In this experience, students learn how Spanish, French, and Dutch colonization of North America was shaped by each country’s goals for exploration. They also explore the lasting effects of colonization on Indigenous peoples and the environment.
In this experience, students learn how Spanish, French, and Dutch colonization of North America was shaped by each country’s goals for exploration. They also explore the lasting effects of colonization on Indigenous peoples and the environment.
Students view a map of North American colonial territories and read an introduction explaining how European powers established colonies in the Americas and what they will learn in the lesson. They then respond to a collaborative wall prompt explaining why countries might want to create colonies in newly explored lands.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the focus of the experience—Spanish, French, and Dutch colonization—and review key vocabulary and objectives. Clarify that English colonization will be addressed separately. After students post to the wall, select and discuss a few representative responses to surface initial ideas about motivations for colonization before moving on.
Students read Spanish, French, and Dutch Colonization of North America to learn why each country established colonies and how their approaches differed. Working in a graphic organizer, they identify and record the motivations for colonization for Spain, France, and the Netherlands.
Teacher MovesPreview or review key vocabulary and the term “motivations” before students read. Monitor students as they complete the organizer, then share exemplar responses for each country and lead a brief discussion connecting motivations for exploration to motivations for colonization in preparation for group work in the next scene.
In small groups, students divide and read summaries—The Dutch and the Indians, Native Americans, Relations with French, and The Significance of Spanish Colonial Missions—to examine specific colonial actions. Using a graphic organizer, they explain what actions Spain, France, and the Netherlands took during colonization and how those actions reflected the motivations of Gold, Glory, and God. Groups then use the summaries to answer two small-group wall prompts: first listing colonial actions that involved Indigenous groups, and then describing effects of colonization on Indigenous peoples’ lives and communities.
Teacher MovesForm small groups and, before they begin, prompt students to recall the meanings of Gold, Glory, and God. Circulate as groups read and complete the organizer, asking probing questions about how specific actions connect to motivations. Afterward, facilitate group and whole-class sharing to compare similarities and differences among countries’ actions. As students respond to the discussion walls, create a visible cause-and-effect chart (e.g., “Colonial Actions” vs. “Effects on Indigenous Peoples”) to organize examples and highlight patterns in impacts on Indigenous communities.
Students watch New Netherland and read Dutch Colonization in New Netherland to investigate the Dutch colony in greater depth. In a concept map, they record specific ways New Netherland affected local Indigenous groups and the environment, such as changes in land use, resource depletion, conflict, and displacement.
Teacher MovesExplain that this is an optional extension to apply earlier ideas in a new context. Support students as they extract evidence from the video and summary to complete the concept map, prompting them to distinguish between environmental and social impacts. When students finish, lead a discussion in which they share surprising findings or additional impacts they identified but did not include on the map.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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