Every Day is a Holiday - Columbus Day PRE-READING QUESTIONS 1. Who is Christopher Columbus? 2. What do you know about the discovery of the Americas? 3. What do you think Americans do on Columbus Day? PRE-READING VOCABULARY TASK Match the words on the left to the definitions on the right. _____1. explorer _____2. anniversary _____3. discovery _____4. inhabited _____5. stumbled upon _____6. controversial _____7. resistance _____8. colonize _____9. depicted _____10. deserve a) to be worthy of a reward or recognition b) found without looking for d) a date on which something happened in a previous year c) to settle in and take over a new region f) described or represented g) a person who travels to places that are not well-known h) the opposing of an idea or action i) causes much disagreement or debate j) lived in k) the finding of something new Columbus Day The second Monday of October is Christopher Columbus Day. The first large celebration of this explorer was in 1792. This was the 300th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s so-called discovery of the New World. Was Columbus the first person to step on American soil? No. Indigenous people already inhabited the islands he stumbled upon. When Columbus reached the Bahamas, he thought it was India. He called the people Indians. This word was used incorrectly until recent years to refer to Native Americans. Not everyone thinks an annual party should be thrown in Christopher Columbus’ name. In fact, Christopher Columbus is a very controversial figure in history. In Venezuela, Columbus Day is called The Day of Indigenous Resistance. Other nations call it Native Americans Day. When Europeans began to colonize the Americas, native people were treated very poorly. The natives lost their culture and their land. Many became very ill from disease. Traditionally, Columbus was depicted as a hero. He was named the Admiral of the Ocean Sea. These days many schools teach the dark side of this historic period. Some people think Columbus Day should be removed from calendars. For many Americans, this holiday is nothing more than a long weekend of rest. Does Christopher Columbus deserve an annual parade? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Copyright 2010. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be photocopied by members of ESL-Library.com, in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details. 1 Every Day is a Holiday - Columbus Day COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS 1. When does Columbus Day fall each year? 2. In which year did Columbus “discover” the New World? 3. Why did Columbus call the people in the Bahamas “Indians”? 4. Why is Christopher Columbus a controversial figure in history? 5. How has the teaching of this historic period changed? ORAL SUMMARY Pair Activity Student A Read paragraph 1 again. Turn your paper over. Summarize the main points to your partner. Student B Read paragraph 2 again. Turn your paper over. Listen to your partner’s summary of paragraph 1. Summarize the main points of paragraph 2 for your partner. VOCABULARY REVIEW A. Fill in the blanks with one of the words from the list below. 1. James Cook was an ________________ in Hawaii. Can you use any of the new vocabulary? 2. Columbus Day is an _________________that many native people do not enjoy. 3. The ______________ of the Bahamas was not part of Christopher Columbus’s original plan. 4. Christopher Columbus was met with _______________ when he treated the native people as slaves. 5. It was 1492 when Christopher Columbus ________________an island in the Americas. explorer stumbled upon resistance anniversary discovery B. Word Stress Circle the syllable that contains the primary word stress. Online Research Activity explorer anniversary discovery indigenous inhabited stumbled upon controversial resistance colonize depicted deserve What happened to Christopher Columbus in Haiti on Christmas Eve, 1492? CLASS OPINION 1. Can an explorer “discover” land that is already inhabited? 2. Are indigenous people in your country treated poorly? 3. Why might Christopher Columbus be compared to Adolph Hitler? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Copyright 2010. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be photocopied by members of ESL-Library.com, in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details. 2 Every Day is a Holiday - Columbus Day !! Donʼt miss our Famous People Lesson Plan on Christopher Columbus! (Found in the Lesson Plan Library at ESL-Library.com) Teacher’s Answer Key Pre-Reading Vocabulary Task: 1. g 2. d 3. k 4. j 5. b 6. i 7. h 8. c 9. f 10. a Comprehension Questions: 1. Columbus Day falls on the second Monday of October each year. 2. Columbus “discovered” the New World in 1492. 3. Columbus called the people in the Bahamas “Indians” because he thought he had stumbled upon India. 4. Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure in history because native people lost a lot after his voyages. They were not treated well. 5. The teaching of this historic period has changed in that Christopher Columbus is not depicted as a hero. The suffering of the natives at the hands of Europeans is also taught. Vocabulary Review B.Word Stress A. Fill in the Blanks 1. explorer 2. anniversary 3. discovery 4. resistance 5. stumbled upon exPLORer anniVERsary disCOVery inDIGenous inHABited STUMbled upon controVERsial resIStance COLonize depICted desERVE Check out our Weekly Blog! Interested in teaching tips and new ideas? Read our weekly blog at: www.redriverpress.com/news ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Copyright 2010. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be photocopied by members of ESL-Library.com, in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details. 3