World History
Learning About Columbus
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Learning Principles |
Activities |
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Start Globally &
Connect Locally or Start Locally and Connect Globally |
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Focus
on depth of understanding: Determine a focus question that is familiar to students. Columbus
Day is celebrated yearly and controversy exists about this celebration:
Indians often characterize him as a villain; people of Italian heritage view
him as a hero. (Note:
this unit is best done around Columbus Day.) |
Introduce
the lesson by using KWL chart interspersed with focus questions and local
information. Is
Christopher Columbus famous? á Why do we celebrate Columbus Day? á Would we be here today in America
if there had never been a Columbus? á How did people live 500 years ago? á How did people travel in those
days? á What would a person need to travel
across such a large body of water? á How long ago was October 12, 1492? á
How
long did it take Columbus to make his voyage to America? |
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Make
explicit the connections between local and global events; link the familiar with new or distant
information. |
Bring in
information from the local newspapers about Columbus Day
celebrations—controversy and ads about Columbus Day sales. |
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Create a Common Set of
Experiences |
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Scaffold
the learning Provide
a common set of experiences. (This is important when students have limited
knowledge about a topic and this is often the case with world history.) Challenge
prior knowledge to provide multiple perspectives on and interpretation of
data. Provide
specific, in-class, help in selecting, collecting and organizing data. Provide
specific support on how to report learning to real audiences. |
Build
common knowledge through a video or other means about Columbus for whole
class. Discuss with class. Develop
vocabulary/create word bank.
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Challenge the Known:
Multiple Perspectives & Changing Interpretations |
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Doing
history involves understanding point-of-view and how that leads to historical
interpretations and leads to controversy. Select visuals, websites, and/or
books where there are differences in information. Guide students to
listen/read for information. |
Use
visuals to introduce the concept of conflicting information by showing
multiple paintings of Columbus, all slightly different and discuss. Select
books and websites about Columbus for a range of reading abilities and
organize groups to read and answer the following questions: á Why did Columbus go on the ocean
voyage? á What did people think the world
was like? á What happened to the people who
already lived in the Americas? á What did Columbus accomplish? Students
fill in information from their books on a chart. |
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Selecting, Collecting,
and Organizing Data |
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Provide
concrete activities
to help students understand the concepts related to the topic. The
activities should:
Provide
support for historical inquiry so students are successful. Consider the
developmental appropriateness of the activities. Use
cooperative learning to organize group activities. Assign
groups so all students will be successful, consider skills and special needs. |
Organize
students into groups to understand more deeply ColumbusŐ voyages. Group 1:
A Global Perspective Identify on a world map the routes, countries involved,
and ColumbusŐs destination. Group 2:
Life in a Small Place Measure out the size of the ship and add props to give a
feel for the ships of the time including what they ate aboard ship. Group 3:
Seeds of Change Categorize the items that came from Europe and the
Americas and consider how life changed because of these things. Group 4:
How Long Is a Century? Make a timeline from 1492 to the present and consider how
long ago Columbus traveled to the Americas. Group 5:
Counting the Days Make a timeline of the voyage. |
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Reporting Out: WhoŐs
the Audience? |
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Guide
the discussion so that students form Ňbig ideasÓ about the information they have
learned. Help students express these ideas by writing their big ideas
(generalizations) on the board to reinforce what they have learned. Scaffold
the writing process to ensure success. Provide
authentic audiences
for studentsŐ work. |
Discuss
with students what they have learned from all the reports. Then
return to the focus question: Was Columbus famous? If so, why was he famous? How do
historians tell about the past? (Remind students that historians have
different ideas about the past but they have to use the facts.) How can
we tell others about what we have learned? (Guide the discussion so that
students understand they could write a biography about Columbus.) Students
then participate in a ŇwritersŐ workshopÓ to draft, write, edit and make
final copy of their biographies for presentations. |
Adapted
from Levstik, LS & Barton, KC (2001). Doing history: Investigating with
children in elementary and middle schools. 2nd ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates:
Mahway, NJ. Chapter 6, I think Columbus went to hell: Initiating inquiry into
world history.
References
The
Columbus Navigation Home Page: http://www.columbusnavigation.com/
1492: An
Ongoing Voyage: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/1492/
National
Geographic.
(January 1992). Search for Columbus. Volume 181, No.1.
Newsweek:
Columbus special issue. (Fall/Winter 1991). Author.
Group 1 A Global Perspective
Step 1: Identify
on a world map the following information:
The countries the kings lived in who turned Columbus down
when he asked for financial assistance.
Note: Please record the information
on the map with Post Its, yarn and pins so that the map is reusable.
Use resources on the Internet website, books and other
resources to help you locate the information.
Step 2: Make
a title and a key for your map.
Step 3: Be
prepared to share your information with the class.
Materials:
world map, Post Its, push pins felt markers, and yarn
Group 2 Life in a Small Place
Step 1: Use
the information about the Santa Maria to measure the size of the ship on the
floor in our classroom or if the weather permits, take chalk and sketch out the
size of the ship by the fountain. Using yarn or chalk and measuring tape, plot
out the size of the ship—length and width.
Step 2: Add
other details about the ship using chart paper to make artifacts or the white
board to draw other aspects of the ship. Consider standing room, how animals
were carried, where cargo was stored and so forth. Also include a chart about
what was eaten aboard ship.
Step 3: Use
the websites to find out more about the ships:
á
ColumbusŐs
Ships: http://www.columbusnavigation.com/
á
ColumbusŐs
Sailing Ships: http://www.evgschool.org/Columbus's%20Sailing%20Ships.htm
á
The
Columbus Ships Again Sailed the Ocean Blue in 1992: http://www.sailtexas.com/columbusships.html
Add
new information to the chart paper.
Step 4: Be
prepared to share your information with the class.
Materials:
yarn, chalk, scissors, felt markers chart paper, measuring tape, background
information on ships
Group 3 Seeds of Change
Step 1: Create
a display by using the chart of foods and categorize the plants and animals in
the following categories. You can write the names of the item or draw a
picture.
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From Europe |
From the Americas |
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Grains |
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Vegetables |
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Fruits |
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Meat.
Beans and Nuts |
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Non-edible items |
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Step 2: Be
prepared to share your information with the class. Answer these questions for
the class:
Materials:
chart paper, exchange items, felt markers
Group 4 How Long Is a Century?
Step 1: Make
a timeline showing how long ago ColumbusŐs first voyage was. Make a timeline
that begins at 1492 to the present. One year equals one inch. Make the timeline into decades. Show
the centuries (1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, and 2000).
Step 2: Be
prepared to share your information with the class. Answer this question for the
class: How long ago was it that Columbus came to the Americas?
Materials:
scissors, tape, glue, rulers, strips of paper, felt markers
Group 5 Counting the Days
Step 1: Take
the calendar and make a timeline showing the number of days ColumbusŐs first
voyage. Remember Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492 and arrived in the
Americas on October 12, 1492.
Step 2: Be
prepared to share your information with the class. Answer this question for the
class: How do you think it would feel to be on a ship this long?
Materials:
scissors, tape/glue, felt markers, calendars
Christopher Columbus
KWL Chart
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What do you know about Columbus? |
What do you want to know about Columbus? |
What have you learned about Columbus? |
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Recording Information from Reading
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Book
title and author or Website or Other
resources |
Why did Columbus go on
the ocean voyage? |
What did people think
the world was like? |
What happened to the
people who already lived in the Americas? |
What did Columbus
accomplish? |
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