Embedded Files
The Encounter: Columbus and the Taíno
THIS WEEKS THEME IS METAPHOR!
Examples: It is NOT “like” or “as”… It IS!
My room is a whole mess.
My brother is a headache.
My sister is pure chaos.
My brain is Google.
My stomach is a black hole.
That test was torture.
My phone is my whole life.
Chapter 5:
The Encounter: Columbus and the Taíno
Chapter 5:
The Encounter: Columbus and the Taíno
COPY: Instructional Goal #5
COPY: Instructional Goal #5
I can explain Columbus's impact on the Tiano by comparing views.
Success Criteria:
I can tell why Columbus sailed.
I can tell what Columbus wanted and what the Taíno wanted.
I can explain one way they saw the meeting differently.
Skill: Comparing different points of view.
Pre-Lesson Question
What might make someone risk their life to explore a new place?
Pre-Lesson Question
What might make someone risk their life to explore a new place?
Post-Lesson Question
Why did Columbus explore, and how did his actions affect the Taíno?
Post-Lesson Question
Why did Columbus explore, and how did his actions affect the Taíno?
COPY: Focus Vocabulary Words
COPY: Focus Vocabulary Words
1) Motivation — a reason for doing something.
2) Perspective — the way a person sees or understands something.
3) Morality — thinking about whether an action is right or wrong.
Visualize the Words
Vocabulary using Literary Devices: Metaphor
Motivation is your engine. 🚗 — It keeps you going.
Perspective is your glasses. 👓 — It’s how you see things.
Morality is your compass. 🧭 — It guides right and wrong.
Challenge:
Create a metaphor with one of these words!
Compare a map from the 1500s with a map from today.
What do you notice is different?
Map Analysis:
If you had only the 1500s map, where would you think you might end up by sailing west from Europe? Why?
<---------- West East---------->
Reading and Comprehension
Christopher Columbus opens the Door.
Christopher Columbus opens the Door.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain looking for a new water route to Asia. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain sponsored his voyage. Columbus sailed with three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María.
Columbus believed that sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean would take him to Asia, where Europeans wanted valuable goods such as spices, silk, and gold.
Instead, Columbus reached islands in the Caribbean. He believed he was near Asia, so he called the people he met “Indians.” They were actually the Taíno, Indigenous people whose communities had existed there for generations.
Columbus’s voyages helped open the way for further Spanish exploration and colonization. Spain sought wealth, land, power, and the spread of Christianity.
Directions: Read each question. Underline the answer in the reading.
Who paid for and supported Columbus’s voyage?
What were the names of Columbus’s three ships?
Where was Columbus trying to go when he sailed west?
What did Spain hope to gain from exploration and colonization?
Spain sought wealth,
land,
power,
and the spread of Christianity.
Bias - Who drew this image and why?
💬 Group Discussing:
Which Reason Was Most Important?
💬 Group Discussing:
Which Reason Was Most Important?
Spain had several reasons for exploring and colonizing.
Which reason do you think was MOST important?
A. 💰 Wealth — Spain wanted valuable goods, gold, and riches.
B. 🗺️ Land & Power — Spain wanted to claim more land and become more powerful.
C. ✝️ Religion — Spain wanted to spread Christianity.
There is no single correct answer. Choose the answer you think is strongest and use something from the reading to defend your choice.
"In my opinion, Spain was mainly motivated by [wealth / land & power / religion] because _____________________________________."
El Requerimiento - 1513
El Requerimiento - 1513
requiremnet.pdfThe Requerimiento —
The Requerimiento —
The Spanish were basically saying:
“If you do not obey Spain and accept our demands, we will fight you. We may take your land and belongings.
We may capture you and your families and make you slaves.
If people are hurt or killed because you refuse, we will say it is your fault, not ours.”
In 1513, the King of Spain created a legal document called the Requirement (El Requerimiento). Spanish conquistadors were required by law to read it aloud to Indigenous peoples whenever they arrived at a new village or territory.
It gave native populations an impossible choice:
1. Option A: Surrender Peacefully. Accept the Catholic Church, recognize the King and Queen of Spain as your new absolute rulers, and convert to Christianity. If you do, the Spanish promised to treat you well.
2. Option B: Total War. Refuse or delay, and the Spanish declared they would wage war, conquer your land, enslave your family, and seize your possessions.
The document ended with this key legal clause:
"If you do not do this, any death and destruction that happens is your fault, not the King's or ours."
👥 WHAT YOUR GROUP DOES:
👥 WHAT YOUR GROUP DOES:
1. CHOOSE — Pick A, B, or C.
2. DISCUSS — Explain why your choice was the biggest obstacle.
3. PROVE — Find one detail from the reading that supports your choice.
🗣️ Be Ready to Share:
🗣️ Be Ready to Share:
“We chose ___ because _______________. Our evidence is _______________.”
There is more than one good answer. Your job is to CHOOSE → DISCUSS → PROVE.
Si non me date un regalo, avite ’a suffrì.
💬 Think About It — Did They Really Have a Choice?
💬 Think About It — Did They Really Have a Choice?
The Spanish demanded that Indigenous people accept Spanish authority. If they refused, they were threatened with violence, loss of land, and enslavement.
💬 Think About It — Did They Really Have a Choice?
💬 Think About It — Did They Really Have a Choice?
Which reason would MOST likely make Indigenous people accept the Spanish demands?
