Christopher Columbus Educational Resources K12 Learning, United States, World, History Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

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Audio:

In 1492, who sailed the ocean blue?

Have you heard that line before?
Did you guess it was Christopher Columbus who sailed in 1492?
What ocean?
What caused this famous explorer to travel into parts of the world where no one else wanted to travel?

In this lesson, you'll learn the answers to these questions and more. You may even be surprised at all you'll learn!

Most people, when asked about Christopher Columbus, will have wonderful things to say about him, since they believe he discovered America.

Looking back into history, we see that might not be the case, or at least it isn't the full picture of his journeys.

Let’s learn more about Columbus and the importance of perspective!

Start by reading Christopher Columbus from Easy Science for Kids.

People agree Christopher Columbus was an important Italian explorer in the 1400s who took a brave journey west. But, people have very different perspectives on whether Columbus discovered America!

Some think he discovered America, but others believe there were other explorers who discovered it prior to him, and we should not celebrate him, because he killed many natives in the Americas.

History is written using the accounts of the people who lived through the events. Especially before the time of recordings, cameras, and videos, history is not always concrete, and we don't always get the exact facts.

For example, concerning Christopher Columbus, we have written accounts from him and his sailors, but we don’t have accounts from any of the Native Americans who were killed by him. We only hear the explorer's side, so we don't necessarily get a balanced perspective.