the voyages to the
barbarian countries and the return in order to leave (the memory) forever.
I. In the third year of Yongle (1405) commanding the fleet we went to Guli (Calicut) and other
countries. At that time the pirate Chen Zuyi had gathered his followers in the country of Sanfoqi
(Palembang), where he plundered the native merchants. When he also advanced to resist our
fleet, supernatural soldiers secretly came to the rescue so that after one beating of the drum he
was annihilated. In the fifth year (1407) we returned.

II. In the fifth year of Yongle (1407) commanding the fleet we went to Zhaowa (Java), Guli
(Calicut), Kezhi (Cochin) and Xianle (Siam). The kings of these countries all sent as tribute
precious objects, precious birds and rare animals. In the seventh year (1409) we returned.
III. In the seventh year of Yongle (1409) commanding the fleet we went to the countries (visited)
before and took our route by the country of Xilanshan (Ceylon). Its king Yaliekunaier
(Alagakkonara) was guilty of a gross lack of respect and plotted against the fleet. Owing to the
manifest answer to prayer of the goddess (the plot) was discovered and thereupon that king was
captured alive. In the ninth year (1411) on our return the king was presented (to the throne) (as a
prisoner); subsequently he received the Imperial favour of returning to his own country.
IV. In the eleventh year of Yongle (1413) commanding the fleet we went to Hulumosi (Ormuz)
and other countries. In the country of Sumendala (Samudra) there was a false king Suganla
(Sekandar) who was marauding and invading his country. Its king Cainu-liabiding (Zaynu-'lAbidin) had sent an envoy to the Palace Gates in order to lodge a complaint. We went thither
with the official troups under our command and exterminated some and arrested (other rebels),
and owing to the silent aid of the goddess we captured the false king alive. In the thirteenth year
(1415) on our return he was presented (to the Emperor as a prisoner). In that year the king of the
country of Manlajia (Malacca) came in person with his wife and son to present tribute.
V. In the fifteenth year of Yongle (1417) commanding the fleet we visited the western regions.
The country of Hulumosi (Ormuz) presented lions, leopards with gold spots and large western
horses. The country of Adan (Aden) presented qilin of which the native name is culafa (giraffe),
as well as the long-horned animal maha (oryx). The country of Mugudushu (Mogadishu)
presented huafu lu ("striped" zebras) as well as lions. The country of Bulawa (Brava) presented
camels which run one thousand li as well as camel-birds (ostriches). The countries of Zhaowa
(Java) and Guli (Calicut) presented the animal miligao. They all vied in presenting the
marvellous objects preserved in the mountains or hidden in the seas and the beautiful treasures
buried in the sand or deposited on the shores. Some sent a maternal uncle of the king, others a
paternal uncle or a younger brother of the king in order to present a letter of homage written on
gold leaf as well as tribute.
VI. In the nineteenth year of Yongle (1421) commanding the fleet we conducted the ambassadors
from Hulumosi (Ormuz) and the other countries who had been in attendance at the capital for a
long time back to their countries. The kings of all these countries prepared even more tribute than
previously.
VII. In the sixth year of Xuande (1431) once more commanding the fleet we have left for the
barbarian countries in order to read to them (an Imperial edict) and to confer presents.
We have anchored in this port awaiting a north wind to take the sea, and recalling how
previously we have on several occasions received the benefits of the protection of the divine
intelligence we have thus recorded an inscription in stone.
Sources: Teobaldo Filesi. David Morison trans. China and Africa in the Middle Ages. (London:
Frank Cass, 1972). 57-61.

Dom Manuel's Letter to the King and Queen of Castile [Spain], July 1499

Most high and excellent Prince and Princess, most potent Lord and Lady!

Your Highnesses already know that we had ordered Vasco da Gama, a nobleman of our
household, and his brother Paulo da Gama, with four vessels to make discoveries by sea, and that
two years have now elapsed since their departure. And as the principal motive of this enterprise
has been, with our predecessors, [in] the service of God our Lord, and our own advantage, it
pleased Him in His mercy to speed them on their route. From a message which has now been
brought to this city by one of the captains, we learn that they did reach and discover India and
other kingdoms and lordships bordering upon it; that they entered and navigated its sea, finding
large cities, large edifices and rivers, and great populations, among whom is carried on all the
trade in spices and precious stones, which are forwarded in ships (which these same explorers
saw and met with in good numbers and of great size) to Mecca, and thence to Cairo, whence they
are dispersed throughout the world. Of these [spices, etc.] they have brought a quantity, including
cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper, as well as other kinds, together with the boughs
and leaves of the same; also many fine stones of all sorts, such as rubies and others. And they
also came to a country in which there are mines of gold, of which [gold], as of the spices and
precious stones, they did not bring as much as they could have done, for they took no
merchandise [suited for Indian markets] with them.

