The Explorer Project

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Here's a teacher's  sample of what the final project will look like. A student's project will have a hand-drawn portrait and hand-written letter.
This project consists of: 
  • a friendly, hand-written letter aimed at family members, written as if the student is a sailor on an explorer's ship;
  • a hand-drawn portrait of the explorer glued on the front;
  • tied inside a construction paper folder;
  • with the grading rubric stapled on the back.
  • We will also do a Chatter Pix Kids assignment where your explorer drawing talks.

​Here is a sample letter on the right to give you an idea on what you need for your Explorer's Letter assignment. This is for a sailor on Columbus' ship, so DON'T copy this one!

The rubric

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We'll use a rubric similar to the one here to grade the assignment. Make sure you tell which explorer you’ve chosen: Drake, Cortes, Vizcaino, or Cabrillo.

Step by Step

  1. Research your explorer choices, using the name links below: Cabrillo, Cortes, Drake, or Vizcaino.
  2. Choose the one that most interests you using this form.
  3. Add notes on your explorer using this Padlet.
  4. Write and turn in your explorer letter to get it printed. 
  5. Browse this page to get ideas on your explorer's script you'll use to have your explorer talk in Chatter Pix Kids. 
  6. Here's a short video visit to the Cabrillo National Monument near San Diego.

Here's a sample letter:

July 14, 1506
Dear Papa & Mama,

​I’ve spent the past several years sailing on Señor Columbus’ flagship, the Santa Maria. We were sent on our expedition by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, our Spanish rulers. He was off looking for a shortcut to India, thanks to advice he got from his father-in-law.

We started the first of 4 voyages west in the year 1492, and just got back 3 years ago. We thought we landed in India, and called the natives there Indians. We discovered a new land, but not the one we wanted.

We followed the currents of the Atlantic, sailing southwest until we reached island we decided to call the West Indies.

The captain is a little sneaky… he wrote some notes down in his sailing diary to make us think we were closer than we were, and kept the REAL notes in another diary. The Atlantic is a stormy sea, and it seemed to be taking FOREVER. Most of the crew was getting really mad, and our captain promised to turn back if we didn’t find land in 2 days; it only took one!

The lands we discovered had warm beaches and tall palm trees, and people wearing very little clothes with dark skin. They were friendly.

Sadly, our captain became weakened by many years of sailing in the cold and eating bad food. He died on May 20th of this year. We will never forget our travels with this crafty, determined sailor.

From your loving son,
Pedro Cocinar
Here are some sample explorer portraits to give you some ideas on how yours should look.
​Make yours even better! (Click here to see some Chatter Pix Kids samples)
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Decided on your explorer? Click on a button below for lots of research links.
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