Columbus’s Packing List

This worksheet is designed for students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 to develop historical understanding, critical thinking, and explanatory writing skills through a creative exploration of the Age of Exploration. Learners imagine themselves as advisors to Christopher Columbus in 1492 and create a historically accurate packing list, selecting items appropriate to the 15th century and explaining how each would help during a long and challenging sea voyage.

Learning Goals

• Age of Exploration Context (Grades 4-6) – Students explore daily life, technology, and travel conditions during early transatlantic voyages.
• Historical Accuracy & Reasoning – Learners evaluate which tools and supplies would realistically be available in the 15th century.
• Explanatory Writing – Students write clear sentences explaining why each item is important and how it would be used.
• Critical & Creative Thinking – Encourages problem-solving by considering real challenges faced by explorers.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary social studies and ELA standards.
• Creative Yet Content-Rich – Blends imagination with factual historical constraints.
• Flexible Use – Works well for social studies lessons, enrichment activities, or cross-curricular writing practice.
• Low-Prep & Printable – Easy to implement in classrooms or homeschool settings with minimal preparation.

This printable worksheet helps students deepen understanding of 15th-century exploration by placing them in the role of historical decision-makers. By selecting and justifying items for Columbus’s voyage, learners practice historical thinking, explanatory writing, and critical reasoning while gaining insight into the realities of early sea travel. Suitable for both classroom and homeschool use, this activity offers an engaging way to connect creativity with meaningful history learning.

This worksheet is part of our Columbus Day Worksheets collection.