As we are aware that your Highnesses will hear of these things with much pleasure and
satisfaction, we thought well to give this in formation. And your Highnesses may believe, in
accordance with what we have learnt concerning the Christian people whom these explorers
reached, that it will be possible, notwithstanding that they are not as yet strong in the faith or
possessed of a thorough knowledge of it, to do much in the service of God and the exaltation of
the Holy Faith, once they shall have been converted and fully fortified [confirmed] in it. And
when they shall have thus been fortified in the faith there will be an opportunity for destroying
the Moors [Muslims] of those parts.

Moreover, we hope, with the help of God, that the great trade which now enriches the Moors of
those parts, through whose hands it passes without the intervention of other persons or peoples,
shall, in consequence of our regulations be diverted to the natives and ships of our own kingdom,
so that henceforth all Christendom, in this part of Europe, shall be able, in a large measure, to
provide itself with these spices and precious stones. ...

Epistola Christofori Colom ...de insulis Indie supra Gangem

Rome, April 1493.
(abridged)
A Letter addressed to the noble Lord Raphael Sanchez, Treasurer to their most invincible
Majesties, Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain, by Christopher Columbus, to whom
our age is greatly indebted, treating of the islands of India recently discovered beyond the
Ganges, to explore which he had been sent eight months before under the auspices and at the
expense of their said Majesties.
. . . Thirty-three days after my departure from Cadiz I reached the Indian sea, where I discovered
many islands, thickly peopled, of which I took possession without resistance in the name of our
most illustrious Monarch, by public proclamation and with unfurled banners. To the first of these
islands, which is called by the Indians Guanahani, I gave the name of the blessed Saviour (San
Salvador), relying upon whose protection I had reached this as well as the other islands; to each
of these I also gave a name, ordering that one should be called Santa Maria de la Concepcion,
another Fernandina, the third Isabella, the fourth Juana, and so with all the rest respectively. . . .
. . . In that island also which I have before said we named Espanola, there are mountains of very
great size and beauty, vast plains, groves, and very fruitful fields, admirably adapted for tillage,
pasture, and habitation. The convenience and excellence of the harbors in this island, and the
abundance of the rivers, so indispensable to the health of man, surpass anything that would be
believed by one who had not seen it. The trees, herbage, and fruits of Espanola are very different
from those of Juana, and moreover it abounds in various kinds of spices, gold, and other metals. .
..
. . . On my arrival at that sea, I had taken some Indians by force from the first island that I came
to, in order that they might learn our language, and communicate to us what they knew
respecting the country; which plan succeeded excellently, and was a great advantage to us, for in
a short time, either by gestures and signs, or by words, we were enabled to understand each
other. These men are still travelling with me, and although they have been with us now a long
time, they continue to entertain the idea that I have descended from heaven; and on our arrival at
any new place they published this, crying out immediately with a loud voice to the other Indians,
Come, come and look upon beings of a celestial race: upon which both women and men,
children and adults, young men and old, when they got rid of the fear they at first entertained,
would come out in throngs, crowding the roads to see us, some bringing food, others drink, with
astonishing affection and kindness. . . .
. . . Finally, to compress into few words the entire summary of my voyage and speedy return, and
of the advantages derivable therefrom, I promise, that with a little assistance afforded me by our
most invincible sovereigns, I will procure them as much gold as they need, as great a quantity of
spices, of cotton, and of mastic (which is only found in Chios), and as many men for the service
of the navy as their Majesties may require. I promise also rhubarb and other sorts of drugs, which
I am persuaded the men whom I have left in the aforesaid fortress have found already and will

