Major
Research
Project.

A Traditional
Research Paper
or Creative Material
for the Classroom.

(The project is worth 20% of your grade for the course. )

Your major research project can either be a traditional research paper of 15-20 pages on some aspect of the Age of Columbus or it can be a project that creates some sort of materials suitable for use in the classroom.

Students should have finalized their topics by 15 September 2010 and have a proposal saying what their project is and why they are doing it in 150 words, typed and ready to turn in to the instructor.

Classroom materials should be directed toward a middle or secondary school audience. It is also assumed that these students would be literate and reasonably enthusiastic, sort of like Wally and the Beav. If the student would like to pitch their project to a lower elementary audience they should secure permission from the instructor. The students will present their projects to the class on the day of the final. All projects are due on 17 November 2010 and will be assessed late penalties of a half grade a day for each day they are late.

Here are some examples of possible projects:

1) A unit plan for teaching the Age of Exploration.

2) A slide presentation on some aspect of the Age of Exploration. This would involve doing picture research and preparing an accompanying narration to go with the slides. Many themes are possible: sailing ships, fashions, navigational instruments, images of the Indians, or images of Asia.

3) An annotated bibliography of juvenile or young adult non-fiction or fiction dealing with the Age of Discovery. An annotated bibliography of adult historical novels dealing with the Age of Discovery would also be acceptable.

4) A set of map transparencies for teaching the Age of Exploration.

5) A set of work sheets dealing with the Great Age of Exploration that includes using reference works like the dictionary and the encyclopedia (particularly World Book).

6) Developing a set of primary historical documents to be used by students in the classroom, i.e., Columbus's letters and journals, etc. that includes introductory materials and questions that make those documents intelligible to the students and guide them.

7) Developing a simulation game illustrating some aspect of the Age of Discovery.

8) Developing some computer assisted material dealing with the Age of Discovery.

9) Developing a creative writing project dealing with the Age of Discovery.

10) Produce an Age of Discovery outfit of clothing, or a cookbook, or a music book, etc.

Here are some ideas for possible topics for a traditional research paper:

Ships and ship design during the Age of Discovery

Prince Henry the Navigator and his historical reputation

Vasco da Gama and his historical reputation

Genoa and the Mediterranean World during the fifteenth century

Venice and Its Trade with the East

France in Brazil during the early sixteenth century

Fishing and Exploration in the region of Newfoundland during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries

Old World Diseases and the Native Americans

The Debate over the Population of the Pre-Columbian Americas

Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico

Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru

The career of Ponce de Leon

The career of Francisco Coronado

The career of Hernando de Soto

The career of Francisco de Almeida

The career of Afonso de Albuquerque

The Portuguese in West Africa

Dogs and the Spanish Conquest

Horses in the New World

The Myth of Quetzalcoatl and the fall of the Aztec Empire

Vikings in America

Portugal and the Settlement of Brazil

The Legend of Prester John and the Age of Discovery

If you can think of any good ideas besides the ones I have suggested (and I am sure you can), please discuss them with me and get my approval. Also, if you elect to do a traditional research paper, I would be happy to help you formulate a topic.

Christopher Columbus and the Great Age of Discovery
HIST 351  ~  Fall 2010