Who discovered America?

Answer each question with 2–3 sentences.

1. Who do you think discovered America?
2. What did you learn about Columbus at school?
3. Do you like stories about explorers?
4. Where would you like to explore?
5. Is history always told from one side?
6. What is the most important discovery in history, in your opinion?

Read each word and the example. Then say a sentence about exploration.

Choose the word that fits.

1. An travels to unknown places to discover them.
2. The across the ocean took several weeks.
3. The people who lived in a place before others arrived are called people.
4. The Vikings built a small in Newfoundland.
5. Some countries wanted to new land for their kings.
6. A plans the route of a ship.
7. Their crossed to America thousands of years ago.
8. The story was kept alive in an old Norse .

Choose the right answer, then press Check answers.

1. an explorer is a person who
   builds boatssells mapstravels to unknown places
2. a voyage is a long journey by
   seaair onlyfoot
3. indigenous = belonging to a place from the
   futureearliest timeslast century
4. to claim = to say that something
   is cheapis brokenbelongs to you
5. an ancestor is a family member from
   long agonext weekthe same year
6. a legend is an old story that
   is a news reportis always truemay not be true

Use these phrases to tell historical stories.

• Long before..., ... had already...Задовго до..., ... вже...Long before Columbus, people had already lived there.
• It had never been...Цього ніколи не...The land had never been empty.
• By 1492,...До 1492 року,...By 1492, people had lived there for thousands of years.
• Evidence shows that...Докази показують, що...Evidence shows that the Vikings had arrived around 1000.
• It was named after...Це названо на честь...America was named after Amerigo Vespucci.
• It depends on who tells the story.Це залежить від того, хто розповідає.It depends on who tells the story.
• Strictly speaking,...Власне кажучи,...Strictly speaking, nobody discovered an empty land.
• Historians now believe that...Історики тепер вважають, що...Historians now believe that the Vikings arrived first among Europeans.

Read the text. Hover over the dotted words for help.

1. People had lived in the Americas long before Columbus.
   TrueFalse
2. The Norse reached North America around the year 1000.
   TrueFalse
3. Columbus knew that he had reached a new continent.
   TrueFalse
4. America was named after Columbus.
   TrueFalse
5. The text says that nobody discovered an empty land.
   TrueFalse

1. Why is it difficult to say who discovered America?
2. Whose stories are missing from the history that you were taught?
3. Should school textbooks change when new evidence appears?
4. Does it matter who was first?

Common mistakes: had been + past participle, and the earlier action uses the Past Perfect. ✗ The land had inhabited → had been inhabited. ✗ Long before he arrived, people settled there → had settled.

1. By 1492, the land
   was inhabitinghad been inhabited
   for thousands of years.
2. The route
   had never been triednever tried
   before.
3. America
   had namedwas named
   after Vespucci.
4. Long before Columbus arrived, people
   settledhad settled
   there.
5. As soon as he
   was landinglanded
   , he claimed the land.
6. They left after the winter
   was endedhad ended
   .
7. He believed that he
   had arrivedarrived
   in Asia.
8. The settlement
   had builthad been built
   by the Norse.

Each sentence has one mistake. Type the correct words.

1. By 1492, the land had inhabited for thousands of years. →
2. America named after Vespucci. →
3. Long before Columbus arrived, people settled there. →
4. He thought he arrives in Asia. →
5. The settlement had build by the Norse. →
6. They have never tried this route before. →

Answer in detail. Use the Past Perfect, the Past Perfect passive and linking words.

1. Who do you think was the first to reach America? Why?
2. What had people believed about the world before the voyages?
3. How would you feel on a ship in 1492?
4. How does an event look different from different sides?
5. What discoveries had been made before you were born that changed the world?
6. What would you like to discover?

Three people look at the same history from different sides. Compare their views. Who has the most complete picture? Whose view has changed after learning new facts? What do you think?

Your teacher will time you.

1. Plan for one minute, then speak for one or two minutes.
2. Part 1: tell the story of who reached America (Past Perfect, linking words).
3. Part 2: how different people tell the same history differently.
4. Part 3: a discovery or a journey that you would like to make.

1. Where would you like to explore?
2. Would you like to sail across an ocean?
3. What had you learned about America before this lesson?
4. Which explorer do you admire?
5. Have you ever made a long journey?
6. What do you take with you on a trip?
7. What would you be afraid of on a long voyage?
8. What place had you never seen before you visited it?

1. Who in your family likes travelling?
2. Who has been to America?
3. Who told you about the world as a child?
4. Who do you know that studies history?
5. Who had visited many countries before you were born?
6. Who would you take on a voyage?

1. Is it right to celebrate Columbus?
2. Should school history be told from many sides?
3. Are explorers heroes?
4. Is there anything left to discover on Earth?
5. Should we explore other planets?