Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Date: _________________________ Class: _____ Part I: Period of Discovery The Boy Columbus About this time (1400s) there lived in Italy a which last calling he was able to support himself boy by the name of Christopher Columbus. He lived when he came to be a man. at Genoa, a small seaport town on the Mediterranean He was only fourteen years old when he Sea. When not at school Columbus was generally made his first voyage upon the great blue sea with found standing about the wharves, watching the some traders bound for the East Indies. From that great ships come and go and listening to the time on, his life was like that of all sailors, I suppose, marvelous stories told by the sailors. full of adventures, narrow escapes and marvelous Genoa at this time was a very rich town and experiences. sent ships to all parts of the known world. The little When thirty-five years old, he went to Lisbon, boy drank in all the wonderful stories the sailors were the capital city of Portugal. He was a quiet, dignified, so fond of telling, and thus learned much of the far thoughtful man. His hair had grown white, and he away countries. had here and there on his face lines of care and “I shall be a sailor,” he would say to himself trouble. The stories of sea-gods and wind-gods had www.studenthandouts.com as he listened; and then, like all other small lads, he long ceased to satisfy him. He said there must be longed to grow big and strong. something different from this. And so, year after His parents were poor but wise and tried to year, he pondered upon the shape of the earth. He give him a good education. He was taught to read read every account of travels, every story of and write, and when old enough his father sent him adventure, every theory of the earth’s size and shape away to school, where he could study arithmetic, that he could find. “It is easy enough to guess about drawing and geography. these things,” he would say, “but there must be some He learned Latin, wrote a good hand, and natural law, some real fact, that, if discovered, would could draw maps and charts for the use of sailors, by give us the true knowledge.” Questions 1. Where did Christopher Columbus live as a young boy? 2. According to this brief sketch, what language did Columbus study at school? 3. How old was Columbus when he made his first voyage “upon the great blue sea”? © Student Handouts, Inc. Inc. Handouts, © Student 4. Lisbon is the capital city of what European country? 5. Imagine that you are Columbus, growing up in a coastal trading town. Might you be drawn to sailing? Why or why not? Visit www.studenthandouts.com for free interactive test-prep games…no log-in required! Name: Grade CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS TIMELINE Directions: Use the information provided in the timeline to answer the questions. Christopher Columbus dies at the Spanish court at Valladolid Columbus arrives in May, 1506 Cape Verde Islands, near Trinidad. He crosses over to the South America. Columbus returns to Spain July, 1498 Columbus arrives back in from his second voyage. After a stop in the Canary Islands, Palos, Spain bringing his September, 1494 Columbus and his crew spot land news of the New World and name it San Salvador (now the Bahamas). March, 1493 This is the discovery of America. October, 1492 August, 1492 Columbus departs Palos, Spain with three ships; Santa María, January, 1493 After making stops in Cuba, September, 1493 Pinta and Santa Clara. and Dom. Republic, Columbus Columbus’ second voyage heads back to Spain. consisting of 16 ships carrying 1500 men leaves Cadiz, Spain. May, 1498 Columbus explores Hispaniola The Third voyage of Columbus (Jamaica) and Haiti. leaves from Seville, Spain, with six ships. 1502 Fourth and final voyage leaves from Cadiz, Spain, 1. What land did Columbus discover after the Canary Islands in 1492? with four ships 2. Name the 3 ships that sailed on Columbus first voyage? 3. What was the length (in months) of Columbus first voyage? 4. What land(s) did Columbus discover on his second voyage? 5. Which voyage did Columbus discover South America? Copyright © EducatorWorksheets.com CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Not much is known for certain about the early life of Christopher Columbus. According to most accounts, he was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. His brother Bartholomeo was a chart maker in Lisbon, Portugal. Columbus probably studied chart making with his brother. Columbus believed that the world could be circumnavigated (traveled around), and he wanted to travel the seas to prove it. He was very interested in exploration. Although most people of Columbus’ time knew that Earth was round, not many believed that it was possible to get all the way around it by boat. Among other things, it was believed that a ship would run out of supplies before it reached land again. At that time, spice merchants were looking for a new route to Asia. Asia was a large trading area, but it was very difficult to reach by traveling east across land. Columbus believed that it would be possible to reach Asia by traveling west across the sea. Columbus requested support from many people to help him travel the seas. Finally, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain granted his request, and gave him the money he needed for his voyage. On August 3, 1492, Columbus and ninety men set sail on the Santa Maria along with two other ships, the Niña and the Pinta. The voyage was hard and many men were sick and tired. On October 11, at ten o’clock at night, they finally saw land. Since Columbus thought they had reached the Indies (in Asia), he and his crew expected to see people that were Indian. Even when they found out that they were not in Asia, they were happy to have found a new place that they could trade with. Columbus named the area where they landed San Salvador, and claimed the area for Spain. Columbus continued to explore the New World and made several other voyages. Today Columbus Day is observed in the United States on the second Monday in October. Banks and government offices are closed to honor the explorer who is believed by many to be the first European to have discovered the New World of the Americas. ©2007 abcteach.com ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ABOUT CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: 1. Columbus went on his famous voyage because … a. he wanted to be a sailor. b. he believed the world could be traveled all the way around. c. he liked Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain. d. he wanted to discover America. 2. Which of the following is NOT true? a. Columbus was Italian. b. Columbus was a Spanish prince. c. Columbus thought he had arrived in Asia. d. none of these 3. Which ship did Columbus sail on? a. the Niña b. the Santa Maria c. the Mayflower d. none of these 4. About how long did it take Columbus to reach the new land? a. three years b. three months c. two months d. none of these 5. Which of the following IS true? a. Columbus discovered a new route to Asia for the spice merchants. b. Columbus was a sailor and explorer. c. Columbus believed the world was flat. d. both b and c 6. Who probably most influenced Columbus’ interest in sailing and exploring? a. the King and Queen of Spain b. his father c. his brother d. none of these 7. Columbus Day is observed in the United States on ______. a. the third week of October b. October 31st c. the second Monday in October d. none of these ©2007 abcteach.com Reading a Line Graph Name: The graph below shows the number of fish caught in a day. Use the graph to answer Answers the questions. FishingFishing Trip ResultsResults 1. 11 A.M. 9 8 2. 10 A.M. 7 t 6 3. Decrease 5 4 4. 8 ish Caugh 3 Fish Caught F 2 1 5. 4 0 7 A.MA.M.. 8 AA.M..M. 9 A.M.A.M. 10 A.M.A.M. 11 A.M.A.M. 12 P.M.P.M. 6. 11 A.M. TimTimee 7. 10 A.M. 1) What time were the most fish caught? 8. 1 9. 39 2) What time were the fewest fish caught? 10. yes 3) From 11 A.M. to 12 P.M. did the number of fish caught increase or decrease? 4) How many fish were caught at 9 A.M.? 5) How many fish were caught at 10 A.M.? 6) Were more fish caught at 10 A.M. or at 11 A.M.? 7) Were fewer fish caught at 10 A.M. or at 9 A.M.? 8) What is the difference in the number of fish caught at 9 A.M. and the number caught at 12 P.M.? 9) What is the total number of fish caught? 10) Were there at least 5 caught at 8 A.M.? 1-10 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Math www.CommonCoreSheets.com 1.