The day Columbus discovered America – level 1

12-10-1492

It is the summer of 1492. Three small ships are preparing for a journey across the ocean. They are in Spain. There are 100 men on these ships. Their boss is Christopher Columbus.

Columbus says that the Earth is a ball. He says that people can go to Asia by ship across the Atlantic Ocean. People in Europe want to go to Asia because they want to do business there.

The men on the ships don’t know that Columbus’s idea is wrong. The journey to Asia is three times longer than Columbus thinks.

It’s October 7. The men are at sea for 29 days. On that day, the men see big groups of birds in the sky. Columbus starts to follow the birds.

Five days later, on October 12, 1492, the men see land. The land is one of the islands in the Bahamas. When they go on the island, they meet people. Columbus calls them Indians. He thinks that he is in Asia.

Difficult words: journey (a long way), follow (to go after somebody), call (to give a name).

What was Columbus's reaction when he realized he had found a new land and not Asia as he expected?

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