Center Focus

European vs. Taino

  1. Have your students read Encounter by Jane Yolen. This book is written from the perspective of a young Taino boy on the island where Christopher Colombus and his crew landed.
  2. Have them compare this story with the typical Christopher Colombus stories from a "white man's" view point. You may want to provide a few of these more common stories - there are many.
  3. Your students should write down differences between these two viewpoints.
  4. After your whole class has visited this center, you should have a class discussion about differing view points and discuss how important it is to get both sides of the story.