The Age of Exploration

Lesson Details

• Subject: History
• Year Group: Year 8
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Class Size: 8 students
• Focus: The motivations behind Christopher Columbus' voyages – Gold, Glory, and God
• Curriculum Area: KS3 History, National Curriculum in England – Development of Church, State, and Society 1066-1745
• SEN Considerations: Visual prompts, structured discussions, hands-on activity, and group work

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Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Explain the three main motives behind Christopher Columbus' voyages (Gold, Glory, and God).
2. Analyse how these motivations impacted indigenous people and global history.
3. Engage in a role-play activity to deepen understanding of Columbus’ expedition from different perspectives.

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Lesson Structure

Starter Activity (10 minutes) – The Mysterious Chest

• Introduce a mystery box (a closed treasure chest or a bag with objects inside).
• Inside, place three items representing ‘Gold, Glory, and God’ (e.g., a fake gold coin, a small crown, and a wooden cross).
• Ask students:
  • What do these objects have in common?
  • If you were an explorer, why might these be important?
• This hands-on activity helps SEN students engage visually and kinaesthetically.

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Main Teaching Section (20 minutes) – The 3 G’s

Explaining Gold, Glory, and God (5 minutes)

Use a visual PowerPoint or printed handouts with simple, structured definitions:

1. Gold – Columbus was promised wealth and resources from undiscovered lands.
2. Glory – Explorers wanted to be famous and bring power to their country.
3. God – Spain wanted to spread Christianity to new lands.

Small-Group Discussion (10 minutes)

• Group students into pairs.
• Each pair is assigned one motivation (Gold, Glory, or God).
• Using sentence prompts, they discuss:
  • Why would this be important in the 15th century?
  • How do you think this affected the native people Columbus encountered?

Quickfire Debate (5 minutes)

• Each pair presents a short 30-second argument on why their assigned motivation was the most important.
• This encourages speaking and listening skills while accommodating SEN students with structured reasoning.

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Interactive Activity (20 minutes) – Role-Play: Columbus' Journey

Setting the Scene (2 minutes)

• Explain that students will role-play key figures in Columbus’ journey.

Roles (3 minutes to assign & prepare, 10 minutes for role-play, 5 minutes for discussion)

• Christopher Columbus
• A Spanish King or Queen (sponsoring the voyage)
• A native person living in the ‘New World’
• A Spanish priest (spreading Christianity)

Students will act out a conversation between Columbus and the others:

• Why did Columbus decide to sail?
• What did he promise the King and Queen?
• How did the native people react?
• Why did the priest care about the expedition?

After the role-play, hold a quick reflection:

• Do we think Columbus’ actions had positive or negative consequences? Why?

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Plenary (10 minutes) – The Verdict on Columbus

• Hand out emoji cards (happy, neutral, sad).
• Read four short statements summarising Columbus’ impact.
• Students raise an emoji card depending on whether they think each outcome was positive, negative, or mixed.
• Example statement: "Columbus brought new goods and animals to Europe."
• Discuss their choices.

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Assessment & Differentiation

Assessment Criteria

• Formative assessment through discussions, role-play, and emoji plenary.
• Clear understanding of Gold, Glory, and God shown through verbal reasoning.

Differentiation for SEN Support

• Visual Prompts – Mystery box, images, and emoji responses.
• Structured Tasks – Sentence stems, small-group discussions.
• Interactive Learning – Role-play to reinforce historical perspectives.

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Resources

• Treasure Box (or bag with ‘gold’, ‘glory’, and ‘God’ props)
• PowerPoint/Handouts with simple definitions & images
• Emoji Cards for plenary
• Costume Items (optional for role-play engagement)

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Teacher Reflection Questions

• Did all students engage with at least one of the 3 G’s?
• Did SEN strategies help scaffold understanding?
• Was there a balance between discussion and activity?

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Extension Task (For Early Finishers)

Students write a journal entry as Columbus, choosing one of the 3 G’s as their main motivation.

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Final Thought for Teachers

This lesson provides a multi-sensory approach aligned with KS3 History while actively supporting SEN learners. It’s engaging, historically accurate, and helps students debate Columbus’ legacy in a way that promotes critical thinking. 🚀