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Title

Did Christopher Columbus’s ‘Discovery’ of America Have an Overall Positive or Negative Effect on the World and on History?

Concept/Main Idea of Lesson

The objective of this lesson is to provide students with several sources of information with differing perspectives about Columbus’s voyages and the events that transpired, so that students are educated on the full story of the historical figure. Using this information as support to their argument, students will evaluate whether they believe that Columbus’s ‘discovery’ of America was an overall positive or negative effect on the world and on history.

Intended Grade Level

10th, 11th, 12th grade

Infusion/Subject Area(s)

American/U.S. History

World History

National Curriculum Standards

( National History Standards:

( Era 1

- Standard 2: How early European exploration and colonization resulted in

cultural and ecological interactions among previously unconnected people

( NCSS:

( Culture

- Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study

of culture and cultural diversity.

( Time, Continuity, and Change

- Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time.

(Individual Development and Identity

- Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study

of individual development and identity.

(Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

- Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study

of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.

I. Instructional Objective

Students will recall and discuss prior knowledge. They will summarize, analyze, and explain primary documents and excerpts. Students will apply and connect information from the simulation to Columbus and the Natives. Students will judge and evaluate Columbus’s travels, and must justify and support their conclusions.

II. Learning Activities Sequence

a. Set Induction/Lesson Initiating Behavior:

(1) As a class, students will participate in a KWL on Christopher Columbus lead by the teacher. On a board in front of the class, the teacher will write down all of the students’ answers and ideas. Students are to respond with what they know and want to know about Christopher Columbus, prompted by some questions by the teacher such as:

-Does anyone know what was going on in the year 1492?

-What did Columbus do/ is famous for?

-Does anyone know what some of the effects of his voyage were?

This activity will hopefully get students thinking about the topic and also help to activate any prior knowledge that they may have on Columbus (even several facts and myths that they have learned previously about Columbus that will hopefully be corrected through this lesson).

b. Learning Activities:

(2) After the KWL, the students will lean about what was happening in the year of 1492 to put the voyage in perspective, about who really discovered America, the specifics of Columbus’s voyage, and what happened once Columbus landed on land through a power point explained by the teacher.

(3) For a homework assignment, students will receive two letters in class, each written by Christopher Columbus. They are to read the letters and with specific examples, describe their thoughts about Columbus’s point of view of his voyages.

(4) Students will participate/ watch a simulation called the Albatross exercise, of which the teacher and another adult will lead and have 6 students participate in. After this exercise, the teacher will debrief with the class through a discussion as explained in the handout, but also in an effort to demonstrate to students the way in which Columbus and his crew felt and also how the Natives felt when they met one another being that they came from two very different and unknown cultures. This aspect will be explained to the students and will be the major focus of this discussion.

(5) Students will be grouped by the teacher into groups of four. Each member will receive a different excerpt from a book or article on four different topics relating to the effects of Columbus’s voyage. The students will then break away from their group, to join with the other students who have been given the same handout. (This is a jigsaw). In the newly formed groups, students are to read their handout and discuss with the other group members the important concepts. They are then to write a summary of what they read. After all four groups are finished, the students will return to their original groups to report what they read and summarized from their individual handouts.

c. Closure:

(6) At the end of this lesson, the teacher will bring back the board with the students’ responses to the KWL from the beginning of the lesson. The teacher will reread over what the students said about what they had known and wanted to know and will ask students what changes could be or should be made to their previous answers. Each student will then be called on to explain one thing that they learned about Columbus. This wrap up of the KWL is intended to have students truly think about the mythical version of Columbus’s voyage that they have been taught previously compared to the true historical facts and differing perspectives of the ‘discovery.’

III. Evaluation

Through an essay, students are to reflect on all of the material they have learned from the lesson and answer whether they feel as though Columbus’s voyage had an overall positive or negative effect on the world and on history. The teacher will explain to the students that they will not be graded on which side that they chose to take, but rather on the way that they support their argument with examples from class.

The teacher will grade the essays based on the students’ support of his/her argument. It must be explained in depth with several points from the materials on Columbus from the lesson.

IV. Materials and Resources

(2) For the power point, please see ChristopherColumbus.ppt (attached)

(3) For the homework assignment, please see Lettershwassignment.doc (attached)

(4) For the albatross exercise, please see albatross.doc (attached)

(5) For the handouts for the Jigsaw exercise, please see jigsaw.doc (attached)

V. References

Auchincloss, K. (1991). When worlds collide. Newsweek. Retrieved from



Brenner, B. (1991). If you were there in 1492. NY: Bradbury Press.

Columbus, C. (1987). The log of Christopher Columbus. (R.H. Fuson, Trans.). Camden: International Marine Publishing.

Columbus, C. (1996). Columbus’s letter to the Queen and King. (P. Hilsell, Trans.). Retrieved from

Columbus, C. Letter to Lord Raphael Sanchez. Retrieved from

Cruz, B. (2008). Global and Multicultural Perspectives in Education (SSE 6932). Tampa, FL: University of South Florida

Loewen, J.W. (1995). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. NY: Touchstone.

National Center for History in the Schools. Retrieved from

National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved from

Sertima, I.V. (1976). They came before Columbus: The African American presence in ancient America. NY: Random House.

The History Channel. Columbus Day: Columbus’s quest for gold. (Video). Retrieved from

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