Ponce De Leon And The Early ExplorationOf Florida Essays

Ponce De Leon And The Early ExplorationOf Florida Essays Ponce de Leon and the Early Explorationof Florida Juan Ponce de Leon was born in 1460, in Tierra de Campos Paleia, in Leon, Spain (Ponce, 1996). He came from a noble family and entered the royal household as a page for Pedro Nunez de Guzman, at the Court of Aragon. Later, young Ponce de Leon would become a solider for Spain and fight in the battles to drive the Moors from Granada (Blassingame, 1991). In 1493, Leon sailed with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to America (Ponce, 1996). He was a member of the forces that enslaved the Indians in Hispaniola.This was the European and Spanish way. Few explores would look upon the natives they encountered as anything more than talking animals. For the year of 1502 he was a captain under the governor of Hispaniola, Nicolas de Ovando (Thompson, 1990). During his time as captain he would suppress an Indian uprising. For this he was rewarded with the governorship of Higuey (Blassingame, 1991). Ponce de Leon would remain in Hispaniola until 1503. In this year he would be intrigued by the tales of gold to be found in Borinquen, known as the modern Puerto Rico (Ponce, 1994). He sailed to explore and settle the island. He landed on August 12, 1508 and soon conquered the island and was granted governorship of the island. There he carved himself a large estate, where he built a castle (Thompson, 1990). Ovanado was soon replaced with Diego Columbus, as governor of Hispaniola. And Columbus placed Juna Ceron as the new governor of Puerto Rico. For two years Leon fought to keep his governorship, but he was removed from the position. He was advised by King Ferdinand to find new land (Thompson 1990). The Indians of Hispaniola worked as slaves for the Europeans. They would tell great stories of a place called Bimini. It was a land filled with great riches. Ponce de Leon heard a different story from an old Indian woman. She added an interesting twist to her story. In her tale she told him of a magic fountain that turned middle aged and old persons in to young vibrant men and women. If the riches did not attract Ponce de Leon, the story of this fountain did. He was in his fifties and since his political career had failed, he figured, it was as good a time as any to explore the land (1990). Ponce de Leon left San German, Puerto Rico on March 3, 1513 and sailed with a fleet of three ships heading northwest toward Bimini. The chain of seven hundred Bahama islands was on his route but time would not allow him to explore each of them. He did visit the island of San Salvador where Columbus made his first landfall two decades before. The crew sighted the coast of America on March 3, 1513. This was Easter Sunday so he named the land Florida after the Spanish name for Easter, Pascua de Flores (Ponce, 1993). The first sighting took place near present day St. Augustine, which was to be founded fifty-two years later (1990). Six days after they sighted land they found a safe place to dock their ships. The royal banner of Spain was then flown over the new land. They expected the same lack of resistance as they had experienced when they came ashore at Hispaniola, but they were in for a surprise. The natives were fierce fighters and less enthusiastic of the appearance of these strange white men. Although their bow and arrows were not of significance to the Spaniards, but the poisoned arrows they used were. Ponce de Leon only went upon land when it was absolutely necessary. He never had the chance to explore the land for himself (1990). Ponce de Leon felt it was best to find a safer harbor. The fleet sailed south to the modern-day Cape Canaveral. The ships were caught in the strong current of the Gulf Stream which forced them to struggle for weeks along the Florida Keys. Ponce de Leon finally decided to turn around and head home. He was so overwhelmed with his discovery that he sailed directly to Spain (Ponce 1994). Ponce de Leon figured that this

How to Teach the Present Perfect for ESL Students

How to Teach the Present Perfect for ESL Students The present perfect is one of the most difficult tenses to learn for students. Teaching the present perfect effectively involves making sure students understand that the present perfect in English is always connected in some way to the present moment in time. Many languages including French, German, Spanish and Italian use the present perfect for past events. The present perfect in English covers what happens from a past moment to the present moment in time. Establishing this connection in students minds early will help students avoid mistakes. It helps to divide usage into three major areas: 1) From the past until now: Ive lived in New York for twenty years. 2) Life experience: Ive visited every state in the country. 3) Recent past events that influence the present moment: Ive just had lunch. Start by Speaking about Your Experiences Introduce the present perfect by providing three short situations One about life experiences, one speaking about some things that started in the past and continue into the present. Finally, also illustrate the present perfect for events that influence the present moment in time. Speak about yourself, your family or your friends. Life Experience: Ive visited many countries in Europe. Ive been to Germany and France a few times. My wife has also been in Europe quite a lot. However, our daughter has never visited.Past to Present: My friend Tom has a number of hobbies. Hes played chess for more than fifteen years. Hes surfed since he was a little boy, and hes practiced the art of the Japanese tea ceremony since September.Recent Events that Influence the Present:  Wheres Pete? I think hes gone to lunch, but hes been away for about ten minutes. I know hes been to the bank this afternoon so hes probably decided he needs a nice meal.  Ask students about the differences in these forms. Once the differences have been understood, return to your short scenarios and ask students related questions using the present perfect.Life Experience: Ive visited many countries in Europe. Which countries have you visited? Have you ever been to XYZ?Past to Present: My friend Tom has a number of hobbies. Hes played chess for more th an fifteen years. Which hobbies do you have? How long have you done them? Recent Events that Influence the Present:  What have we just studied? Have you understood the form? Explaining the Present Perfect Using the verbs youve introduced, quickly ask students the infinitive form for each verb. (i.e. Which verb is gone? - go, Which verb is bought? - buy, etc.). After having studied the past simple, students should recognize that many past verbs in -ed whereas others have irregular forms. Introduce the past participle form use in the present perfect. Its a good idea to provide an irregular verb sheet for future reference. Use three timelines showing the differences between usages: life experience, past to present, and recent events. At this point in the curriculum, students should easily be able to switch between positive, negative and question forms. However, its important to point out that questions in the present perfect are most often formed with How long for past to present usage, and Have you ever..? for life experiences. Finally, for present perfect that affects the present moment, its important that students understand the differences between the time expressions just, yet and already as well as for and since for past to present. Comprehension Activities Each of these uses of the present perfect can be practiced through present perfect role plays and reading comprehension activities. Its also a good idea to compare and contrast time expressions used for the present perfect and past simple. Present perfect worksheets and quizzes focusing on differences asking students to choose between the present perfect or the past simple will also help. To practice switching between the present perfect and the simple past practice short conversations with Have you ever...? followed by a question asking for specifics with when, or where. Have you ever been to France? - Yes, I have.When did you go there?Have you bought a car? - Yes, I haveWhen did you buy one? Challenges with the Present Perfect Common challenges with the present perfect include: Use of present perfect for events that happened in the pastSwitching between present perfect and past simple fluidlyUse of yet and already in questions, negative and positive formsUse of since with dates and for with periods of time