Discussion Questions
• If you lived during the time of Christopher Columbus, what advice might you
give to the explorer as he prepared to set off on his voyage in 1492?
• When Columbus set off on his voyage in 1492, he was sailing into a part of the
world about which Europeans knew very little, if anything. Have students pretend they are part of Columbus’s crew. Brainstorm a list of things that they
would take with them.
• What are the qualities of a hero? Consider Columbus’s accomplishments as well
as his mistreatment of the Taíno people. Was he a hero? Explain.
Columbus Day
Grades K-4
This guide is a supplement designed for teachers to use when presenting programs in the video series Holidays for Children.
Before Viewing: Give students an introduction to the program by relaying aspects of the introduction to them. Select vocabulary and discussion questions to
provide a focus for students when they view the program. Engage your class in a
brainstorming activity to determine the prior knowledge that students have about
the holiday.
After Viewing: Review the program and the information students brainstormed
about the holiday. Help students to determine the accuracy of these ideas based
on information they gained from watching the program and to add new ideas to
their brainstorming list. Review the vocabulary and use the discussion questions
and activities to inspire continued discussion. Encourage students to research the
topic further with the Internet and print resources provided.
Introduction
Columbus Day was made a national holiday by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in
1937. It is currently celebrated on the second Monday in October. While some
people recognize Columbus’s accomplishments and his spirit of discovery, others find very little to celebrate because of his harsh treatment of the native people he and his crew encountered. Let’s look at history from both sides. Follow
Columbus from his early days as a sailor, mapmaker and then a navigator on the
search for a westward trade route to Asia.Then listen to a descendent of the Taíno
describe the effect that interaction with people from Europe had on the culture
and population of his ancestors. Christopher Columbus is credited with opening
up the Americas to exploration and settlement from Europe, but it was at a great
cost to the native peoples already living in the places he explored.
Vocabulary
The New World — The name used by Europeans during the colonial period to
refer to North, Central and South America.
explorer — A person who travels because of a goal, such as wealth, information
or discovering new lands.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella — Joint rulers of Spain from 1479-1504.
Through their sponsorship of Columbus’ voyages, a Spanish empire was developed in the New World.
San Salvador — The first land sighted by Columbus’s crew during his initial exploratory voyage in 1492.The island, land that is today part of The Bahamas, was
claimed for Spain and named by Columbus.
settlement — A temporary or permanent place where a community of people
have come to live.
Taíno — The native people Columbus found living in the regions of the New
World he first reached.
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• People may have different feelings about this national holiday and choose to
commemorate it in different ways. In fact, some communities celebrate “Native
American Day” instead.With this in mind, what else could we call this holiday?
Have students explain their responses.
Follow-up Activities
• Columbus Day did not become a national holiday until 1937, but according to the
Library of Congress, the first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in the United
States took place on October 12, 1792 in New York City. Investigate the history of
this holiday and have students create a timeline of relevant dates and events.Visit
memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct12.html for more information.
• Columbus kept a detailed log of his first voyage to the New World to record everything that he and his crew saw and did. Share with students some excerpts from
his log. For example, in his September 25th entry, Columbus explains that he kept
two sets of distance figures.The set he shared with his crew was falsified to allay
the fears that they traveled too far from Spain. Also read about Columbus’s impression of the native people he encountered. Peter and Connie Roop’s I,
Columbus: My Journal 1492-1493 (Camelot, 1994) is a collection of excerpts from
Columbus’s log edited for students. Detailed log excerpts are also available online.
(Visit www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html) Have students
spend a week keeping a log of their daily lives.They can include maps, sketches and
other interesting data.
• Engage students in a study of the Taíno people by reading a story from their oral tradition. Share Nina Jaffe’s The Golden Flower: A Taíno Myth from Puerto Rico
(Piñata Books, 2005), a creation myth that explains how water came to the world,
and have students look for clues that reveal more about the Taíno people, their culture and beliefs. Students can work together to create a collage of words and images that describe the Taíno.
• Show what you know about Christopher Columbus and his exploration of the
Americas, both the good and the bad. Have students create posters that show cause
and effect, before and after, or myth and truth. For example, it is a myth that Columbus set sail to prove that the world was round.The truth is that Aristotle proved the
earth was round about 2,000 years earlier. Fold the posters in half so that students
can illustrate both sides of the story. Share the posters with the rest of the student
body by posting them around the school for Columbus Day.
• Different communities have decided to celebrate the second Monday of October in different ways. Some honor Columbus and the spirit of discovery, yet
others commemorate the native peoples he encountered instead. Encourage
students to share their own opinions by taking a class poll. Organize the data
into a bar graph or pictograph and discuss the results. Visit www.edutopia.
org/poll-columbus-day-native-americans to see a sample poll.
Suggested Internet Resources
• www.mariner.org/education/christopher-columbus
The Mariner’s Museum presents a comprehensive resource on Columbus. All
four of his voyages to the New World are detailed with maps of his routes.
• myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAmericas/ExplorationsandEncounters
/ColumbusandtheTaino/
This online exhibition, by the Library of Congress, showcases Taíno artifacts as
well as early accounts of Columbus’s explorations.
• www.columbusnavigation.com/
The “Columbus Navigation Homepage” helps to explain how Columbus guided
his ships. Information about navigation, navigational tools and Columbus’s ships
is included.
• teachinghistory.org/history-content/quiz/20401
This site, by the National History Education Clearinghouse, addresses popular
myths about Columbus by explaining if they are true or false.
Suggested Print Resources
• Landau, Elaine. Columbus Day: Celebrating a Famous Explorer. Enslow Elementary, Berkeley Heights, NJ; 2001. Landau gently challenges the myths and
assumptions about Columbus.
• Sis, Peter. Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus. Knopf
Books for Young Readers, New York, NY; 2003.
• Yolen, Jane. Encounter. Voyager Books, New York, NY; 1996.The story of
Columbus’s landing in San Salvador through the eyes of a young,Taíno boy.
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Megan Tang, Ed.M.
Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• THE 100TH DAY OF
SCHOOL
• ARBOR DAY
• CHINESE NEW YEAR
• CHRISTMAS
• CHRISTMAS AROUND
THE WORLD
• CINCO DE MAYO
• COLUMBUS DAY
• CONSTITUTION DAY
• EARTH DAY
• EASTER
• ELECTION DAY
• GROUNDHOG DAY
• HALLOWEEN
• HANUKKAH/PASSOVER
• INDEPENDENCE DAY
• KWANZAA
• MARTIN LUTHER KING,
JR. DAY
• MEMORIAL DAY/
VETERANS DAY
• POW WOW
• PRESIDENTS DAY
• RAMADAN
• REMEMBERING
SEPTEMBER 11TH
• ROSH HASHANAH/
YOM KIPPUR
• ST. PATRICK’S DAY
• THANKSGIVING
• VALENTINE’S DAY
Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2010 by Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
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