HISTORY LESSON

IN PRIMARY EDUCATION

Mario Shakar

URJC. Curso 2013/2014

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

1. OBJECTIVES OF THE LESSON

Relate this lesson with arts and crafts

Learn about Cristopher Columbus and the importance of his

discover

Understand the process of conquer in the new world

Learn how Spain and the modern age was like.

2. OBJECTIVES RELATED TO SPANISH SCIENCE CURRICULUM

The observation task is linked with: Spain history. It is for 5th Graders.

As other objectives explained in the LOE, this lesson is related to different stage aims:

-To acquire and use correctly either in oral or written form, the specific vocabulary

of the area, allowing the development of reading comprehension through scientific,

historical and graphical texts.

3. DEVELOPMENT

It will be developed through two sessions: the first focus on the different explanations

and in the second session the evaluation will be carried out.

4. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE TOPIC

Christopher Columbus: The Age of Discovery Christopher Columbus: Early Life Christopher Columbus: The First Voyage Christopher Columbus: Later Voyages Christopher Columbus: Legacy

The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he accidentally

stumbled upon the Americas. Though he did not really “discover” the New World--millions of people already lived there--his journeys marked the beginning of centuries of trans-Atlantic conquest and colonization.

Did You Know?Christopher Columbus was not the first person to propose that a person could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe. In fact, scholars argue that the idea is almost as old as the idea that the Earth is round. (That is, it dates back to early Rome.)

Christopher Columbus: The Age of Discovery

During the 15th and 16th centuries, leaders of several European nations

sponsored expeditions abroad in the hope that explorers would find great

wealth and vast undiscovered lands. The Portuguese were the earliest

participants in this “Age of Discovery.” Starting in about 1420, small Portuguese

ships known as caravels zipped along the African coast, carrying spices, gold,

slaves and other goods from Asia and Africa to Europe.

Other European nations, particularly Spain, were eager to share in the

seemingly limitless riches of the “Far East.” By the end of the 15th century,

Spain’s “Reconquista”--the expulsion of Jews and Muslims out of the kingdom

after centuries of war--was complete, and the nation turned its attention to

exploration and conquest in other areas of the world.

Christopher Columbus: Early Life

Christopher Columbus, the son of a wool

merchant, was born in Genoa in about 1451.

When he was still a teenager, he got a job

on a merchant ship. He remained at sea until

1470, when French privateers attacked his

ship as it sailed north along the Portuguese

coast. The boat sank, but the young

Columbus floated to shore on a scrap of

wood and made his way to Lisbon, where he

studied mathematics, astronomy,

cartography and navigation. He also began to hatch the plan that would change

the world forever.

Christopher Columbus: The First Voyage

At the end of the 15th century, it was nearly impossible to reach Asia from

Europe by land. The route was long and arduous, and encounters with hostile

armies were difficult to avoid. Portuguese explorers solved this problem by

taking to the sea: They sailed south along the West African coast and around

the Cape of Good Hope.

But Columbus had a different idea: Why not sail west across the Atlantic instead

of around the massive African continent? The young navigator’s logic was

sound, but his math was faulty. He argued (incorrectly) that the circumference

of the Earth was much smaller than his contemporaries believed it was;

accordingly, he believed that the journey by boat from Europe to Asia should be

not only possible but comparatively easy. He presented his plan to officials in

Portugal and England, but it was not until 1491 that he found a sympathetic

audience: the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile.

Columbus wanted fame and fortune. Ferdinand and Isabella wanted the same,

along with the opportunity to export Catholicism to lands across the globe.

(Columbus, a devout Catholic, was equally enthusiastic about this possibility.)

Columbus’ contract with the Spanish rulers promised that he could keep 10

percent of whatever riches he found, along with a noble title and the

governorship of any lands he should encounter.

On August 3, 1492, Columbus and his crew set sail from Spain in three ships:

the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. On October 12, the ships made landfall

not in Asia, as Columbus assumed, but on one of the Bahamian islands. For

months, Columbus sailed from island to island in what we now know as the

Caribbean, looking for the “pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices, and

other objects and merchandise whatsoever” that he had promised to his

Spanish patrons, but he did not find much. In March 1493, leaving 40 men

behind in a makeshift settlement on Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the

Dominican Republic), he returned to Spain.

Christopher Columbus: Later Voyages

About six months later, in September 1493,

Columbus returned to the Americas. He

found the Hispaniola settlement destroyed (to

this day, no one knows what happened there)

and left his brothers Bartolomeo and Diego

behind to rebuild, along with part of his ships’

crew and hundreds of enslaved natives. Then

he headed west, with his own complement of

native slaves, to continue his mostly fruitless

search for gold and other goods. In lieu of the

material riches he had promised the Spanish

monarchs, he sent some 500 slaves to

Queen Isabella. The queen was horrified, she

believed that any people Columbus

“discovered” were Spanish subjects who

could not be enslaved--and she promptly and

sternly returned the explorer’s gift.

In May 1498, Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic for the third time. He

visited Trinidad and the South American mainland before returning to the ill-

fated Hispaniola settlement, where the colonists had staged a bloody revolt

against the Columbus brothers’ mismanagement and brutality. Conditions were

so bad that Spanish authorities had to send a new governor to take over.

