Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Self-Portrait Unit - Lesson #1

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders create self-portraits using artistic elements found in Hispanic culture and, specifically, the art of Frida Kahlo. The lesson can be adapted for any culture/country and requires an outside person with cultural knowledge.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anasazi/Mesoamerican/Andean: Time and Cultural Passages

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders role play the position of someone in one of six different civilization groups. They research the group's development, advancement and fall of their civilization. They create a presentation to share the information with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Go Maya!

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students make an ancient Maya travel guide. In this ancient Maya lesson, students use knowledge from previous lessons to design a travel guide. They include important information for a traveler who wants to visit an ancient Maya city....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CONCEPTS IN NUMBER THEORY.

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars study the Maya culture and their achievements in mathematics, how bacteria grow exponentially, use rational numbers to convert back and forth between Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit, how some architectural designs are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Egyptian Inspiration Web

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students conduct Internet research to discover information about scientific, technological, cultural and intellectual achievements in Egypt, along with Egyptian family life. Students create Inspiration webs of their findings.
Interactive
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Writings of the Ancient Maya

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students are introduced to the ancient Mayan civilization through their writings. They explore a social studies focus on the destruction of many Mayan writings by the Spanish and what archaeologists have learned from the writings that...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas the Mayans

For Teachers 5th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the Mayan civilization. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Primary
Other

Mesoweb: The Temple of the Inscriptions Tablets

For Students 9th - 10th
Wonderful PDF files of various tablets found at the Temple of the Inscriptions in the ancient Maya city-state of Palenque.
Graphic
Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies

Famsi: Chichen Itza:the Palace of the Sculptured Columns (1996)

For Students 9th - 10th
Color images of the Palace of Sculptured Columns at Chichen Itza and the Osario (High Priest's Grave).
Website
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Collapse: Why Do Civilizations Fall?

For Students 3rd - 8th
Why did great civilizations fall? War, disease, overpopulation or natural disasters? Interactive content and activities allow you, by sifting through archaeological evidence, to investigate the collapse of the Mayan civilization, the...
Article
Read Works

Read Works: Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans the Land of the Four Quarters

For Teachers 4th - 6th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This nonfiction passage describes the Inca Empire and shares a theory about how the civilization disappeared. This passage reinforces essential reading comprehension skills. Opportunities for vocabulary...
Graphic
Science Museum of Minnesota

Science Museum of Mn: The Puuc Hills: Uxmal

For Students 9th - 10th
Numerous photographs of the ancient Mayan city of Uxmal.
Website
Other

Jerry Amernic: Pyramids of the Feathered Serpent

For Students 9th - 10th
The author gives a very detailed and interesting description of the Mayan city of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. He emphasizes the extremes of Mayan culture, from their advanced knowledge of astronomy and mathematics to...
Unknown Type
Soft Schools

Soft Schools: The Classes of the Maya Quiz

For Students 3rd - 8th
Take this interactive, multiple choice quiz over the Mayan social classes, and then check your answers for review after answering the questions.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans Tenochtitlan

For Teachers 4th - 6th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This nonfiction passage shares the legend of the creation of the Mayan city of Tenochtitlan. This passage reinforces essential reading comprehension skills. Opportunities for vocabulary acquisition are...
Website
Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies

Famsi: Salvage of Hieroglyphic Stairway in Dos Pilas (2002)

For Students 9th - 10th
Comprehensive discussion of what the discovery of stairway steps adds to history of the site and the culture. Writings on steps give new insights to Myan politics, trade, war, and the collapse of the civilization.
Website
Archaeological Institute of America

Archaeology: Diving With the Dead

For Students 9th - 10th
Follow a team of divers as they explore the famous cenotes of the Yucatan peninsula. These cenotes hold secrets of Mayan culture still waiting to be told.
Graphic
Science Museum of Minnesota

The Temples of Tikal

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides various pictures of the numerous temples in the Mayan city of Tikal.
Handout
Other

Mc Clung Museum: Maya: Portraits of a People

For Students 9th - 10th
Gives a short but concise summary of the Mayan civilization along with a timeline and pictures. Can serve as a good introduction to the Mayans. Map of the region is also available.
Handout
Other

Houghton Mifflin: Mayan Mathematics

For Students 4th - 8th
This site explains the mathematical system of the Mayans. It gives the represenation they used for numbers and how they did addition and subtraction.
Website
United Nations

Unesco: The Prehispanic Town of Uxmal

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief historical description of the Mayan city of Uxmal with photos and conservation requirements.
Handout
Other

Archaelogical Sites: Palenque

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents an overview of the Mayan city of Palenque, including a biographical sketch on some of the rulers.
Website
Other

Personal: Rubbings of the Maya Sculpture

For Students 9th - 10th
This personal site provides a large collection of rubbings taken from Mayan stelae, etc. Great primary source.
Activity
Mex Connect

Mexconnect: The Ancient Maya: A Commercial Empire

For Students 9th - 10th
This article discusses the implications of trade and commerce during the Mayan Period. The principles of resource allocation and specialization are discussed. (Published January 1, 2006)