Mexico Resource Unit

1
Mexico Resource Unit

• By
• Emily Marshall Emily Cowell
• ED 417

2
Introduction

• With the United States becoming more culturally
  diverse, teachers need to explore new cultures
  with their students. Because of the growing
  diversity of our second grade classroom in
  Dayton, Ohio we feel the students would benefit
  from an eight day long study of our neighboring
  country Mexico.

3
Concepts

• Cinco de Mayo
• Democratic process
• Quincera
• Pinata
• Maracas
• Tamales
• Tortillas
• Mariachi

• Madre
• Padre
• Hermano
• Hermona
• Uno, dos, tres..
• Rojo, azul, amarillo.
• Mayan temples
• Aztecs and Incas

4
Objectives

• Given the correct materials and time, students
  will be able to
• Write history of Cinco de Mayo.
• Make tamales and tortillas for class celebration.
• Name president of Mexico.
• Describe two events that the president of Mexico
  has participated in here in the U.S.

5
Objectives cont.

• 5. Describe orally what a Quincera entails.
• 6. Create a play about celebrating Quincera.
• 7. Construct a pinata for classroom
  celebration.
• 8. Construct and demonstrate maracas.
• 9. Listen to Mariachi music and compare it to
  your favorite kind of music.

6
Objectives cont..

• 10. Review Spanish words and create a story or
  poem using at least 5 Spanish words.
• 11. Construct a Mayan temple.
• 12. Make a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast
  Aztecs and Mayans.

7
Day 1 - Cinco de Mayo

• Introduction - The teacher will introduce the
  holiday Cinco de Mayo to the class. The class
  will be given a verbal outline of the activities
  occurring over the next five days.
• Outcome- The students will become familiar with
  the holiday Cinco de Mayo. Students will develop
  comprehension skills by reading and writing about
  the history of the holiday.

8
Day 1 - continued

• Development - Students will create a class KWL
  chart to keep track of what they know, what they
  want to learn, and what they have learned.
  Students will read the story Fiesta! And visit
  various web sites to learn the history of Cinco
  de Mayo. They will then write a paragraph
  explaining the history of the holiday, citing at
  least three facts.

9
Day 2 - Cinco de Mayo continued

• Introduction - Students will compare and contrast
  the holidays of Mexico and the U.S.
• Outcome - Students will have a greater
  appreciation for the Mexican culture.
• Development - Students will take a field trip to
  a Mexican restaurant to learn how to make
  authentic Mexican food, such as tamales and
  tortillas. Back in the classroom, students will
  listen to Mariachi music and construct their own
  maracas to play along with the music. Students
  will start a journal, with the first entry
  comparing and contrasting Cinco de Mayo to
  American Fourth of July holiday.

10
Day 3 - Spanish Words

• Introduction - Students will be introduced to
  Spanish words by singing songs in Spanish and
  using the internet to translate their writing.
• Outcome- Students will be able to count from one
  to ten in Spanish and be able to use at least
  five Spanish words in their writing.

11
Day 3 - Spanish Words Cont.

• Development - The teacher will lead the students
  in the singing of three Spanish songs, teaching
  them common words such as, hermana, familia,
  madre, padre, buenos dias, etc. They will also
  learn colors and the numbers one through ten.
  Students will be lead to a translation site on
  the internet where they will type in one sentence
  and have it translated to Spanish. Students will
  also write a story or poem including at least
  five Spanish words.

12
Day 4 - Mexican Government

• Introduction - Students will learn the basic form
  of government in Mexico.
• Outcome - Students will know the President of
  Mexico, as well as his participation in U.S.
  government.

13
Day 4 - Government Cont.

• Development - The teacher will lead in a
  discussion of the government of Mexico. She will
  tell the students that the President of Mexico is
  Vincent Fox and his roles and responsibilities.
  The students will then use the internet to go to
  newspaper and magazine websites where they will
  find three articles about the Mexican President.

14
Day 5 - Quincera

• Introduction - The teacher will discuss growing
  up in Mexico and important rites of passage in
  Mexican childrens lives.
• Outcome - Students will create and produce a play
  on the importance of Quincera.

15
Day 5 - Quincera Cont.

• Development - The teacher will explain the
  significance of the Qincera in a Mexican childs
  life. The students will then brainstorm about
  how their birthdays are the same and different to
  those celebrated in Mexico. The students will
  then, in small groups, create a play about
  Quincera that they will then perform for the
  class.

16
Day 6 - Mayan Temple

• Introduction - Teacher will introduce the history
  of the Mayan people and their ruins that still
  stand today.
• Outcome - Students will construct Mayan Temples
  based on pictures from web sites and books.

17
Day 6 - Mayan Temples Cont.

• Development - Small groups of students will be
  given a wire frame replica of a Mayan Temple.
  They will also be given paper mache materials to
  cover the wire frame and create a Mayan temple.
  Students will have access to books and internet
  pictures to use as guides. On later days the
  students will be given the opportunity to paint
  their temples once they have dried.

