SOCIAL SCIENCE YEAR 5

By Rafael Rodríguez Pérez

INDEX
1. From the Middle Ages to the Modern Age
2. The discovery of America
3. The Great Spanish Empire (16th century)
4. The crisis of the Spanish Empire (17th century)
5. The Bourbon dynasty (18th century)
6. Art and culture in the Modern Age

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1. FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE MODERN AGE

 Class discussion. Watch, answer and discuss.

a. Who was Christopher Columbus?
b. Where did he think he went?
c. Who paid for the ships?
d. What were the ships’ names?
e. Do you think it was beneficial or harmful for the
people who already lived there?

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=7F8sF1nrm1Y

 Dictation.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered a new continent: America. It was very important,
because it was the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age.

2.THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

 Partners’ cheating. Read and write 2 false sentences and 1 true sentence in pairs.
Later, take your partner’s sentences and write True or False.
At the end of the 15th century, the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castilla and
Fernando II of Aragón, extended their territories.
- They conquered Granada (1492), the Canary Islands (1496) and the
Kingdom of Navarra (1512).
- They gained the Kingdom of Naples (in Italy).
- Also, they conquered Melilla and other small territories in 1497.
The Catholic Monarchs financed Christopher Columbus’s expedition. Christopher
Columbus was an Italian sailor and explorer. He ‘discovered’ the American
continent.

 All for one and one for all. Read cooperatively and draw a comic about the discovery
of America. Everybody must participate and every opinion is important.
In the 15th century, many people thought the world was flat. Europeans only had
information about Europe, North Africa and part of Asia. Christopher Columbus
thought that the world was round.
On 3rd August 1492,
Columbus left Huelva with 3
ships: la Pinta, la Niña and la
Santa María.
On 12th October 1492, the
sailors saw land. After this
voyage, he organized 3 more

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voyages to explore the false India.

Christopher Columbus thought he was in Asia, but he was not. After he died, an
Italian sailor, Amerigo Vespucci, saw that Columbus’s India was not India, but a new
continent. Ant thanks to Amerigo, America has its name.

 Pencils in the centre. Think and say if these sentences are true or false.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA
a. Spain conquered most of the American continent. ______
b. Spain became the most powerful empire in Europe. ______
c. Spanish explorers didn’t take gold or silver from America. ______
d. Spanish people took potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco and cocoa
(chocolate) from America). ______
e. In America, they had good coffee and horses. ______
f. We copied the American language and religion. ______

 Find information about these pre-Columbian cultures: Aztecs, Mayans and Incas.
Write a text using YOUR WORDS and draw a picture. Don’t write what you don’t
understand!

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3. THE GREAT SPANISH EMPIRE (16th CENTURY)

 Numbered heads together. Look at this family tree and answer.

a. Who were Carlos I’s grandparents?
b. Who was Carlos I’s mother?
c. Who was Carlos I’s father?
d. Who was Carlos I’s name in Germany?

 Thinking twins. Read and write some advices to Carlos I.

Carlos I of Spain (V of Germany) inherited a Great Empire, but he had problems
to hold it together.
- There were internal rebellions in Castilla and Aragón
because they didn’t like his taxes and considered him a foreigner.
- He defended the European territory against the advance
of the Turks and the French.
- He also defended Catholicism from Protestantism.
Protestants were Christians that wanted to change the Church.
- In 1556, Carlos I abdicated and gave his responsibilities to
his son (Felipe II) and his brother (Fernando I).

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 All for one and one for all. Read, look at the map and complete the Venn diagram
using the letters.
In 1556, Felipe II became king of Spain. He added to
the territories in America, Africa and Asia. In 1580, he also
became the king of Portugal.
He defeated the French in the Battle of Saint-Quentin
(1557). And in 1571 he defeated the Turks in the Battle of
Lepanto.
However, the Spanish Armada (la Armada Invencible)
was defeated by England ( find more information
about ‘la Armada Invencible’).
Furthermore, Felipe II made Madrid the Capital of the
empire.

a. He ruled territories in Asia, America and Africa.

b. He sent the Armada to invade England.
c. He fought against the French.
d. He ruled the Netherlands.
e. He became king in 1556.
f. Castilla and Aragón didn’t like his taxes.
g. He fought against the Turks.

