The Columbian Exchange: Graphic Organizer

Sort historical examples of plants, animals, and diseases by which direction they traveled during the Columbian Exchange.

Recall specific items exchanged between the Americas and Europe, Africa, and Asia after 1492.

Categorize items carried from Europe, Africa and Asia to the Americas into food, livestock, and disease sub-groups.

Use the completed page as a teacher reference or answer key while assigning the "Student Version" page for independent or group completion.

Have students research one item from each direction (for example, potato and horse) to explain its impact on the receiving continent, extending the chart beyond simple listing.

Discuss the disease category separately from the food and livestock categories, since it carries a different, more serious historical weight than the other exchanged items.

Historical categorization — students sort 34 specific items into their correct exchange direction and sub-category.

Cause-and-effect reasoning — the introductory paragraph frames the chart's items as consequences of Columbus's 1492 voyage.

Graphic organizer completion — the student version requires filling in both missing items and missing category headers, not just blanks within a fixed structure.