Christopher Columbus was arrested and returned to Spain in chains.

In 1502, cleared of the most serious charges but stripped of his noble titles, the

aging Columbus persuaded the Spanish king to pay for one last trip across the

Atlantic. This time, Columbus made it all the way to Panama--just miles from the

Pacific Ocean--where he had to abandon two of his four ships in the face of an

attack from hostile natives. Empty-handed, the elderly explorer returned to

Spain, where he died in 1506.

Christopher Columbus: Legacy

Christopher Columbus did not “discover” the Americas, nor was he even the

first European to visit the “New World.” (Viking explorers had sailed to

Greenland and Newfoundland in the 11th century.) However, his journey kicked

off centuries of exploration and exploitation on the American continents. The

consequences of his explorations were severe for the native populations of the

areas he and the conquistadores conquered. Disease and environmental

changes resulted in the destruction of the majority of the native population over

time, while Europeans continued to extract natural resources from these

territories. Today, Columbus

has a mixed legacy—he is

remembered as a daring and

path-breaking explorer who

transformed the New World,

yet his actions also unleashed

changes that would eventually

devastate the native

populations he and his fellow

explorers encountered.

5. EVALUATION

4. THE 4Cs IN THE CLIL CLASSROOM

In a CLIL lesson there are different aspects that benefit pupils. In our lesson

students are going to face natural situations for the language’s development. Students

will learn through the approach of “learning by doing” so it increases their motivation.

We keep in mind the fact that increases student awareness of the value of skills and

knowledge in order to create a greater pupil confidence. We will follow the principles of

CLIL in the classroom.

1. Content. The topic is about Christopher Columbus and the new world.

2. Communication. What science language will learners communicate during

the lesson? In our lesson the language of describing the characteristics the

world in the 15th century and the language of comparing and contrasting in

order to find out the main similarities and differences between now and then.

3. Cognition. What thinking skills are demanded of learners in this history and

lesson? They will have to learn and understand the process of conquer in

America and how could it be possible.

4. Culture. Is there a cultural focus in the lesson? Learners can learn about the

importance of technology and nowadays adventages.

Teacher will give students scaffold during the lesson planning. Scaffolding is the

process by which the teacher supports the learner by breaking down a task or activity

into manageable steps, and by demonstrating skills and strategies how to complete each

step successfully.

Scaffolding’ aims are to enable the learners to apply these strategies

independently in order to optimize the learning.

KEY VOCABULARY AND KEY STRUCTURES

Key vocabulary:

Sail Sank Floated Shore

Scrap Explorers Cape Export

Catholicism The globe Crew Ship

Island Pearl Precious stones Gold

Silver Spices Voyage Settlement

Native Monarchs Slaves Trip

Legacy Journey Kick Off New World

Key structures:

Christopher Columbus was…

The earth was…

The goal of the voyage was…

They were searching…

The monarchs wanted/decided/ordered/ …

5. METHODOLOGY AND MATERIALS

It is important to bear in mind that this methodology takes into account the

previous knowledge of the students and promote a meaningful learning that helps to

construct their knowledge by helping them (scaffolding). Activating prior knowledge let

us check what learners already know about the topic. It is possible that students have

learnt different facts about the topic in their L1 (first language), but may have difficulty

explaining this information in a second language. Thus, at the beginning of each topic, it

will suggest a brainstorming ideas about it, in order to ask students what they know and

expand the information by translating L1 to L2.

This lesson, will include tasks that involve students in producing key subject-

specific vocabulary and structures in group work activities and all learners will be

encouraged to take part in classroom interaction. Moreover, they need support to

develop their thinking skills in a non-native language, and providing scaffolding,

learners will able to communicate and vary the amount of support they need, so this

lesson will include: word-level support and sentence-level support.

On the other hand, during the different lessons, the development of both thinking

and learning skills will be take place in order to consolidate the knowledge that students

have acquired, thereby, it will include activities aimed at tackling LOTS (Lower order

thinking questions) and HOTS (higher order thinking questions).

In this lesson plan, it will promote links with other subjects in the curriculum

such as science or art and develop competences in order to let students obtain a

meaningful learning.

Finally, the materials students will need in the lesson planning are in the

classroom. Students will work with maps and visual supports in order to understand the

concepts.

6. COGNITIVE SKILLS

a. Hots

Why did Columbus think that the Earth was not flat?

How could they go against the wind with the caravels?

How could they conserve the food in the ship?

How could they enslaved the natives?

b. Lots

Name the kings of Spain.

How did realize they were not in India?

Why did they go through the Atlantic ocean instead of the Indian ocean?

When did they arrive to America?

7. LINK THE LESSON

This lesson will be linked with art and crafts. The whole will create three ships (three

caravels). The will be distributed in three groups, each group will develop the ship

with some indications from the teacher. The ships will be named (Niña, Pinta and

Santa Maria) and used to decorate the class and to remind the name of this caravels.

The indications are going to get a proper ship, but the children are going to use their

own ideas to customize the ship.