LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERSCHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
LinguaHouse.com
October 14, 2020
Level: Pre-Intermediate (A2-B1)
Type of English: General English
Tags: Celebrities And Historical Figures; Historical Events; People And Places; Vocabulary Lesson
Publication date: October 14, 2020
This lesson covers the life and legacy of explorer Christopher Columbus. It focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. There is an optional extension or homework activity at the end, which uses a wordsearch to review vocabulary from the lesson (by Stephanie Hirshman).
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. Although Columbus is his English name, his real name was probably something like Cristoffa Coromboro.
He left home and went to sea at an early age before moving to Lisbon, Portugal in 1477. He helped rich trading families from his hometown to do business and traveled to many places, from West Africa to Ireland.
At that time, Europeans wanted to buy spices and silk from China and other countries in the Far East. However, travel across land was dangerous, and sailing around southern Africa took too long. People wondered if there was another way to reach the eastern area they called "the Indies".
Columbus made a plan to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean to find a route to the Indies, but he needed money. He asked the kings of Portugal, Genoa, and Venice to help, but they all said no. Finally, in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to pay for the voyage.
Columbus left Spain with three ships on August 3, 1492. He was lucky to have helpful winds, and on October 12, he and his men arrived at an island in the Bahamas in the Caribbean. He called the people that he found "Indians" because he believed he was in the Indies.
He returned to Europe in March 1493, bringing turkeys, pineapples, and Indian prisoners. Columbus made three more trips to explore the New World and brought Spanish colonists with him to live on the islands he discovered.
He became governor, but he was not a good leader. He died in 1506, still believing that the lands he had discovered were part of Asia.
After his death, his body was moved several times. Part of his body is now in "The Columbus Lighthouse" in the Dominican Republic. Columbus’ voyages introduced Europeans to the Americas. However, he enslaved the Indians he met and brought new diseases to the New World.
Many millions died as a result. Columbus wasn’t even the first European to reach the Americas. The Vikings explored the Canadian coast further north almost 500 years before Columbus.
Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/christopher-columbus. Accessed on September 20, 2021.
This lesson covers the life and legacy of explorer Christopher Columbus. It focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. There is an optional extension or homework activity at the end, which uses a wordsearch to review vocabulary from the lesson (by Stephanie Hirshman).
- CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet.
- CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan.
- CLICK HERE to download the audio in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download the audio in British English.
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. Although Columbus is his English name, his real name was probably something like Cristoffa Coromboro.
He left home and went to sea at an early age before moving to Lisbon, Portugal in 1477. He helped rich trading families from his hometown to do business and traveled to many places, from West Africa to Ireland.
At that time, Europeans wanted to buy spices and silk from China and other countries in the Far East. However, travel across land was dangerous, and sailing around southern Africa took too long. People wondered if there was another way to reach the eastern area they called "the Indies".
Columbus made a plan to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean to find a route to the Indies, but he needed money. He asked the kings of Portugal, Genoa, and Venice to help, but they all said no. Finally, in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to pay for the voyage.
Columbus left Spain with three ships on August 3, 1492. He was lucky to have helpful winds, and on October 12, he and his men arrived at an island in the Bahamas in the Caribbean. He called the people that he found "Indians" because he believed he was in the Indies.
He returned to Europe in March 1493, bringing turkeys, pineapples, and Indian prisoners. Columbus made three more trips to explore the New World and brought Spanish colonists with him to live on the islands he discovered.
He became governor, but he was not a good leader. He died in 1506, still believing that the lands he had discovered were part of Asia.
After his death, his body was moved several times. Part of his body is now in "The Columbus Lighthouse" in the Dominican Republic. Columbus’ voyages introduced Europeans to the Americas. However, he enslaved the Indians he met and brought new diseases to the New World.
Many millions died as a result. Columbus wasn’t even the first European to reach the Americas. The Vikings explored the Canadian coast further north almost 500 years before Columbus.
Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/christopher-columbus. Accessed on September 20, 2021.
LinguaHouse.com © 2008 - 2021.
No comments:
Post a Comment