continue to find; for I myself have tarried nowhere longer than I was compelled to do by the
winds, except in the city of Navidad, while I provided for the building of the fortress, and took
the necessary precautions for the perfect security of the men I left there. Although all I have
related may appear to be wonderful and unheard of, yet the results of my voyage would have
been more astonishing if I had had at my disposal such ships as I required. But these great and
marvellous results are not to be attributed to any merit of mine, but to the holy Christian faith,
and to the piety and religion of our Sovereigns; for that which the unaided intellect of man could
not compass, the spirit of God has granted to human exertions, for God is wont to hear the
prayers of his servants who love his precepts even to the performance of apparent impossibilities.
...
Such are the events which I have briefly described. Farewell.
Lisbon, the 14th of March.
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS,
Admiral of the Fleet of the Ocean.

2013 The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

www.gilderlehrman.org

Prompt Questions

1. How did transoceanic travel increase trade between Europe and the rest of
the world?
2. What was the goals of empires engaging in transoceanic travel in the 15th
and early 16th century?
3. What occurrences were the direct results of transoceanic travel?
4. How was transoceanic travel the first step to a global world?
5. What was the behavior of Zheng He and his men towards the people they
encountered?
6. Was Zheng He collecting anything on his journey that they needed but could
not produce on their own?
7. What on his journey in the Americas did Columbus notice the most?
8. Was Columbus successful in producing what he promised the King and Queen
of Spain? Does this mean his voyage was a failure?
9. How did the Portuguese get the resources they wanted from the Indian Ocean
cities?
10.Was transoceanic travel impossible before advancements in knowledge and
technology were made in the 1400s?
11.Why was it not necessary for Zheng He to travel outside of the Indian Ocean?
12.What resources were so important to Europeans in the Indies?
13.Why was traveling around Africa such a monumental achievement?
14.Why was it preferable to most to travel and transport goods across water
instead of land?
15.What trade networks developed as a result of transoceanic travel?
16.What were some of the negative effects of transoceanic travel?
17.What were some of the positive effects of transoceanic travel?
18.How was oceanic trade different from trade networks that had developed
across land?
19.What are some major empires that would also become dependent on
transoceanic travel?
20.How did trade lead to colonization?

Annotated Bibliography

Primary:
Columbis, C. (n.d.). Teaching Literacy Through History: Letter from Christopher
Columbus. Retrieved
from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history- by-era/exploration/resources/letter-fromchristopher-columbus
This is a great document to get an idea of what Columbus and his men observed on
their first voyage to the Americas. It is pre-edited on the site. Full versions can be
found elsewhere but Columbus is very wordy in his descriptions and I did not feel it
was necessary for this assignment.

Portugal, M. I. (n.d.). Portuguese in South Asia Documents. Retrieved from

http://www.lasalle.edu/~mcinneshin/356/wk03/dagama.htm
This is a brief letter from the King of Portugal to the King and Queen of Spain
telling of the successful voyage of Vasco Da Gama to the Indian Ocean. It does not
appear to be the full letter and I was unable to find another copy. It does go into
good detail about what was found and brought back from the Indian Ocean and how
the voyage was advantageous to Portugal.
Zheng He's Inscription. (1998, 12 23). Retrieved from University of Minnisota:
http://www.hist.umn.edu/hist1012/primarysource/source.htm
This is a translation of a stone carving done during the Ming Dynasty and Placed by
Zheng He. It is a praising to a goddess and speaks of how Zheng He and the Ming
Dynasty is king and generous to other people.

Secondary:
Early Modern (1450 CE-1750CE) Global Interaction. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Freemanpedia:
http://www.freeman-pedia.com/earlymodern/
This was a great resource for World History information and is sourced
directly from AP World History classroom material and developed by a teacher. A

wide variety of topics are covered beyond transoceanic travel and links to videos
and other information is provided.

Reflection

As I got going into creating my lesson I had to pare back a lot of what I
thought should be covered. Its a topic that if covered should be given a significant
amount of time and consideration. I do feel it is a lesson that needs to be covered in
world history because it is the first connection between the eastern and western
hemispheres and the realization what the world truly was on a global scale. This
topic intersects with so many others that you have to be careful not to approach it
from an American history perspective. It would be very easy as the lesson was
expanded to only look at how transoceanic travel lead to the discoveries of the
Americas and the development of the colonies, the Columbian exchange and the
slave trade.