Two ancient cities
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/04/g912/
twocitiesinca.html
A lesson plan for Grades 9–12 Latino American Studies and English II
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 9–12
- Subjects
- English language arts (writing), social studies (Central America, South America, United States history, world cultures, world history), thinking skills (information literacy, research skills), teaching methods (discussions)
- Provider
- National Geographic
Legal
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In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore two ancient American civilizations: the Inca and the Maya. Then they will compare two ancient cities from these civilizations: Machu Picchu, of the Inca Empire, and Chichén Itzá, of the Maya. Activities in this lesson engage students in whole class discussion and development of research and writing skills.
Students will:
- review important information about the Inca and Maya civilizations and find on a map of Central and South America the areas where these two civilizations existed;
- compare two ancient cities from these civilizations: Machu Picchu (of the Inca Empire, located in the central Andes Mountains) and Chichén Itzá (of the Maya, located in the Yucatán Peninsula);
- research for each city the surrounding geography, the main structures and their purposes, the inhabitants, the building materials, the general layout, and any other revealing information or artifacts; and
- consider how culture and local geography influenced each city.
Xpeditions provides detailed directions for completing the lesson, suggestions for assessment and extension activities, discussion questions, and links to related web resources.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies (2003)
Grades 11–12 — Latino American Studies
- Goal 2: The learner will explore the Pre-Columbian civilizations of Latin America and assess the impact of European colonization.
- Objective 2.01: Locate and describe the early people of Latin America.
- Objective 2.02: Compare and contrast the civilizations of Maya, Aztec, and Inca, and cite their major contributions.
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 10 — English II
- Goal 1: The learner will react to and reflect upon print and non-print text and personal experiences by examining situations from both subjective and objective perspectives.
- Objective 1.01: Produce reminiscences (about a person, event, object, place, animal) that engage the audience by:
- using specific and sensory details with purpose.
- explaining the significance of the reminiscence from an objective perspective.
- moving effectively between past and present.
- recreating the mood felt by the author during the reminiscence.
- Objective 1.02: Respond reflectively (through small group discussion, class discussion, journal entry, essay, letter, dialogue) to written and visual texts by:
- relating personal knowledge to textual information or class discussion.
- showing an awareness of one's own culture as well as the cultures of others.
- exhibiting an awareness of culture in which text is set or in which text was written.
- explaining how culture affects personal responses.
- demonstrating an understanding of media's impact on personal responses and cultural analyses.
- Objective 1.01: Produce reminiscences (about a person, event, object, place, animal) that engage the audience by:
