Sailing West

In 1492,Christopher Columbus set said from Spain.He commanded
a fleet of three ships.They sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean.
After two months at sea,there was great excitement when a sailor
saw land.The fleet of ships had reached islands in the Caribbean
Sea.Columbus thought they were in Asia and named these islands
the West Indies.
The Santa Maria was the ship in which Columbus sailed from Spain.
It was wrecked among the islands of the Caribbean.
In 1498,Columbus reached mainland South America on his third
voyage west.His ships explored the Orinoco River in the country
that is now called Venezuela.

1. When did Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain?
2. How many ships did he command?
3. Which direction did they sail?
4. What caused great excitement on the ship?
5. What islands had they reached?
6. Where did Columbus think he was? Was he correct?
7. What was the name of Columbus's ship?
8. What happened to the Santa Maria?
9. What does wrecked mean?
10. When did Columbus reach mainland South America?
11. Did Columbus find South America of his first voyage west?
12. Where did his ships explore?