A&E Television
History.com: Columbus Day
This collection includes a description of the life and work of Christopher Columbus, along with a discussion of why Columbus Day is a controversial holiday. Includes video.
Wonderville Media
Wonderville: Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer and navigator born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. Columbus often gets the credit for discovering America. Of course we know that when Columbus came to America, there were already native people living here....
The History Cat
The History Cat: Age of Exploration: Christopher Columbus
The story of Christopher Columbus, of how he became an explorer, his encounter with the Arawak people in the Caribbean, and the exaggerated tales he told the King and Queen of Spain when he returned to Europe.
A&E Television
History.com: 10 Things You May Not Know About Christopher Columbus
Check out 10 things you may not know about the explorer who sailed the ocean blue in 1492 for example, Columbus didn't set out to prove the earth was round.
Stanford University
Beyond the Bubble: Creating Columbus Day
[Free Registration/Login Required] Assessment in which students use a primary source excerpt from President Benjamin Harrison's proclamation of Columbus Day as a national holiday in 1892 and their knowledge of history to answer a given...
Read Works
Read Works: Columbus Reports on His First Voyage, 1493
[Free Registration/Login Required] Abridged from the full text located at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, this passage provides a primary source and a discussion of Christopher Columbus' first voyage. Paired texts, a...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Columbus and the Egg
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
A&E Television
History.com: Native American History Timeline
As explorers sought to colonize their land, Native Americans responded in various stages, from cooperation to indignation to revolt. The timeline begins in 1492 with the arrival of Christopher Columbus and ends on March 15, 2021:...
A&E Television
History.com: How the Columbian Exchange Brought Globalization and Disease
Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Caribbean in 1492 kicked off a massive global interchange of people, animals, plants and diseases between Europe and the Americas.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Age of Exploration
Examines the Age of Exploration by looking at Christopher Columbus, the Columbian Exchange, the explorer Zheng He, the conquest of Mexico, and pirates who roamed the Caribbean.
Library of Congress
Loc: Online Exhibition: The Cultures and History of the Americas
Examine some of the rare books, maps, prints and other artifacts in this online exhibition. The exhibition explores several themes on the cultures and history of the Americas. The collection focuses on the period of pre-contact through...
Virginia Tech
Digital History Reader: Demographic Catastrophe: Native Population
When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World he and his entourage brought with them not only the views of Europeans, but also diseases of Europeans. This was catastrophic to the natives in the Caribbean Islands and Meso-America as...
A&E Television
History.com: Native American History Timeline
Before Christopher Columbus came to America, the expansive territory was inhabited by Native Americans. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, as more explorers sought to colonize their land, Native Americans responded in various...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Letter From Columbus
Text from a letter of Christopher Columbus announcing that he had discovered a new land.
A&E Television
History.com: What Is Indigenous Peoples' Day?
Since 1991, dozens of cities, several universities, and a growing number of states have adopted Indigenous Peoples' Day, a holiday that celebrates the history and contributions of Native Americans. Not by coincidence, the occasion...
Everything ESL
Everything Esl: In 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue
Help your ESL learners understand the role of Columbus in the history of America. Take the opportunity to teach map skill. This lesson plans include the TESOL standards and many downloads.
Tom Richey
Tom richey.net: Columbus and the Legacy of Discovery [Ppt]
Presents key ideas for examining how Christopher Columbus is remembered in America and how his legacy has been re-interpreted at various times in history.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Christopher Columbus
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students recognize why we celebrate Columbus Day as related to the story of Christopher Columbus. Students explore the route taken from Spain to the Americas and how long this voyage took by using a...
Digital History
Digital History: European Commercial and Financial Expansion
An interesting look at the support for Portuguese exploration by the bankers of Germany and Italy. See how Christopher Columbus' desires for riches was stoked by Portuguese trading posts in the Atlantic.
Mariners' Museum and Park
Mariners Museum: Exploration Through the Ages
This website focuses on exploration and offers links to Ancient Exploration, Medieval Exploration, The "Age of Discovery" and Modern Exploration. It also provides pictured links to four explorers: currently they are Christopher Columbus,...
Read Works
Read Works: Sailing the Seas
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus' ship. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
SMART Technologies
Smart: Exploring Explorers
This is a lesson activity which is written to engage visual and kinesthetic learners in their study on explorers: Leif Eriksson, Christopher Columbus, Erik the Red, Vasco Da Gama, John Cabot, Marco Polo, and Ferdinand Magellan.
The History Cat
The History Cat: The Voyages of Zheng He
Read about the Chinese explorer, Zheng He, who lived from 1371 to 1433. He commanded massive fleets and made seven voyages, traveling to East Africa, India, and Arabia, making stops in other regions along the way. He even brought a...
Curated OER
Smithsonian Libraries: Scientific Identity: Christopher Columbus (1451 1506)
A portrait of Christopher Columbus from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, made available through the Smithsonian Institution's Scientific Identity Collection.