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The Landfall of Jean Nicolet, 1907

Chapter 4 introduces the Fur Trade Era of 1634 to 1832, when Europeans explorers first arrived in Wisconsin. It details how Nicolet, Marquette, Joliet and others witnessed early Wisconsin and went on to create economic and cultural exchanges with Wisconsin's native groups.

Students will learn about the consequences of these interactions as political control shifts from the tribes of the First Nations Indians to the French, then to the British, and finally to the newly created United States.

Find reproducible worksheets and other cross-curricular activities for this chapter in the Student Activity Guide.

Digging and Discovery: Wisconsin Archaeology

by Diane Young Holliday and Bobbie Malone.

See Wisconsin documents and maps from the Paleo-, Archaic, Woodland-era Indians and rock art to the communities of the last three centuries.
Read more about the book

Mapping Wisconsin History

by the Wisconsin Cartographers' Guild and Bobbie Malone.

Get background information, classroom activities, and worksheets related to Wisconsin geography. On CD-ROM.
Read more about the CD

Assessment

• Chapter 4 Assessment

  (Word document, 3 pages, 743 KB) This assessment is a Microsoft Word document, which allows you to customize it for your classroom.

Interactive Whiteboard Resources

• Chapter 4 SMART Notebook Activities

  (.notebook format, 11 MB) To view or download the interactive whiteboard resources, you need a login and password.  Learn more about how to access these materials on our Interactive Whiteboard Resources page. Interactive whiteboard files have been created on SMART Notebook 11 software and work best with SMART interactive whiteboard hardware.

Books Related to This Chapter

• Digging and Discovery: Wisconsin Archaeology

• Mapping Wisconsin History

• Native People of Wisconsin

• Working with Water: Wisconsin Waterways

• Learning from the Land: Wisconsin Land Use, 2nd Edition

• Mountain Wolf Woman: A Ho-Chunk Girlhood

Field Trips Related to This Chapter

• 'Exploring the Encounter of Cultures' Field Trip to Madeline Island Museum

  Cross the waters of Lake Superior and experience a cultural encounter. Students will gain a greater understanding of the Ojibwe and the critical role they played in the fur trade and discover the daily life of fur trade voyageurs.

• Field Trip to Villa Louis

  Take students on an interactive tour of the fur trade museum to learn about the history of fur trading in Wisconsin.

• 'Native People of Wisconsin' Guided Tour of the Wisconsin Historical Museum

  Provide students an in-depth look at Wisconsin archaeology, the fur trade, and the lifeways of Wisconsin's native people.

Additional Activities

• Chapter 4: Activities Overview

  (PDF, 1 page, 288 KB) Additional Activities Table of Contents for Chapter 4

• Activity 4-1

  (PDF, 5 pages, 329 KB) Eating off the Land

• Activity 4-2

  (PDF, 6 pages, 346 KB) Making a Birchbark Canoe

• Activity 4-3

  (PDF, 8 pages, 346 KB) Then and Now

Learn More

• 4th Grade Textbook - Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story

  This definitive Wisconsin history textbook from the Wisconsin Historical Society is full color, visually stunning, and promotes strong literacy skills.

Have Questions?

Contact our helpful staff about implementing the textbook in your classroom.

• education@wisconsinhistory.org