© Maggie's Earth Adventures, 2017. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.

Who Are the Taíno? Long ago the Taíno lived together. They were happy. The Taíno were good farmers. They fished a lot, too. They were good artists. Then Columbus and his men came to their land. The Taíno were kind to them. They gave Columbus food and art. But Columbus wanted gold. He made the Taíno work. The Taíno became sick. Many of the Taíno died.

Maggie’s Activity Pack

Name _________________________

© Maggie's Earth Adventures, 2017. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.

We say that Columbus discovered America. But the Taíno were living on the islands Columbus

visited.

Draw a picture that shows how the Taíno may

have felt about Columbus after he made people

work hard.

© Maggie's Earth Adventures, 2017. www.missmaggie.org Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.

Dear Colleague, Standards and common sense encourage us to help students realize that there are usually different sides to a story. One book that does this quite well is Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. This simple book is a helpful introduction to the idea that we need to look at concepts from different viewpoints. It is important to help students consider that the celebration of Columbus can be viewed through a different lens. This text encourages this and provides important history about the people who resided in the Caribbean when European explorers arrived. Researchers like Maria Jose Botelho, Sara Lewis-Bernstein, and Tara Nappi discuss the need to provide our students with texts that help them discover that their beliefs may not always be shared. They specifically discuss how the traditional view of Columbus as a great sailor is different than the experiences of the native people. To help you delve into this further, we suggest the following children’s books: A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus by D.A. Adler Did Christopher Columbus Really Discover America? by E. C. Berne A Coyote Columbus Story by T. King Encounter by J. Yolen Encourage your students to draw pictures showing the different perspectives and main ideas of these books. Happy teaching, Dr. Kathy Responses will vary. Encourage small groups to complete these questions. Goals: Students will read a level-appropriate text about the Taíno, the native people who lived on the Caribbean Islands when Columbus arrived. The text uses basic sentence structure and high-frequency vocabulary. The article helps children understand that the impression of Columbus as a great sailor and explorer can be viewed through a different lens. The activity is also available on the primary and intermediate levels. These integrate with Common Core RI: Craft and Structure and with “People, Places, and Environment” of the National Social Studies Standards.