Gosh what would I do without all you fabulous teacher bloggers out there! I've learned so much from all of you and have become a better teacher due to all the sharing of ideas that goes on! I got this idea from Jordon over at Life is Better Messy Anyway. She even has the lesson plan available (for free) via download. If you haven't checked out her blog you should do so, she has so many wonderful ideas! I was in need of another explorer activity and this was perfect! I followed her lesson plan and tweaked a few things to tailor it to my students. My students chose the name of an explorer from a paper bag (I made it look old and raggity). From there we discussed the features of a trading card and what it was. I brought in a few basketball cards as an example. Then, they cracked open their social studies books and got online to gather information on their explorer. Once they had all their information, they were ready to draw out their explorer (I think they did such an amazing job!) and wrote important information on the back of the card. Since I didn't have a nice big photo of a ship, I had to draw one. I think it turned out pretty good...my anchor needs some help...but my kids think it's perfect! Gotta love them! I have run out of wall space inside my classroom, but I do have some wall space on the outside of my room in the hallway. So it became our Explorer Trading Card Timeline! It adds a bit of pizzaz to our otherwise dreary hallway. My students also love to have their work being showcased for other to see as well.