According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, exploration is "travel over (new territory) for adventure or discovery." Every year, students in Indiana's fifth grades study explorers and how exploration has changed the world.
When I say "explorer," do you only think of Columbus? What about Lewis and Clark, polar explorers, or astronauts? Often, research units on explorers can include all of these and more. You'll find many explorers listed below, but you may think of others who aren't on the list. This guide will give you plenty of places to start looking!
Use this guide (also called a pathfinder) to find the books, websites, and other sources you will need as you research explorers. All print and audiovisual materials listed are located in the Childs Elementary Library Media Center.
 Keywords |
 Dewey Decimal Numbers |
 Encyclopedias |
 Books on Exploration |
 Databases |
 Audio Visual Materials |
 Choose Your Explorer |
 In Our Community |
 For Teachers |
Use these words to search the library catalog, databases, or an online encyclopedia, but don't forget that they also come in handy when using a book's index.
SEARCH TIPS
Put quotation marks around words that should stay together ("North Pole").
Use AND to combine search terms ("John Glenn" AND space).
Located in the Reference Room
The 2003 encyclopedias cannot be checked out. Please ask library staff to photocopy your article.
These older encyclopedias can be checked out.
"Noted biographer and historian Fritz...offers a wickedly funny look at 10 explorers who, between 1421 and 1522, ventured into what contemporaneous mapmakers called the Unknown. While presenting the salient facts, Fritz approaches them with playful irreverence; accordingly, the frequently traveled material can seem refreshingly new. This tone proves especially effective when Fritz addresses such problematic issues as the treatment of native people and the often accidental nature of many of the discoveries." - from Publishers Weekly
"...[O]ffers middle graders one more resource on Western explorers. Starkey does include short profiles of non-Westerners such as Ibn Battuta and Cheng Ho and takes a politically correct posture in the introduction: "Today, we still admire the bravery of early explorers, but we also know they often acted cruelly. In their ignorance, they sometimes destroyed the people, cultures, and places they 'discovered'." However, the format of this book remains traditional, with a heavy emphasis on Renaissance world exploration and without clear explanations of colonialism or the profit motive." - from School Library Journal
"Lomask's study focuses upon 25 significant geographical explorers arranged alphabetically from Roald Amundsen to Amerigo Vespucci, covering a time span from the Fourth Century to 1957. Articles are concise and easy to read, averaging nine pages in length. Most subjects are well known, although Lomask has also included less-noted individuals such as Francisco de Orellana and Hoei-shin." - from School Library Journal
"Conversations with 12 scientists including Jane Goodall and Robert Ballard. Interviews feature introductions by the subjects, explaining how they became involved in their particular field of interest, followed by a set of 10 questions, developed with the help of students. Queries include "What is the scariest thing that has ever happened in your work?" and "What was your biggest discovery?" Many of the articles conclude with a page devoted to a special project or program connected to the scientist's work complete with address or Web site information. The large, full-color photographs give readers a good idea of the on-the-job conditions of each discipline. The lack of biographical information limits the usefulness of this book for reports but the short articles and question-and-answer format will appeal to reluctant readers." - from School Library Journal
"In this encyclopedia of explorers and adventurers, readers are introduced to over seventy individuals who set out to seek thrills by going places never visited before...Each selection features a fine narrative as well as illustrations." - from Children's Literature
The state of Indiana provides us with free research databases, or storehouses of information, called INSPIRE. If you are at school or the public library, you can use them without a password. If you want to use them from home or somewhere else, you will have to sign up for a free password (get your parents to help you), but you will get to use the databases right away.
"People have explored since the dawn of time, seeking wealth, power, colonies, information and the attainment of other goals. This program takes a closer look at the major reasons that inspired people to explore throughout the ages, and the innovations that supported advancements in exploration. Discover the motivations of early explorers whose bravery in exploration provided a foundation for the successes that would occur during the European Golden Age of Discovery. Learn about the development of some important tools of navigation and see why these improvements enabled explorers to travel over land and sea more successfully." - from the publisher
"Join our two young hosts as they learn about Christopher "Kit" Carson, one of the great American frontiersmen who opened the West for the United States. Discover how Daniel Boone, an expert woodsman and superior negotiator, founded the first permanent settlement in Kentucky. Learn about Zebulon Pike and his search for the source of the Mississippi River, and Jedediah Smith, the first American to travel over land to California while pioneering the route that became known as the Oregon Trail. Hear about James Beckwourth, one of the greatest storytellers the West had ever seen, and listen as Kit Carson tells his own exciting story of exploration in the West." - from the publisher
"Following Columbus's initial voyages of exploration, Spain established a pattern of conquest and settlement in the New World, fueled by a desire for wealth and colonies. In the name of Spain, many adventurers set out to explore and conquer the remainder of the unclaimed and uncharted Americas. Join our young hosts as they discover the world of the conquistadors who, in their exploration for a shorter path to the East, found personal wealth and an empire with boundless treasures for Spain." - from the publisher
"Follow along with our two young hosts as they are given a chance to meet and speak with this famous explorer as he describes the fascinating tales of his adventures to the East. Polo details his relationship with Kublai Khan, the great Mongol ruler who allowed him to travel throughout China to collect information about the land and its people. Viewers will hear about how the account of Polo's travels was written - exaggerations and all - in a jail cell in Genoa, Italy. Students will enjoy hearing Marco Polo speak and answer questions about all this and more in this exciting video dramatization." - from the publisher
Early Explorers |
Later Explorers |
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If you are looking for an explorer who is not on this list, try these steps to find information:
In order to borrow books or use the online encyclopedias, you must have a Monroe County Public Library card. If no one in your family has one, or you would like your own, it is easy to get a library card.
Search the Library Catalog
Search the Online Encyclopedias, such as Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia. You can use these online encyclopedias from school, home, or anywhere you have access to the Internet.
Selected websites for teachers. Includes lesson plans and teaching materials to accompany some of the recommended students' websites and more.
Full citations for all of the electronic resources listed in this pathfinder.
A list of suggested titles that could be purchased to provide more complete coverage for this unit.
Created by Jennifer Perry
Indiana University School of Library and Information Science
Begun May 18, 2006 and last updated June 2, 2006.
Contact jeperry@indiana.edu