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, Spains 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 navigators 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 Nia, 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 explorers 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 legacyhe 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 languages 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 Scrap Catholicism Island Silver Native Legacy Sank Explorers The globe Pearl Spices Monarchs Journey Floated Cape Crew Precious stones Voyage Slaves Kick Off Shore Export Ship Gold Settlement Trip 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 subjectspecific 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?

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?

b. Lots

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 (Nia, 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.