This lesson provides an introduction to the unit, by way of a study of the voyages and activities of Christopher Columbus. Students are first presented with the front cover of historian David Stannard’s book American Holocaust.
They are asked to make inferences from the cover (including the emotive title) about Stannard’s arguments.
Then, they gather knowledge of Columbus and his career through a series of contemporary clues. They plot them on a continuum to decide whether they depict Columbus as a great hero, or a cruel tyrant.
Students are well-positioned to take part in a debate, focused on the enquiry question ‘Does Christopher Columbus deserve his heroic reputation?’
They take on one of six roles in their debating groups, and then they must debate ‘in character’, arguing as their assumed character would have done.
Note: this enquiry can be taught within one lesson – although, if you wish, the debate itself might form the main portion of a second lesson (meaning that more time could be allocated to its preparation, with the first lesson focused on the continuum task).
Download lesson
- Lesson presentation: PowerPoint
- Lesson write-up: PDF
- Worksheet x 2: PDF
- Resource x 2: PDF
Price: £12.99
Reduced: £5.99
