Оформление: рисунки, плакаты, музыка (американские песни).
Ход праздника
Ведущий: Dear boys and girls! We are here to celebrate a wonderful American holiday - Columbus Day. Five hundred years ago, Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to the Americas. He was not trying to prove that the world was round as has so often been suggested. For centuries, educated Europeans had known that the world was round. Columbus was trying to find a short sea route to the Indies by sailing west from Spain. In 1492, Columbus first explored the New World-new, that is, to the Europeans.
Few celebrations marked the discovery until hundreds of years later. The continent was not even named after Columbus, but an Italian explorer named Amerigo Vespucci. In 1792, a ceremony was held in New York honoring Columbus, and a monument was dedicated to him. Soon after that, the city of Washington was officially named the District of Columbia and became the capital of the United States. In 1892, a statue of Columbus was raised at the beginning of Columbus Avenue in New York City. In 1905, Colorado became the first state to observe a Columbus Day. Over the next few decades other states followed. In 1937, then President Franklin Roosvelt proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus Day. Since 1971, it has been celebrated on the second Monday in October.
Look! We have a wonderful guest here! Welcome him! His courage, indomitable will, and genius create a model figure for all of us to follow. We are greatly indebted to him. «Hail Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea!»
Начинается спектакль. Действующие лица - учащиеся.
Characters: Story-teller, Christopher Columbus, sailors, Indians, King Ferdinand, Queen Isabella.
«The Voyage of Christopher Columbus»
На сцене появляется Христофор Колумб.
Chr. Columbus: Hello! I am Christopher Columbus, and I was born long ago, in 1451, and very far away, in Guano, Italy. My father was a wool weaver who, together with my mother, raised five children. I am the eldest. Our town of Guano is by the Mediterranean Sea, and I grew up thinking and dreaming about great sea adventures. When I was 19, I started my travels by ship. I moved to Liason, a bustling seaport city in Portugal. Many merchants were importing gold, jewels, spices, and medicines here! But all there treasures from China, Japan, and the East Indies were transported Overland, which was slow and expensive. I thought that surely one could sail West across the Atlantic Ocean and arrive at China and Japan. Sailing to the Indies would me much faster and much less expensive.
In the meantime, I married Dona Felipa, a fine Portuguese woman. We were greatly pleased when our little son, Diego, was born. I felt so strongly about my idea of sailing West to the Indies that I took my plans to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Although they showed some interest, they were busy at war for several and would not finance my voyage. Finally, in 1492, permission for the trip was granted. Now I am hurrying to the Palace of the rulers of Spain.
King: We pay for your trip and provide you with three ships and all the necessary supplies.
Queen: In addition we promise to make you governor of any new lands that you’ll discover, we’ll also make you an Admiral.
Columbus: Oh! Thanks a lot! I promise to find a new route from Spain to the Far East. India, China, Japan - the Indies! Lands of gold and valuable spices! If I succeed, Spain will be rich.
Queen and King: Good Luck!
Story-teller: It is August 3, 1492. A new day begins in a busy Spanish harbor. Three ships - the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria - are starting out to sea. Someday these will be famous. People will know their names five hundred years later. But the men on board cannot even imagine that. They are afraid of getting lost. Christopher Columbus is not afraid of getting lost. He is the captain of the Santa Maria and the Leader of the voyage. Columbus knows a lot about the sea. He is a navigator and a mapmaker. Now he dreams of becoming an explorer, too.
There are ninety men in all - about thirty on each ship. Weeks and weeks go by. Now everyone is tired and scared.
1st Sailor: We are tired of eating salt meat.
2nd Sailor: We are tired of seeing nothing but ocean.
3rd Sailor: We are tired of being stuck on a tiny ship.
4th Sailor: Should we turn back?
5th Sailor: Are we going to die?
Columbus: Sail on!
Story-teller: And they go on. They have been at sea for almost two whole months. The sailors complain loudly.
1st Sailor: Who cares about finding a new route to the Indies?
2nd Sailor: We just want to stay alive!
3rd Sailor: Columbus! You must turn back now! If you don’t, we will throw you overboard!
Columbus: I bed you to wait. Just there more days.
Story-teller: The first night goes by. On the second night, the lookout on the Pinta sees something ahead. The moonlight is reflecting off a sandy beach.
Sailor: Land! Land!
Story-teller: It is October 12, 1492. Three boats go ashore. The sailors are so happy to be on land, they kiss the sand. There are people on the island.
Columbus: Oh! They are Indians! We name this island San Salvador. Now it belongs to Spain.
Indians: Hello! We believe you have come from the heavens! Take our gifts!
Columbus: We see many unusual things parrots, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, corn. And we give you our gifts: red bonnets, small glass beads and tiny bells.
Story-teller: Then Columbus sails further west to look for gold, because Indians are wearing gold rings. Soon Santa Maria is wrecked. On March 15, 1493, two ships the Nina and the Pinta finally reached Spain. The voyage has lasted thirty-two weeks! Columbus rides to visit the king and queen.
Queen: Dear Columbus! You are here!
King: You are «Admiral of the Ocean Sea»!
Columbus: (заключительнаясцена)
In all, I made four trips to this New World. I eventually realized that new territory was not China, or Japan, or the East Indies, but an entirely different continent. How amazed I would have been to look 500 years into the future and see the mighty nations of this New World which now spread from sea to sea!
And now we’ll have a quiz!
Викторину проводит сам «Колумб». Помогают проводить викторину учащиеся, занятые в спектакле.
Quiz
- When was I (Columbus) born? (1451).
- What is my hometown? (Guano).
- What is my wife’s name? (Dona Felipa).
- Who was the King of Spain? (King Ferdinand).
- Name the Queen of Spain (Queen Isabella).
- How many ships was I (Columbus) given? What were the names of the ships? (Three. Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria).
- Which direction did I (Columbus) sail towards? (A short, cheap sea route to Asia).
- How long was my (Columbus’) voyage? (On August 3, 1492, I sailed Spain. On March 15, 1493, we arrived in Spain).
- What did we bring from Indies? (cotton, parrots, potatoes, corn, tobacco).
- When do American people celebrate Columbus’ Day?
Колумб награждает победителей призами.
(Победители викторины могут быть награждены памятными «медалями» с изображением Христофора Колумба. Эти «медали» изготавливают учащиеся, подготовившие данный праздник).
Оформление праздника:
- Картинки, иллюстрирующие путешествие Колумба.
- Картинки, изображающие предметы, которые Колумб привез из Америки (патрон, кукуруза, картофель, табак, тропические рыбы, хлопок, арахис).
- Плакаты:
а) большой плакат, изображающий общую символику праздника;
б) «Sail west to get east: the new theory that had to be proven»
Музыкальное оформление
В начале и в конце праздника звучат американские песни (можно спеть песни, которые учащиеся разучивают на уроках).
За 2-3 недели до проведения праздника можно дать учащимся на уроках лексику, которая поможет им лучше понять содержание праздника.