Conquering the New World in Civilization 5

Title:

Conquest of the New World

Objectives:

Students will

•  Research the exploration routes of the New World by the courts of England, France, and Spain.
•  Study the culture of the Native people of the Americas which included, The Inca, The Aztecs, and The Iroquois.
• Learn about teamwork and cooperation as “ advisers” to their appointed leader.

Standards:

CCSS ELA-LITERACY RH9-10.7
Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

CCSS ELA-LITERACY RH9-10.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

Materials:

• Paper and pens
• Materials related to the relevant empires of Europe, as well as the relevant native peoples.
• Sid Meier’s Civilization 5
• Either each team will have a laptop or the teacher will use their computer.

Procedures:

On the first day of class find out what students know about the Conquest of the New World. For the scope of the class the discussion will stay focused on the empires of France, England, and Spain, and the native people of, The Inca, The Aztecs, and the Iroquois. Teach about the leaders of each of the 6 nations during this time period. Talk about the relationships Isabella, Elizabeth, and Francis I had. Also discuss the history that the native people had and how they governed their lands.

Explain that the Europeans had a significant advantage over the native people due to gunpowder and a navy. Discuss with the class the tactics the Europeans would use by trading guns to other cultures in an effort to upset the balance of power in their favor.

On the second day of class explain that each people believed god had chosen their ruler and as such the instructor will be choosing the leader of each civilization. Choose 6 students to represent the leader of each civilization. This student will have absolute power and decision making when it comes to playing the game out. The classroom will be split as best as possible into 6 teams with the extra students serving as advisors to their leader. The advisors are allowed once per turn to meet outside the classroom with the instructor to decide if they would like to stage a coup or not. Should the advisors decide to overthrow their leader they will appoint a new leader, however for two turns they are not allowed to make any in game actions, this is the risk it runs. The ousted leader is allowed to defect to a nation of their choosing. 

Begin the game midway through the second day of course. The settings of the game will be a to scale North and South America, and the passage of time will be set to quick to allow the game to proceed fast enough for the class. The victory condition for the Europeans will be set so that they must capture and hold as many capital cities by the end of the fourth day of class. The victory condition for the natives will be to either wipe out every rival civilization or repel the Europeans from their own borders.

At the beginning and mid-point of the third day and the beginning of the fourth ask the class what they have learned thus far. Inquire if they have learned anything related to tactics and teamwork that is essential to running a competitive group. Also ask each nation to come up with three advantages and disadvantages they believe each nation had going into this conflict. 

Let the class play the game out on the fourth day to decide who the most victorious nation is. At the end of the week on Friday pose a critical thinking question and an assignment. 

Assignment:

At the end of the week the class will be given an assignment to conclude the lesson to work on over the weekend. This will be a 6 to 8 page paper that requires students to reflect on the history of events as well as challenge conventional thinking. The paper will require these points to be met:

·         Understanding History: What were your notions of the hardships the Europeans (or natives depending on the student) had to face in their exploration/defense of land before the simulation? After the simulation have you had any revelations pertaining to your side?

·         Team Tactics: How did you handle being either a supreme leader or an advisor? If you choose to oust your leader was it worth it? If you were ousted how did you handle that circumstance? What are some strategies you learned that you can apply outside of the game to real world situations?

·         Critical Thinking: Considering how the match turned out do you think that it made “sense”? Also if the natives won, how do you think the world would have been affected by that? Consider the history that unfolded after the Europeans had settled the New World.