A. 🗣️ Language — They may not have understood what the Spanish were demanding.
B. ⚔️ Threats — Saying no could lead to violence or enslavement.
C. 🏠 Losing Everything — Saying no could put their homes, land, and families at risk.
Point of View: Comparing Perspectives
Imagine you are Columbus or a Taíno person meeting strangers for the first time.
What do you think Columbus cared about most?
What do you think worried the Taíno most?
A. Gold: Columbus saw a chance to find gold; the Taíno saw strangers asking for it.
B. Trade: Columbus saw friendly people to trade with; the Taíno questioned what the strangers wanted from them.
C. Power: Columbus saw land and people Spain could control; the Taíno faced weapons and the possible loss of freedom.
Pick the option that you think best explains what is happening when these two groups met.
Copy in Notebook!
Primary Source: Created during the time being studied.
Secondary Source: Created later to explain or interpret the past.
Encounter: A secondary source / historical fiction that tells the Columbus–Taíno encounter from a Taíno child’s perspective.
PAGES 38,39 and 40 In Passport.
Points of View using sources.
Learning Target:
I can tell the difference between primary, secondary, and historical fiction sources.
Your Group Challenge
Your Group Challenge
Create one simple incident that could happen at school. Then tell the same incident three different ways:
Primary Source: Tell it from someone who was there and saw it happen.
Secondary Source: Tell it from someone who was not there but learned about it from others.
Historical Fiction: Use what you learned about the incident, but add imagined thoughts, feelings, or dialogue to make it a story.
Remember: The incident stays the same — only the way it is told changes.
Excerpt from pages 38, 39, or 40 in the Passport.
Two Points of View
Each group will be assigned an excerpt from pages 38, 39, or 40 in the Passport.
One person reads Columbus’s side, while another person reads the Taíno side from Encounter.
Discuss how Columbus sees the event.
Compare it to how the Taíno perspective is shown in Encounter.
Find evidence from both sources that shows the difference.
✏️ Write in Your Notebook (Write these on the Board for Students)
Complete these sentences:
Columbus's Point of View:
Columbus sees ______________________________ because ______________________________.
Encounter's Point of View:
In Encounter, the Taíno see ______________________________ because ______________________________.
The Difference:
The biggest difference is ______________________________.
🎯 Your Group's Job
Explain how the same event can look different depending on who is telling the story.
Unit Goal: Analyzing Historical Perspectives
Compare primary sources (Christopher Columbus’s journal) with secondary perspectives (Jane Yolen’s Encounter) to learn how the same historical event can look completely different depending on who tells it.
Key History & Reading Skills Practiced:
Primary vs. Secondary Sources: Eyewitness accounts (Columbus) vs. historical reconstructions (Taíno perspective).
Point of View (POV): How identity shapes how people see an event.
Purpose: Uncovering motives (Columbus’s search for God, Gold, & Glory vs. the Taíno desire for peace).
Bias: Noticing how personal goals cause people to see others as inferior or confusing.
Audience: Recognizing that Columbus wrote his log to impress the King and Queen of Spain.
COPY IN NOTEBOOK: (Also see handout)
Primary Source: A first-hand, eyewitness account.
Secondary Source: A later retelling of an event.
Point of View (POV): How a person's background shapes what they see.
Purpose: The main goal or reason for writing
Bias: A personal slant that prevents someone from being fair.
Audience: Who the text was written for.
Unit 1 Pages 38-41 Columbus v Encounter.pdfDirections
Directions
For each excerpt:
How does Columbus see the Taíno?
How do the Taíno see Columbus?
Use words or phrases from the text to support your answers.
Also - Is God, Gold or Glory mentioned?
Alternate Version - Worksheet
Based on Pages 38, 39 and 40 in passport
Two Points of View
Directions: Read the two short pieces in each box. One shows Columbus’s point of view.
The other shows the Indigenous point of view. Then answer the question.
A — First Meeting
A — First Meeting
Columbus:
“I saw that they were very friendly to us.”
Encounter:
“The strangers behaved almost like human beings.”
Question: How did the two groups first see each other?
Columbus thought: __________
The Indigenous narrator thought: __________
B — Trading
B — Trading
Columbus:
They traded with us “with the utmost good will.”
Encounter:
“We were given none of these – only singing shells and tiny balls on strings.”
Question: Did both sides feel the same way about the trade?
☐ Yes
☐ No
What makes you think that? ______________________
C — Religion & Culture
C — Religion & Culture
Columbus:
“They would very readily become Christians.”
Encounter:
“We gave our souls to their gods.”
Question: What change did Columbus think would happen to the Indigenous people?
D — Gold
D — Gold
Columbus:
“I was very attentive to them, and strove to learn if they had any gold.”
Encounter:
The narrator watched the strangers touch their “golden nose rings” and “golden armbands.”
Question: What did both sides notice?
They noticed: ______________________
Why do you think Columbus was interested in it?
E — Power
E — Power
Columbus:
“I could conquer the whole of them with fifty men.”
Encounter:
“They took me.”
Question: What does this tell us about Columbus?
F — Different Goals
F — Different Goals
Columbus:
“I am proceeding solely in quest of” gold and spices.
Encounter:
Their chief gave gifts “to bind them to us in friendship.”
Question: What did each side want?
Columbus wanted: __________________
The Indigenous people wanted: __________________
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