Introducing the First Unit

"I CLAIM YOU IN THE NAME OF..."

The 4th period Red team
(Spain) plots its claims.

I claim you in the name of "Purple Rangers." Purple Rangers was the name of one of the many teams in today's history activity.  We learned about Europeans "claiming" land, people and goods in the Western Hemisphere. The activity consisted of tape and colored paper and teams claiming items around the classroom. Each team had a limited amount of claims, however, depending on how quickly they completed an assignment

A rivalry broke out during 8th period between the
Red and Green teams as they both sought to claim
Mr. Myers while he checked the timer for the activity.

At the conclusion of the activity we discussed how "claiming" in the Western Hemisphere came to be. Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries came to the Americas to seek the land and people that were present.  In the coming days we will look at the motivations behind those that claimed, the effects on those that already lived in the Western Hemisphere and how the many exchanges that took place changed the world.