How do oceans connect societies?
Humans have been sailing the seas for at least the past 80,000 years. Whether in the rafts and dugout canoes used to migrate to Australia and the Americas, or aboard the gigantic cruise ships that travel to ports around the world, people have crossed oceans and exchanged goods, ideas, and diseases for a very long time.
This lesson plan highlights oceanic connections from medieval voyages in the Indian Ocean to the transatlantic explorations that established the first ongoing linkages between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas.
Opener
Students review two maps of oceanic connections and create a list of dangers and benefits associated with crossing the seas.
1. Have students explore the “Medieval Trade Routes Thematic Map” and the “Silver Trade and Transoceanic Voyages Thematic Map.” As they review the maps, ask them to create a table listing the dangers and benefits of traveling across the seas at the time (c. 1450 to 1550 CE). Here’s an example of what students’ tables and answers might look like:
Dangers of oceanic travel |
Benefits of oceanic travel |
Storms |
Ability to migrate to new places |
Getting lost |
Increased money and goods from trade connections |
Increased diseases and illnesses such as scurvy |
Exchange of new ideas and innovations |
2. Ask students to pair up, share their tables with their partner, and revise their answers, if necessary.
Comparison: Oceanic Connections Jigsaw
Students read an article and answer a set of questions to help them evaluate and compare how oceans connected societies throughout history.
1. Break the class into small groups of three or four students, and assign one of these articles to each group:
2. As students read their assigned article, have them answer these questions:
- What innovations allowed oceanic trade and migrations to take place in this region?
- What were the perils (cons) and benefits (pros) of oceanic connections?
3. Draw a large table on the board or create a shared Google Slide with a column for each article. Have students write their responses (innovations, perils, and benefits) in the table.
4. Then, discuss the similarities and differences students notice between the oceanic connections described in each of these articles and add those to the table.
5. Finally, have students individually write a response using evidence from their reading and discussion for each of these prompts:
- What is the most important similarity between these oceanic connections?
- What is the most important difference between these oceanic connections?
Optional Activity: Our Interconnected World
Our Interconnected World is an activity that help students visualize and compare regional and global connections from 1450, 1750, and today. While this activity takes about one or two class periods to complete, students will gain a better understanding of the continuities and changes that occurred as oceanic connections expanded across time and space.
Closer
1. Have students return to the maps from the opener activity but let them know that this time, they’ll be thinking about how the connections in the maps compare to oceanic connections in our world today.
2. After students have reviewed the maps, ask them to use what they’ve learned in the lesson to answer this prompt: What are the most important similarities and differences between these historical oceanic connections and those in our world today?
For free classroom resources on oceanic history, check out our lesson collection! You’ll find tons of our best articles, videos, activities, and lesson plans you can use with your students.
Cover image: View of Matavai Bay in the Island of Otaheite Tahiti, William Hodges, 1744–1797, British, 1776. Oil on canvas, 36 x 54 inches. © Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.