Урок дополнительного чтения по теме "Колумб и Новый Свет". 7-й класс

Цели:

1. Формирование иноязычных речевых умений: овладение чтением как источником получения информации; формирование и контроль смежных речевых умений; распознавание изучаемой лексики в спонтанной речи.
2. Контроль степени сформированности различных языковых навыков и речевых умений.
3. Пробудить интерес к познанию мира, путешествиям.
4. Использование речемыслительных задач разного уровня проблемности для развития механизма мышления.
5. Развитие межпредметных связей (история, география). На уроках географии и истории учащиеся уже познакомились с открытием Колумба.
6. Умение осуществлять языковую и контекстуальную догадку.

Тип урока: комбинированный – формирование умений и навыков, обобщение и систематизация, творческое применение знаний.

Ход урока

1. Columbus and the New World.

2. A Read the paragraph.

Christopher Columbus was a great sailor. He wanted to find a new route between Europe and Asia. At the time, some people knew that the earth was round. Columbus wanted to sail from Europe to Asia. So, he made a long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. When he landed on a small island, Columbus thought he was in Asia. However, he was actually near a completely different continent. He was near North America. Some Europeans called this continent the 'New World' as compared to the 'Old World' of Europe.

1) Match each word with the correct definition.

B
Christopher Columbus was born in Italy, in 1451. The 1400s were a time of change in Europe. At that time, a lot of people in the world thought that the earth was flat. However, many educated Europeans realised that the earth was indeed round.
This possibility of a round earth changed the way that people thought. It was also of great interest to Columbus. When he was a young man, he decided to study geography¹. He also decided to go to sea. Columbus wanted to find the answer to a major geographical problem.

C
At the time, Europeans wanted spices² from India and China. However, it cost too much money to carry these products from the East using the traditional land and sea routes.
Columbus wanted to find a new sea route from Europe to Asia. He knew that the earth was round. Because of this, Columbus thought he could reach the East by sailing west. However, he also knew that sailing around the world would be costly. Therefore, he needed a lot of money to find out if he was right.

D
In 1492, Columbus persuaded³ King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to give him the money for the voyage. He received enough money for three small ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
Columbus had his ships. He also had high hopes for this new sea route from Europe to Asia. Columbus and his group sailed west, but they didn't know what was waiting for them.

2) What is the correct order of the events? Number 1 to 4.

______ Columbus received money from the King and Queen of Spain for his voyage.

______ Columbus studied geography.

______ Columbus sailed west.

______ Columbus decided to find a new sea route between Europe and Asia.

E
The voyage was very long. On the 9th of October, after a month at sea, the sailors were tired of⁴ looking for land. They wanted to go back to Europe. Finally, Columbus agreed. He said that they would look for land for three more days. If there was still no land, they would go back to Europe.
Then, just three days later, on the 12th of October, a sailor on the Pinta cried out⁵. He could see land!

F
At the time, Columbus didn't know what land the could see. People now think the land was actually a small island in the Bahamas. It was probably the one that is now known as San Salvador.
Columbus and his sailors got into a small boat⁶ and went to the island. There, after months at sea, they got out of the boat and finally walked onto land. The land that would one day be called 'the Americas.'

G
However, Columbus didn't realise that he was on a new continent. He believed that he and his sailors were near the coast of Asia. He thought they were in the islands of the East Indies. He even called the island people who came to meet him 'Indians.' Because of this, people incorrectly called Native Americans⁷ 'Indians' for hundreds of years.
Columbus returned to Spain. He brought gold⁸, parrots⁹, and other things from the New World to show the king and queen. For him, this was the high point of his life as a sailor. As a result of his voyage, he was considered by some to be a very important man in Europe.

3. Read the sentences and mark them T (True) or F (False).

1. In the time of Columbus, everyone thought the earth was flat.
2. Spices were very expensive in Europe.
3. The King and Queen of Italy gave Columbus money for ships.
4. The sailors didn't want to go back to Europe.
5. Columbus thought that he was near the coast of Asia.
6. Columbus went to the New World four times.
7. Columbus and his sailors were the first Europeans to reach America.

H
After his first voyage to the New World, Columbus didn't just stay in Europe. During his life, he made three more voyages to the New World. But in the end, he never achieved what he really wanted. He never found a route to bring spices from Asia to Europe. Columbus was a disappointed¹⁰ man when he died on the 20th of May, 1506. However, questions about what Columbus achieved didn't end with his death.

I
There are still concerns about Columbus's voyage today. For hundreds of years, people believed that Columbus was the first European to reach the Americas. However, people now know that the Vikings¹¹ reached North America five hundred years earlier than Columbus. It is true that Columbus found a new world for Europeans to explore¹². However, in the end, this exploration caused a number of problems for the Native Americans. Columbus made 1492 one of the most important years in world history. However, this importance was for both good and bad reasons. One thing is certain however: on the 12th of October 1492, the New World and the Old-changed forever.

4. Answer the questions.

1. Who reached North Амеrica First?
2. What was one good effect of Columbus’s voyage?
3. What was one bad effect of Columbus’s voyage?

Reader Quiz: Columbus and the New World.

(1) Columbus left Spain in September 1492 and sailed west. (2) After a month, the sailors on his ships became unhappy and wanted to go back to Spain. (3) Then on 12 October, 1492, they arrived at the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. (4) The Bahamas are near North America. (5) However, Columbus thought they had arrived at the East Indies, near Asia. (6) Columbus soon returned to Spain. (7) He took gold and birds and also some people from the island with him. (8) He showed them to the king and queen of Spain. (9) Later, Columbus made several more voyages. (10) He was still looking for a new route to Asia. (11) However, he never found one. (12) He was an unhappy man when he died in 1506.

Read the paragraph and answer the questions.

1. In October 1492, Columbus arrived in ...

A. Asia.
B. the Bahamas.
C. the East Indies.
D. Spain.

2. The purpose of this paragraph is to ...

A. describe what Columbus did.
B. explain why Columbus wanted to reach Asia.
C. explain what the king and queen wanted.
D. show how important gold was to the king and queen.

3. Columbus was unhappy when he died because ...

A. he had made three voyages.
B. he had returned to Spain.
C. he couldn't find a sea route to Asia.
D. he did not find gold.

4. The word they in sentence 5 refers to ...

A. the king and queen of Spain.
B. the Bahamas.
С. the Indians.
D. Columbus and his sailors.

5. Where should this sentence go?
Because of Columbus, people in this area were called 'Indians' for hundreds of years.

A. after sentence 5.
B. after sentence 7.
С. after sentence 8.
D. after sentence 9.

6. After one month, the sailors wanted to go back to Spain they had not found land.

A. even though.
B. because.
С. so that.
D. in order to.