Students will launch the investigation by sorting and testing evidence from maps, artifacts, ship images, and trade clues, then build an initial multi-cause explanation for why European states expanded overseas first while identifying questions they will investigate next.

Students will examine evidence from multiple world regions, refine an investigable question, draft a hypothesis, and build a method for collecting and corroborating sources that can explain why European states expanded overseas first.

Students will collect, verify, and organize regional evidence about geography, technology, economics, and political rivalry; test the reliability of sources; reflect on how new evidence changes their early ideas; and revise their claim direction and research plan using peer critique.

Students will analyze patterns and anomalies in their collected evidence, turn those findings into annotated visuals and a defensible conclusion, and draft and rehearse a museum-style exhibit panel and mini talk before the final showcase.

Students will present their museum-style exhibit panels and mini talks to an authentic audience, respond to questions about their evidence and reasoning, and complete a final self-assessment that explains how their claim changed through research, critique, and revision.