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Ten Activities to Celebrate Columbus Day

October 13 is the date to remember and celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492.

Teachers in classrooms across the nation can revisit that day with their students through lesson plans, activities, videos, and crafts. In celebration of Columbus Day, EducationWorld has curated a list of ten lesson plans and activities for teachers to use in their classrooms. 

  1. Should I Stay Or Should I Go?: Provided by BrainPOP, this lesson plan invites students to imagine that they are sailors in 1942, and they are asked to "accompany Columbus on his first journey to Asia." Have students write a brief essay on whether or not they would go on the voyage, and why. "Remind students that many of the sailors did not survive Columbus’ journey, but that those who did were celebrated as heroes and got a chance to explore a different part of the world. Moderate a debate between your students. Would they do anything different from the sailors in 1492?"
  2. Christopher Columbus Map Activity: Provided by EnchantedLearning, in this activity teachers can join students as they read a brief biography on Columbus, and then learn how to how to fill in a compass rose and color in important countries onto a worksheet. 
  3. Christopher Columbus Coloring Sheet: Students can use this coloring sheet to create their own version of Christopher Columbus, and have a discussion while or after they are coloring. The coloring sheet, provided by TheHolidayZone, offers a list of questions underneath, including, "who was Christopher Columbus?", "what kind of person do you think he was? why?", and "would you sail across the ocean? why or why not?"
  4. Christopher Columbus by Augusta Stevenson: In this three scene play, classes can read along with this play that depicts the traditional story of Christopher Columbus. 
  5. Columbus' Ships: Students can color by adding numbers with this printable provided by EnchantedLearning. In each part of the ship, students are given basic mathematical equations to solve, and the answer will depict which color to use. 
  6. Columbus by Joaquin Miller: This poem depicts the story of Christopher Columbus and his voyage to the new world. Students can learn about poetry and its components. Here is the first stanza:

"Behind him lay the gray Azores,

Behind the Gates of Hercules;

Before him not the ghost of shores,

Before him only shoreless seas.

The good mate said: 'Now must we pray, For lo! the very stars are gone,

Brave Adm'r'l, speak; what shall I say?'

'Why, say: 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'"

  1. Columbus Acrostic Poem: In this activity, prodived by EnchantedLearning, students are asked to write a poem about Christopher Columbus, starting each line with a letter from the word "Columbus."
  2. Handprint Mayflowers: For the younger crowd, students can place a handprint on a piece of light blue construction paper with brown paint. Students will then glue three small white pieces of paper to represent white sails, and cotton balls to represent clouds. At the end of the craft, students will have their own Mayflower. 
  3. Compass Rose: With this activity students can learn map skills by creating their own compass rose with paper, velcro, and eight squares to represent each direction. 
  4. Pumpkin Geography: Students will be excited for this hands-on activity when they welcome autumn in the mix. In this activity, each student will receive a pumpkin to turn into a globe. Students will paint the entire pumpkin light blue for water, and then carefully trace each continent, paint it, and label it.

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor