LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

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The search for El Dorado
The legend of El Dorado predates the arrival of Spaniards in South America. The Chibcha people of present-day Colombia apparently performed an annual ritual where the leader was coated in fine gold dust, which he then washed off in a lake during a solemn ceremony....
By William M. Wisser.
Classroom Activity: Making an Altar for the Day of the Dead
In The Changing Face of Mexico, page 1.2
An altar created for the Day of the Dead. The best activity you can undertake for the Day of the Dead is to create the traditional altar, or ofrenda. As highlighted...
Format: activity
“Discoverie of Guiana”
In Sir Walter Raleigh and South America, page 5
Raleigh's 1596 account of his search of El Dorado became a sensation when it was published in England. The book describes Raleigh's motives of treasure hunting and empire building. Some excerpts with annotations are included below.*...
By William M. Wisser.
The search for El Dorado
In Sir Walter Raleigh and South America, page 4
The legend of El Dorado predates the arrival of Spaniards in South America. The Chibcha people of present-day Colombia apparently performed an annual ritual where the leader was coated in fine gold dust, which he then washed off in a lake during a ceremony....
By William M. Wisser.
Winnowing by hand
In Rice farming and rural life in Vietnam, page 12
Winnowing trays are round and generally plaited from bamboo strands woven tightly onto a rattan frame. In rural villages, they are made at home by members of every household along with most of their other farming and household tools. Rice grains that have...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Water for drinking
In Rice farming and rural life in Vietnam, page 16
This well, rimmed with a cement wall, is a community water source at Mai Chau. A red plastic pail suspended from a pole and washing basin are visible on the right. In the background, laundry is drying. Traditionally, Southeast Asian highlanders drew water...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Carpentry skills
In Rice farming and rural life in Vietnam, page 18
Carpenters in highland villages generally work with hand tools, using no electricity. Metal parts, generally now imported from the cities, are either forged in the village or bought pre-made from blacksmiths in larger towns. The man shown here is using a large...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Quick study: Archaic Period
A “cheat sheet” covering basic information about the Archaic Period and its key characteristics.
Mill villages
In North Carolina in the New South, page 3.4
Excerpt from D. A. Tompkins' 1899 textbook for cotton mill owners, explaining rationale and design for millworkers' housing. Includes photographs, plans, and historical commentary.
Format: book
Plan for a two-room mill house
Plan for a two-room mill house
Format: image/diagram
From rural Mexico to North Carolina
In Bridging Spanish language barriers in Southern schools, page 1.2
Most immigrants to North Carolina from Mexico come from rural areas, and it is valuable for teachers to understand these students' cultural backgrounds.
By Regina Cortina.
Artifact classification
In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.4
Students will use pictures of artifacts or objects from a teaching kit to classify artifacts and answer questions about the lifeways of a group of historic Native Americans.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)
Archaeobotany
In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.6
Students will use pictures of seeds, an activity sheet, and a graph to identify seven seeds and the conditions in which they grow. They will also infer ancient plant use by interpreting archaeobotanical samples and determine changing plant use by Native North Carolinians by interpreting a graph of seed frequency over time.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 and 8 Science and Social Studies)
Measuring pots
In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.7
Students will use an activity sheet or modern pottery rim sherds to compute circumference from a section of a circle and construct analogies based on their own experience about possible functions of ancient or historic ceramics.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Mathematics and Social Studies)
Looking at an object
In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.10
Students will analyze unfamiliar objects in order to observe the attributes of an object, infer the uses of objects; and discover how archaeologists use objects to learn about the past.
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
Inference by analogy
In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.12
Students will use historical sources and an archaeological site map to infer the use or meaning of items recovered from a North Carolina Native American site based on 17th-century European settlers' accounts and illustrations. They will also describe prehistoric lifeways based on archaeological and ethnohistoric information and explain why archaeologists use ethnohistoric analogy.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)
Shadows of a people: Introduction
In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.1
Lessons in this part stand alone, yet link to and expand on some tidbit in Chapter 3. They focus emphasize that the “Indians” Columbus met were not frozen in time as many people even today believe. Their history is one of time passage, of journeys, of adaptations, of settling, of interactions, of conflict—everything that is the fabric of life.
Shadows of North Carolina's past
In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.2
Students will infer past Native American lifeways based on observation, construct a timeline of four major culture periods in Native American history, and compare these lifeways and discuss how they are different and alike.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)
Shifting coastlines
In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.3
In their study of North Carolina's changing coastline during the Paleoindian and Archaic periods, students will determine the positions of the coastline at different times and decide what types of archaeological information has been lost due to rising sea levels.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 Science and Social Studies)
Name that point!
In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.4
In their study of projectile points (i.e., spear points or “arrowheads”) dating to the Archaic period in North Carolina, students use activity sheets to compare projectile point attributes and to identify and classify points based on clearly defined variables. They will also match projectile points to a chronology and determine when the points were made and why the information is important to archaeologists.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)