Students learn about the causes and effects of Spanish exploration and colonization in the Americas. They compare the conquest of Central and South America with the slower, settlement efforts in the North American Southwest to understand what factors shaped Spain’s colonial efforts.
Students read an introduction explaining how Spain built a powerful colonial empire in Central and South America and parts of North America, then review the lesson objectives. They examine a map of Spanish exploration routes in Central and North America and respond to a word wall prompt recalling Spain’s motivations for exploring the Americas.
Teacher MovesPreview the focus of the experience and highlight key vocabulary related to colonization and conquest. Guide students in analyzing the map and, after they post to the word wall, facilitate a brief discussion that surfaces prior knowledge about Spanish motivations, prompting students to connect their ideas to gold, glory, and God.
Students read Spanish Conquest in Central and South America and watch Spanish Conquistadors to learn how Spain pursued its goals in the region and the impacts on Indigenous civilizations. They answer multiple-choice questions to check understanding and complete a graphic organizer that links Spain’s goals to specific actions and the overall impacts of conquest on Indigenous peoples.
Teacher MovesSupport students as they interpret the reading and video, then review responses to the multiple-choice questions to clarify key ideas. Lead a discussion of the graphic organizer, ensuring students clearly connect each Spanish goal with the actions taken and the long-term consequences for Indigenous societies; extend by inviting students to suggest additional details from the video that could enrich the text.
Students are introduced to Spain’s northward expansion into the future southwestern United States and read an excerpt from the Spanish crown authorizing Francisco Coronado’s exploration. Using a hot-text activity, they select the portion of the letter that best explains Spain’s reasoning for exploring North America. They then read Spanish Exploration and Colonization of the Southwest and respond to a series of discussion prompts on shared walls comparing Spain’s goals, actions, and outcomes in the Southwest with those in Central and South America, including similarities, changes in goals, and similarities and differences in impacts on Indigenous peoples.
Teacher MovesFrame the scene by emphasizing continuity and change in Spanish motivations across regions. Support students in interpreting the Coronado letter, drawing out references to territorial control and spreading Catholicism. After students post to the discussion walls, bring the class together to synthesize their ideas, stressing that while core motivations such as wealth and religious conversion remained, geography, resources, and Indigenous communities in the Southwest shaped different colonial strategies and outcomes.
Students examine two illustrations by Bartolomé de las Casas depicting Spanish abuses of Indigenous people, use a word cloud to share visual details that stand out, and respond on a discussion wall about how Spanish treatment of Indigenous peoples was connected to their motivations for exploration, conquest, and colonization. They then read Adapted Excerpt: The Requerimiento of 1513 and complete a graphic organizer answering questions about the document’s purpose, its connection to Spain’s motivations, how it was used to justify colonization and mistreatment, and how language and delivery affected Indigenous peoples.
Teacher MovesPrepare students for potentially distressing images by framing their historical purpose and creating space for emotional responses and questions. Guide students in linking visual evidence from the images to Spanish goals and actions, then support close reading of the Requerimiento so students see it as a tool for justification rather than genuine consent. Review the completed graphic organizer as a class, emphasizing how the document’s language, context, and delivery allowed Spanish officials to claim moral and legal authority while enabling violence, forced conversion, and dispossession.
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.
©2026 Exploros. All rights reserved.