 What is the meaning of ‘the empire on which the sun never sets’? Explain and write
your opinion.

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4. THE CRISIS OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE (17th CENTURY)

 Work in group. Read about the kings in the 17th centuries and prepare a 5-minute
oral exposition.
In 1598, Felipe II died, so Felipe III became King of Spain.
However, he was not very interested in governing the country,
so his royal favourites governed for him.
Felipe III’s most important favourite was the Duke of Lerma.
One of the most important events in his reign was the
expulsion of the Moriscos. The Moriscos were Muslims who had
been forced to convert to Christianity during the reign of the
Catholic Monarchs.

Felipe IV became king in 1621. His royal favourite was Count-Duke

of Olivares. He governed Spain. Under his government Spain was
continually at war.
Spain fought in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). This was a
religious war between the Catholics and Protestants in Central Europe.
Spain was defeated in this war. Spain lost the Netherlands and
other territories in Europe.
The Count-Duke of Olivares tried to reinforce the King’s power. This
caused rebellions in Cataluña and Portugal.
In Cataluña the rebellions were stopped, but Portugal became an
independent country.

Carlos II became king in 1665 when he was only four

years old. His mother governed while he was a child.
When he was old enough to rule, Carlos II was ill.
His royal favourites governed for him.
Carlos II died without having any children.
Many European monarchies fought to take over the
Spanish Empire. This was called the War of Succession.
After the war, a new dynasty ruled in Spain: the
Bourbon dynasty.

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5. THE BOURBON DYNASTY (18th CENTURY)

 Class discussion. Read and answer: What’s your opinion on this?

The War of Succession had two important consequences:
 A new royal dynasty ruled Spain: the Bourbons, from France.
 The Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713. It confirmed Felipe V as King of
Spain. As part of the treaty, Spain lost territories in Europe and Spain, for
example Gibraltar and Menorca became English.

 Individual work. Read and write a summary of all the kings of the 17 th and 18th
centuries. Use linkers.
In 1700, Felipe V became king. He was the grandson of
the French king Louis XIV. Felipe V established an absolute
monarchy. This meant he had all the powers of State.
He made important reforms:
 He abolished the laws and institutions of Aragon,
Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. He didn’t abolish
the institutions of Navarre and the Basque Country.
 He made Spanish the only official language.
 He introduced the Salic Law of succession, which
excluded women from the Spanish throne.

When Philip V died, Fernando VI became the King of

Spain. He continued the reforms and was very similar to
Philip V.
Fernando VI also built roads and canals.

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In 1759, Carlos III and his ministers tried to modernize the

country.
They tried to improve agriculture, industry and trade.
They reformed education and built libraries and museums
such as the Prado Museum.
Under Carlos III’s rule, Menorca became part of Spain
again.

In 1788, Carlos IV became King of Spain. He was an unpopular king who left the
government of the country in the hands of his ministers: Manuel Godoy.

 Numbered heads together. Complete this timeline.

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6. ART AND CULTURE IN THE MODERN AGE

 Dictation.
The Golden Age was _______________ and _______ splendour _______ during
the _________________.
Works of art were mainly of ________ themes, commissioned by
__________________.

 Couple of artists. Read cooperatively and search the Internet to copy a work of art of
one of the Golden Age artists.

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 1-2-group. Read and choose the correct definition.

In the 18th century, there was a new cultural movement, a revolution. It was the
Enlightenment. It consisted of…
a. …a movement that gave more importance to the
reason (thinking) and not to religion.
b. …a movement that defended religion and reason
(thinking).
c. …a movement that gave more importance to
religion and not to the reason (thinking).

 The golden sentence. In groups, choose the image that represents the
Enlightenment and explain why in one sentence.

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 Maze. Listen to some philosophers’ names and find the way to the Enlightenment.
First, look and memorize their faces.
The Enlightenment came from France and spread during the Bourbon dynasty
th
(18 century). These were the most famous French philosophers (thinkers):
Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau.

 Couple of artists. Read cooperatively, search the Internet and copy a Goya’s
painting, but add ONE element from the present.
FRANCISCO DE GOYA
He is one of the most important artists in the world. He was a painter at the
Spanish court. He painted portraits of Carlos III and Carlos IV.
He painted festivals, but also painted scenes depicting the tragedy and suffering
of war.

 Individual work. Think and make the unit diagram.

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