As this unit was nearing completion, I realized that several of the topics might encourage students to do further research on their own. As I talked about this unit with my students, several areas of interest became obvious. Here are the topics that at least some students said they would like to investigate further:
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- Ancient navigation
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- The possibility of another devastating plague
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- Aztec religion and/or study of individual gods
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- Food from the New World
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- Evidence of ecological destruction in earlier centuries.
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- History of clothing (for example, when and where were pants first used?)
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- History of early technology (paper, money, writing, guns)
Since a main purpose of education is to open and expand the minds of
students, this unit can hopefully be a doorway to new worlds of exploration. If it is, then I would consider it a success.
