Christopher Columbus - 3rd Grade

​Christopher Columbus

By Tiffany Jarrett

• Born in Italy in 1451

• Wanted to find a faster way to sail to Asia

• Believed he could reach Asia by sailing WEST

• Spain funded his journey, not Italy

Who was
Christopher Columbus?

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Multiple Choice

Which European country sent Christopher Columbus on his journey to explore? Hint: King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

• Italy

• Iceland

• Spain

• Portugal

• Columbus set sail with three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María

• He left Spain in 1492

• After many weeks at sea, they spotted land!

• But he didn’t reach Asia — he reached islands in the Caribbean

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The First Voyage (1492)

Drag and Drop

Columbus took​

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ships on his first voyage in the year​

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.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

3

1492

5

16

1942

2025

Drag and Drop

Columbus was trying to find a shorter route to​

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by sailing​

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, but instead, he reached the​

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.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Asia

west

Caribbean

America

Europe

east

• The people living there were the Taino

• Columbus thought he was in “India,” so he called them “Indians”

• The Taino were friendly and shared food and gifts

• Columbus and his men wanted gold and riches

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Meeting the Taino People

• Encounter tells the story from a Taino boy’s point of view

• The boy has a dream warning him about strange men coming

• He tries to warn his people, but they don’t listen

• The story helps us think about how the Taino might have felt

Connection to
Encounter by Jane Yolen

Multiple Choice

The book Encounter is told from the point of view of .....

• a young Taino girl

• a young Taino boy

• the Taino chief

• one of the explorers

Multiple Choice

In the book Encounter, the narrator describes three great-winged birds from his dream. What are the great-winged birds in real life?

• parrots

• ships

• eagles

• explorers

Multiple Choice

Why does the narrator tell the chief not to welcome the strangers?

• the narrator is afraid of strangers

• the narrator thinks the strangers are birds

• the narrator thinks his dream is a warning

• the narrator thinks it is weird that their canoes have wings

Dropdown

The native people did not listen to the boy because​

Select answer

.

• He changed history by connecting Europe and the Americas

• His voyages led to exploration — and also big changes for Native people

• It’s important to learn both sides of history

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Why we study Columbus

Multiple Choice

What were the names of the 3 ships?

• Lola, Santa Maria, Nona
• Sina, Dina, Maria
• Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria

Multiple Choice

Who was Christopher Columbus?

• Christopher Columbus was an explorer who reached the Americas.

• Christopher Columbus was an explorer who sailed to India.

• Christopher Columbus was a dressmaker who landed in China.

Multiple Choice

Why did Columbus call the native people he met Indians?

• Columbus called the native people he met Indians because he thought he landed in India.

• Columbus called the native people he met Indians because he thought he landed in Japan.

• Columbus called the native people he met Indians because he thought he landed in China.

Multiple Select

What were the three MAIN reasons European explorers took dangerous journeys to explore?

• God

• germs

• diseases

• gold

• glory