GreatCivilizationsofMexico,CentralAmerica,andSouth

America
SocialStudies
MixedAgeClassroomGrade6and7
23Weeks
CassandraLockwood

Stage 1 Desired Results

ESTABLISHED GOALS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2
Determine the central ideas or information
of a primary or secondary source; provide
an accurate summary of the source distinct
from prior knowledge or opinions.
BIG IDEAS:
1.) Information can be acquired from a
variety of sources.
2.) We can use information from
primary and secondary sources to

Transfer
Students will be able to independently use their learning to

T
Describe the following civilizations: the Olmec, the Maya, the Aztec and the Inca
including when and where they existed, their culture and accomplishments
Identify and analyze the characteristics that made the Inca a well-organized
civilization
Analyze primary sources by Hernn Corts and determine the central idea of
those sources
Compare and contrast primary sources with secondary sources (textbooks)
Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS
U ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Q
Students will understand that
1.) Whose story is represented and
Civilizations existed in the Americas
how do we determine that?
before European exploration

confirm or challenge inferences and

facts made by each source.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts,
graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with
other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.10
By the end of grade 8, read and
comprehend history/social studies texts in
the grades 6-8 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.

Primary sources and secondary

sources should be analyzed
carefully
Culture is both a unifying and
dividing force among humans.

2.) How can we analyze primary

sources to discover how people
lived in the past?
3.) What does it mean to be civilized
and what makes a civilization?

Acquisition
KNOWLEDGE
K SKILL
S
Students will know
Students will be skilled at
The peoples of the Americas who
Utilizing visual information in the
predated the arrival of the
form of diagrams, artifacts and
Europeans
maps to enhance their
Why the Inca were considered to
understanding of the Olmec, Maya,
be a developed and well-organized
Aztec and Inca civilizations
civilization
Describing the difference between
The characteristics of various
a primary and secondary source
civilizations of early North America
Determining the central ideas and
The difference between a primary
information from both primary
source and a secondary source
sources and secondary sources

Stage 2 - Evidence
Evaluative Criteria
Moctezuma and Corts questions
are graded based on accuracy and
student understanding
Projects are assessed based on a
rubric
Homework is graded based on
accuracy and student
understanding

Assessment Evidence
CURRICULUM EMBEDDED PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT (PERFORMANCE TASKS)
Moctezuma and Corts readings and questions from the Stanford History
Education Group
Native Tools of the Aztecs project
Inca Civilization Tagxedo project
OTHER EVIDENCE:
Homework Lesson 2 Review

PT

OE

Stage 3 Learning Plan

Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction
Begin unit on page 8 in the textbook. Discuss the Guiding Question and write on chart paper (leave space to answer question
at the end of the unit). Divide the chart into three sections under the Guiding Question into a KWL.
In the textbook, read The Olmec on pages 8-9. Include Turn-and-Talks to engage students and assess their understanding.
In the textbook, read The Maya with students on pages 9. Include Turn-and-Talks to engage students and assess their
understanding. Discuss the diagram of the Maya pyramid on page 9.
In the textbook, read The Aztec Empire with students, pages 10-11. Include Turn-and-Talks to engage students and assess
their understanding. Discuss the map Civilizations of Mexico and Central America on page 11.
Introduce the Moctezuma and Corts lesson (this portion of the unit is not in the textbook) by reviewing primary and
secondary sources. *Note: Detailed plan of instruction and discussion questions included following Lesson 3.
First hand out the textbook passage and have students read the passage and answer the questions. Review answers as
a class. Ask increasingly more complex questions and scaffold instruction to show students how to analyze secondary
sources.
Hand out Document A and the guiding questions. Ask increasingly more complex questions and scaffold instruction to
show students how to analyze secondary sources.
Hand out Document B and the guiding questions. Ask increasingly more complex questions and scaffold instruction to
show students how to analyze secondary sources.
Hand out Document C and instruct students to complete the guiding questions independently or for homework, this is
used as an assessment to determine individual student understanding.
Conclude with discussion questions included following Lesson 3.
Discuss the Native Tools of the Aztec activity. Model and review how to analyze artifacts to make educated guesses about
civilizations. On computers placed around various parts of the classroom, display pictures of each artifact in the activity to
create stations. Divide students into pairs and rotate stations.
Introduce the Native Tools of the Aztec project; project to be worked on in-class and for homework.
In the textbook, read The Great Inca Civilization with students, pages 11-13. Include Turn-and-Talks to engage students and
assess their understanding. Discuss the diagram of an artifact on page 11 and 13, and discuss the map The Inca Empire 1532
on page 12.
Introduce the The Inca Civilization Tagxedo project; project to be worked on in-class and for homework.
Assign Lesson 2 Review on page 13 for homework.
Conclude the unit by reviewing the Guiding Question and have students write their thoughts and answers on the chart paper,
and write what they have Learned.