This holiday continues to be handled very differently depending on where in the country you teach. While President Biden declared “Columbus Day” also “Indigenous People’s Day” nationwide in 2022, this was not a universal declaration but a one-year statement.
Speaking with our students about what the name of the October Holiday is and should be is a wonderful opportunity to talk about who we choose to center in history and how rethinking traditions is important albeit difficult. Depending on your current area of study, this can take different forms, so I am sharing a few options in this post.
Informational Reading Practice
There are some good resources on Newsela if you have access. This USA Today article is also student-friendly. I recommend pairing either with a pro/con or t-chart graphic organizer for some close reading.
They are also great for annotations practice.
Literary Analysis Practice
This is also a great time to bring a powerful picture book into the classroom to develop empathy and understanding of the Taino experience. While Jane Yolen is not an indigenous author, I love the way she handles the Taino experience in Encounter. This engaging read-aloud is also a fantastic opportunity for students to explore figurative language.
I’ve already done the work of setting up a lesson plan and activities with this book if you’d like to check it out in my TPT store.
Primary Source Practice
I like to do this after reading Encounter to set up the context, but with alternate scaffolding you could do it on its own. The translation of Columbus’ letter about his experiences to the King and Queen of Spain is powerful to annotate, discuss, and compare in a consideration of perspective and provided in a learning plan from the Gilder Lehrman Institute.
Art Connections to Latinx History Month
If you are already struggling with a tight schedule because of the holiday but want to acknowledge the Taino this week, share this guided mural explanation of a Taino mural in Boston which connects to Latinx History as well.
Democracy has always been and will continue to be messy. Taking time to grapple with the naming of this holiday is an opportunity to prepare our students to be active participants in our messy, but beautiful, democracy.
