Stop lecturing about history and help your students engage with it! They will use the highest levels of thinking in this challenging, but engaging activity as they figure out for themselves who Christopher Columbus really is: A Hero or a Villain? I had great success with my students and this activity as spontaneous debates erupted in the classroom over which title this controversial character deserves.
This is part two of a three part unit on the Age of Exploration. This section is a primary source analysis where students will use 9 documents to determine if Christopher Columbus deserves the title “Hero” or “Villain.” These engaging documents include primary and secondary sources about the explorer. Students will analyze paintings, illustrations, letters, journal entries, reports, and news articles that share a variety of opinions about Columbus and who he was. Each document is fairly short, the longest being a page, and so are very manageable for students. Depending on the length of your class periods, this activity could take up to two days.
If you have purchased the Aztec primary source set from my Native American Unit, this set is designed the same way and will help your students continue to build on those skills as the year progresses.
A PowerPoint is included to help you be successful as well as a packet for you that includes a key and tips in order to simplify your lesson planning and help you make the most out of this teaching tool. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see a sample: jennalyn.mackay@gmail.com
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Primary Source Sets: Native Americans to Pre-Revoluntionary War
Enjoy a discount on an AWESOME group of Primary Source Sets that will cover your first unit in a typical U.S. History course. In the first set students will dive into the Aztec culture. In the second they will explore the character and impact of Christopher Columbus. In the third set students will analyze colonization by looking through the eyes of the famous "Squanto" (Tisquantum). The final set will have students analyzing the Boston Massacre and issues surrounding it. These sets receive great reviews on TES and TPT! Enjoy having your students engage with history, learn critical thinking skills, and deepen their understanding of historical events!
$26.00
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Primary Source Bundle #1
This resource bundle includes the following primary source sets: The Aztecs: Who or What Toppled The Mighty Aztec Empire?; Christopher Columbus: Hero of Villain?; and Squanto: "Wrath of God" or "gift from God?" These three will take you through the first few months of a typical U.S. History classroom, up until pre-Revolutionary war. I designed them so each unit (Native Americans, exploration, and colonization) would have one primary source set to help students reach higher levels of thinking. They will all pair well with what you are already doing in class. The three sets also increase in difficulty. The Aztec set is the simplest with the fewest resources. The following sets build on the knowledge and skills students gain each time they complete a set. To read reviews about how these resources work in a typical classroom, check out the primary source analysis about Christopher Columbus in my shop.
$20.00
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Exploration Unit
This bundle includes multiple presentations, notes, activities, projects, etc. All extremely engaging and well planned out. Your students will explore all the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy as they study the collision of two worlds. Includes all the presentations, projects, activities, and lesson plans I have created that relate to the Age of Exploration. It includes Part One and Part Two of the Age of Exploration, the Columbian Exchange Cafe, and the Pokexplorer activity along with a complete student packet and a teacher key when applicable.
$15.00
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