Lesson Plan Format

Name: Maria Franciosa

Date: November 19, 2014

Subject: Social Studies

Topic: Aztec Culture

Grade Level: 5

Purpose: To provide students with an in-depth look at different aspects of Aztec culture and a basic understanding of the fall
of the Aztecs.
Core Standard(s):
Massachusetts Social Studies Frameworks:
5.2: Identify the three major pre-Columbian civilizations that existed in Central and South American (Maya, Aztec, and Inca)
and their locations. Describe their political structures, religious practices, and use of slaves.
5.4: Explain why the Aztec & Inca civilzations declined in the 16th century.
a. The encounters between Cortez and Montezuma.
b. The encounters between Pizarro and the Incas.
c. The goals of the Spanish conquistadors.
d. The affects of European diseases, particularly smallpox, throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework. (2003, August 1). Retrieved November 16, 2014,
from http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/hss/final.pdf
Common Core Standards:
RI.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the
text.
SL.5.2: Summarize a written text, read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.
http://www.corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/ELA_Standards.pdf
Objective(s):
Students will be able to describe the different aspects of Aztec culture including: farming, food, games, language, and homes.
Students will be able to compare and contrast the Aztec cultural aspects with our own.
Students will be able to describe the fall of the Aztec Empire.
Assessment:
Formative: Teacher will observe students in taking notes. If a student is having trouble taking notes perhaps giving
them a fill in the blank note sheet to make the task more accessible. Teacher will observe and check in during group work
time, checking comprehension during the class sharing.
Materials Needed for Learning Experience:
Teacher: Smart Notebook Presentation, The Aztec News, The Aztecs, example Codex
Students: Note sheets, pencil, Aztec Homes text
Anticipated Length of Learning Experience: 1 hour
Student Grouping: Begin seated at desks individually, work individually on the compare and contrast and then have them
share with their neighbors before class share.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
Teacher:
The different aspects of Aztec culture, the demise of the Aztecs
Student: Background knowledge in what a culture is, what our culture is like- to make comparisons and connections
with Aztec culture

Procedure:

1. Introduction:
Today we will be looking into different aspects of the Aztec culture such as farming, food, and
language. We will be doing a quick compare and contrast with their games and ours and talk quickly
about the fall of the Aztec Empire. Just like yesterday I ask that you are respectful, raise your hands and
have accountable talk during all of our work today.

Review definition of culture: How a group of people meet their daily needs ex. Clothing, food,
religion, language, games, language

2. Body of Learning Experience:
Smart Notebook presentation to guide lesson:
Slide 1: Homes
Homes of the nobles:
-Rich nobles lived in 2 story houses surrounded by a garden enclosed by high walls.
-Homes were made of stone or adobe (mud bricks covered with plaster)
-Most had flat roofs with gardens
-Generally built in the shape of a hollow square with a courtyard in the middle.
Homes of the commoners:
-Simple houses built of adobe or wattle and daub (wattle=woven lattice of wood strips,
daub=sticky material made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand and straw)

-Brightly painted

-Could only be one story tall

-Flat roof or pitched thatch roof.
Steam Bath:
-Shaped like an igloo and are similar to saunas
-Fire was lite outside in the fireplace and it heated the walls of the steam bath until they glowed
red-hot
-The bather went inside and threw water on the hot walls until the tiny room filled with steam
-Heat opened the skin pores and sweat was rubbed off with twigs or grass
Read pg. 30 Property Page
Compare with todays homes
Slide 2: Farming and Food
Does anyone remember where the Aztecs settled and built their city on top of? - Lake
Does that sound very good for farming? How do you think they might have adapted?
Read pg. 24 Farming News
Chinampas: floating gardens, built by hammering posts into the bottom of the lake, sinking bundles of
reeds and branches to form a foundation. Mud was then filled in to make fertile lands. Willow trees were
planted around the edges so their roots would stop the soil from washing away.
Food: daily diet consisted of maize and vegetables; they would eat little meat and liked their food spicy.
-Maize was also made into porridge, which was flavored with peppers or honey
-Maize was also made into tamales, which were envelopes of steamed maize stuffed with vegetables or
other fillings
-Meat- some through hunting waterfowl, deer, wild pig, rabbits and gophers. Turkeys were kept for meat
and eggs
Luxury Foods: pineapples, crab, oysters, turtle, seafish and chocolate (crushed cacao nuts whipped with
vanilla sugar or spices
Compare with what we eat today and how we farm.

