#1618. Mesoamerican Postcards

Social Studies, level: Elementary
Posted Mon Mar 6 20:21:54 PST 2000 by amira Binnis (markamira@tequis.com).
Victoria, México
Materials Required: cards 20 x 12, colouring pencils, books ( or anything availabe that the teacher can provide about th
Activity Time: 50 mins. per lesson. About a month the whole
Concepts Taught: Mesoamerica culture, comparing-deducing skills, language, writing, mapping,research skills.

I have made little cards where I write questions I want my students to search. On one side I write the ? and on the other hw I want the info to be presentes, charts, graphs,time lines, cycles,etc. Each card has a title and by the end of all of them students have a se of postcards that show the history of Mesoamerica step by step, and they love it becauser each card is a new challenge.
I complete my lessons with archeoligist activities when they know the characteristics of each mesoamerican culture, they dig out boxes with bread-dough made sculptures,pyramids,etc., and they use their postcars and observation to determine which box belong to which culture.
They write their experiences. By the end they have made their mesoamerican album. they have done art, language, research, and they have lernt a lot, they even talk about this topic during break time.