European Exploration in North America Reading Packet | Texas ... - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to solve the tasks on this worksheet.

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Task 1: Circle the locations the French claimed.

Look at the first paragraph under “European Exploration in North America: Spain, France & England page 2”.

It says:
> The French would eventually return to North America to try again. They claimed the Great Lakes Region, Ohio River Valley, the Mississippi River Valley and Louisiana.

So the places the French claimed are:
- Great Lakes Region
- Ohio River Valley
- Mississippi River Valley
- Louisiana

✔ You should circle these four locations in the text.

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Task 2: Draw a box around the sentence describing mercantilism.

Look for the word “mercantilism” in the text. It appears in the second big paragraph about England.

The sentence that explains what mercantilism is:
> In a mercantilist economy, the country attempts to export more than they import for financial gain.

That’s the definition — so draw a box around that whole sentence.

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Task 3: Underline the MAIN IDEA of each paragraph.

There are three main paragraphs in the reading (not counting the title or intro). Let’s find the main idea of each.

🔹 Paragraph 1 (about the French):
Main idea = The French returned to North America, claimed certain areas, and tried to build good relationships with Native Americans for trade.

Best sentence to underline:
> The French understood that they needed to maintain strong, peaceful relationships with the Native Americans for the fur trade.

(You could also underline the first sentence if your teacher prefers topic sentences — but this one captures the key point.)

🔹 Paragraph 2 (about why England wanted colonies + mercantilism):
Main idea = England needed new land and resources, and used mercantilism to make money from colonies.

Best sentence to underline:
> England wanted the colonies to provide the raw resources that could be made into goods in England. Then they sold back to the colonies for a profit.

(This shows the core of their economic plan.)

🔹 Paragraph 3 (why people moved to colonies + Jamestown + relations with Native Americans):
Main idea = People moved to colonies for land, food, religion, and riches; they started in Jamestown and later cooperated with Native Americans.

Best sentence to underline:
> The majority of people moved from England to the colonies initially for religious freedom.

OR

> Although they fought over territory in the beginning, they soon developed a relationship of cooperation.

Either works — but since it asks for THE main idea of the paragraph, pick the one that covers most of it. I’d choose:

> People were struggling with limited land to farm and food was becoming scarce. They believed that farming would be easier in North America, as well as more secure.

Wait — actually, let’s look again. The paragraph starts with why people moved, then talks about Jamestown, then crops, then Native American relations.

The BEST overall main idea sentence might be:

> It was not hard to convince people in England to move to the colonies.

Because everything else follows from that — why they moved, where they went, what they did.

But if you want the MOST important point, maybe:

> The first English colony was in Jamestown, Virginia. Other various colonies would grow from this one colony.

Hmm… Actually, let’s stick with the very first sentence of the paragraph as the main idea — it introduces the whole thing:

> It was not hard to convince people in England to move to the colonies.

Yes — that’s the umbrella idea. Everything else explains WHY it wasn’t hard.

✔ So underline that sentence.

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Now let’s double-check all answers before writing the final version.

✔️ French claims: Great Lakes Region, Ohio River Valley, Mississippi River Valley, Louisiana → circle those.

✔️ Mercantilism definition: “In a mercantilist economy, the country attempts to export more than they import for financial gain.” → box that.

✔️ Main ideas:
- Paragraph 1: “The French understood that they needed to maintain strong, peaceful relationships with the Native Americans for the fur trade.”
- Paragraph 2: “England wanted the colonies to provide the raw resources that could be made into goods in England. Then they sold back to the colonies for a profit.”
- Paragraph 3: “It was not hard to convince people in England to move to the colonies.”

All set!

Final Answer:
- Circle: Great Lakes Region, Ohio River Valley, Mississippi River Valley, Louisiana
- Box: "In a mercantilist economy, the country attempts to export more than they import for financial gain."
- Underline main ideas:
• Paragraph 1: "The French understood that they needed to maintain strong, peaceful relationships with the Native Americans for the fur trade."
• Paragraph 2: "England wanted the colonies to provide the raw resources that could be made into goods in England. Then they sold back to the colonies for a profit."
• Paragraph 3: "It was not hard to convince people in England to move to the colonies."