Slide 3: Tlachtli- The sport of the Gods and man

-Two teams, object to get ball through hoop on the side of the court. Cannot use hands, ball has to bounce
off of a body part, arm, leg, hip and can never touch the ground. Players wear protective guards on their
wrists. The pall is made of natural rubber. First team to score a point wins. Because it was so hard to get
the ball through the hoops, there were other objects as well. Players could hit one of the six markers along
the sides of the court. Or, they would be given points for other skillful plays. Fouls were also given if the
players couldn't get the ball across the centerline, or if they touched the ball with the wrong part of the
body, such as the hand or calf. In honoring and sacrifice to the gods Amapan and Uappatzin of the game
the losing team has their heads chopped off. This was generally only done when the other team were
prisoners of war or enemies of the Aztec Empire.
-What sport is Tlachtli similar to that we have today? Basketball


-Compare and Contrast
Read pg. 21 Godly Game
Slide 4: Language & Codex
-The Aztecs did not have an alphabet like we do. They used glyphs or pictures to write. Glyphs were
used to represent the sound the object showed (phonograms) and when put together could spell out the
sound of a word.
-Glyphs were not written in a certain order on the page, they were drawn to create a scene and the reader
interprets thought pictures.
-Writing in pictures is not easy to do or understand therefore only a few skilled scribes (usually priests)
could read and write.
Read pg 23. Scribes Needed!
-Codex: Aztec books that contain history of the Aztec empire and their culture. They are largely pictorial
in nature detailing specific events in their history or information about their rulers.
-Codex Mendoza: contains a history of the Aztec rulers and their conquests, tributes paid by the
conquered and a description of daily life
-Counting- counting system was based on 20 for the number of fingers and toes everyone has. 1-19 were
represented by dots, 20 by a flag and 400 by a feather.
-Try some example reading of numbers
Slide 5: The Fall of the Aztec Empire
Read pg. 44 The End of the Empire from The Aztecs
-Timeline:
-1519: A fleet of Spanish Ships land on the east coast of Mexico. Hernan Cortes leads the Spanish
army towards Tenochtitlan. Aztec Emperor, Montezuma invites the Spaniards to stay in one of
the royal palaces, they take him prisoner.
-1520: Montezuma dies and his brother Cuitlahuac is elected the new emperor. Smallpox breaks
out and thousand of Aztecs die including Cuitlahuac, Cuauhtemoc is elected.
-1521: Spaniards return and surround Tenochtitlan. After a 93 siege the Aztecs surrender and
their city is destroyed, over 240,000 Aztecs died during the siege.
-1522: Tenochtitlan is rebuilt and named Mexico City the capital of the Spanish colony of New
Spain.

3. Conclusion:
Introduce tomorrows codex project, show example.
Wrap up todays lesson- one interesting aspect of Aztec culture you have learned either today or
yesterday.
Put notes and articles in writing folders. Line up by desk groups quietly and head off to specials.

Child Guidance: 5,4,3,2,1 to gain attention after group work. Make sure to set expectations of group work before beginningaccountable talk, read through all of your materials, take out our conversation help sheets to help contribute. If group work
becomes a problem switch it and turn it into an independent assignment.

Differentiation: Should a student struggle with taking notes; a fill in the blank note sheet can be provided. Informational
texts can be leveled to help make each student successful at this activity.
Resources Used:
Banks, J (2000).United States: Adventures in Time and Place (Teachers Multimedia Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Smith, M. (2005, December 1). The Aztecs, Empire Builders. Calliope.
Steele, P., & Bateman, P. (1997). The Aztec News. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.
Wood, T. (1992). The Aztecs. New York: Viking.