Monday, October 5, 2015

Columbus Day: October 12, 2015


Columbus Day 2015: October 12, 2015

There is no school next Monday because we will be celebrating Columbus Day!  This annual holiday is known for the anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas.  Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, and he was famous for sailing the Atlantic Ocean and discovering the New World, or the Americas.

Watch this quick video about the voyage to the New World!
What were the names of the three ships that set sail?

On this holiday, most states observe this day as a national holiday, where they celebrate through parades and different events.  In New York City, there are around 35,000 marchers that participate in the city's Columbus Day Parade down Fifth Avenue.


Interesting fact:  There are four states that do not recognize Columbus Day (Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota, and Oregon).  These states either replaced or ignored this day with their own holiday.  There are a lot of different views about Christopher Columbus.  For example, even though he was the leader in finding the "New World", he was known for mistreating the natives of the New World.  There are many resources where you can read more into the history of Columbus' travels to the Americas.

Vocabulary List
Annual: (adjective) happens every year
Famous: (adjective) has a reputation and is favored or known by everyone
Observe: (verb) to see and notice something
Recognize: (verb) to to identify and show knowledge about something
Mistreat: (verb) to be mean
Resource: (noun) a place of help and support

Vocabulary Exercise: Fill in the blanks
1. I want to be a good soccer player.  I should _____________ some soccer games.
2. My mom said to me, "Don't ____________ my brother."  In other words, I should not be mean to him.
3. We have an _______________ show every year to celebrate Columbus Day!
4. My teacher told us that we should find one ________________ to help us write our paper.
5. Taylor Swift is very ______________.
6. Most states __________________ Columbus Day as a national holiday.

Let's Learn Grammar!
We show possession when we add the apostrophe to a singular noun.  For example, "the children's bus" shows that the bus belongs to the singular noun "children".
HOWEVER! Did you notice in the blog this sentence: "...you can read more into the history of Columbus' travels to the Americas."  There are many singular nouns that end in the letter "s", for example Columbus.  When we see that kind of singular noun, we just simply add an apostrophe to the end of the noun (the letter s).  

Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day#Local_observance_of_Columbus_Day
http://www.nycgo.com/events/columbus-day-parade2



3 comments:

  1. Yes, Columbus is controversial for a number of reasons. First, he didn't discover America. Second, the peoples of the Americas who lived here before he arrived were not happy to see him and, as you know, were decimated because of greed, illness, and other things that Columbus and others brought them. Some cities call today "Indigenous People's Day."

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  2. This is an awesome holiday to talk about because many students may not understand why this is a holiday to begin with. They may not even know who Columbus was. When explaining it to ELL's it is important to speak of the controversy that exists around the holiday as well.

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  3. I like the video and activity you included with it. It allows students to practice their listening skills and since they can easily replay it, they don't need to worry about missing it the first time. I also liked that you addressed the controversy.

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