Fire and light play an almost universal role in world religions, and the predecessors for the Aztecs were no exception. Using an animation, the enlightening video recreates the Teotichuacan Fire Ceremony with rich details and features the indigenous language. After viewing, learners understand the role the ceremony played in resetting the calendar for this early civilization. 

Concepts

the aztecs, native american culture, native american history, native american legends, world religions

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use discussion questions to practice summarizing and analyze the role of the fire ceremony in Teotihuacan culture
• Compare and contrast the role of religious symbols in other cultures in a class discussion or through research
• Extend the discussion with provided activities, including writing a short story about other traditions

Classroom Considerations

• Part of the larger Native American Sacred Stories series
  

Pros

• Ready-to-use materials make extending the lesson with a discussion or project-based work easy
• Use of indigenous languages exposes learners to areas of history often neglected

Cons

• None

Common Core

L.9-10.2.a L.11-12.2.a