18
Day 7 - Aztecs

• Introduction - Teacher will introduce the Aztecs
  by reading and discussing the book Aztec News.
• Outcome - Students will construct a class Venn
  diagram comparing and contrasting the Aztecs and
  Mayans.
• Development - After reading the above referenced
  book and studying the Mayans on a previous day,
  students will construct a Venn diagram recalling
  information learned. Students will note the
  similarities of these ancient people.

19
Day 8 - Evaluation

• Students will demonstrate the knowledge learned
  by completing the following evaluation. Students
  will also receive evaluations on their
  participation in the previous activities.

20
Unit Test - Mexico

• Multiple Choice (2 points each)
• What is the meaning of Cinco de Mayo?
• a)Happy May
• b) Fifth of May
• c) Mexicos Birthday
• d) 15th Birthday
• Who is the President of Mexico?
• a) George W. Bush
• b) Bill Clinton
• c) Vincent Fox
• d) Jaci Valesquez

21
Unit Test - Mexico

• A pinata is filled with
• a) rocks
• b) candy and toys
• c) water
• d) salsa
• The Mayans lived on the shore of what ocean?
• a) Pacific
• b) Panama Canal
• c) Atlantic
• d) Dead Sea

22
Unit Test - Mexico

• With the numbers one through four in numerical
  order, which answer would be last?
• a) dos
• b) quatro
• c)uno
• d) tres
• The Tulum is an ancient Mayan site. T/F
• A quincera is your 21st birthday. T/F

23
Unit Test - Mexico

• Short Essay
• When and where did Cortez lead the Aztecs.
• Write a brief (at least five sentences) history
  of Cinco de Mayo.

24
Teacher Resources

• Mexican Americans Multicultural Studies. Turman,
  1994.
• Reproducable creative writing activities
  expressing their opinion, introducing them to
  traditions and histories.
• Mexico Culture Kit. Scher Johnson, 1995
• Teachers books with clip art, maps, and posters.
• Photo Fun Picture Packs. Edupress, 2000.
• Photo packs that show places, objects, people,
  and activities to amplify key topics.
• Hands-on Heritage. Edupress, 1996.
• Book full of hands-on projects about Mexico.
• Outline Maps. Edupress, 1995.
• Outline map of Mexico.

25
Student Resources

• Our Global Village. Milliken, 1996.
• Books exposing them to cultural diversity.
• Count Your way Through Mexico. Haskins, 1996.
• Count to ten in Spanish
• Countries and Cultures for Young Explores.
  Instructional Fair, 2000
• Puzzles and language activities from Mexico.
• Look What Came From Mexico. Harvey, 1999
• A look at what came from Mexico that we could
  not live without, like chocolate from the Aztecs.

26
Student Resources

• Lands, People, and Cultures of Mexico. Crabtree,
  2000.
• Photographs and simple text introduce students
  to the history and geography of Mexico.
• Aztec News. Candlewick, 1999.
• History of the Aztecs in the form of a
  newspaper.
• www.babelfish.altavista.com
• Website that allows students to put in a word
  and it will translate it into Spanish or English.
• www.maya-art-books.org
• A website about Mayan art, ruins, and history.

27
Student Resources

• www.newsday.com
• Has articles and news about Mexico.
• www.mexonline.com
• Tells the entire history of Cinco De Mayo.

28
Media References

• Video- Mexican American Heritage. Schlessinger,
  1997.
• Has segments on geography , history, crafts,
  songs, and foods, of the Mexican American.
• Video- Families of the Mexico. Arden Media, 2000.
• Takes students through typical days in the lives
  of families with small children.
• Video-Multicultural Peoples of North America.
  Library Video, 1993.
• The heritage of yesterday, today, and tomorrow
  of the Mexican Americans.
• Video- Two Mexican Boys. Inside Mexico.
• Two boys growing up in Mexico.

29
Media References

• CD-Rom- Aztecs How would you survive? 1995.
• First person look at the life of an Aztec
  Indian. Includes interactive maps, timelines,
  and sound effects.
• CD-Rom- My First Amazing World Explorer. Dorling
  Kinderlsley, 1998
• A great way for younger students to explore the
  geography of Mexico.
• CD-ROM- A Simulation on Cultural Diversity.
  Interact, 1995
• Divides students into different cultural
  families to learn about their cultures.
• CD-ROM- Maya the Blood of Kings. Time Life Books,
  1998.
• Commentaries by historians, maps, and location
  footage of the Ancient Mayan temples.

30
Media References

• CD- Mariachi from Mexico. Mexican Mariachi Band.
• Actual Mariachi Music to be used in the
  classroom.
• Poster- Diverse Environments. Documentary Photo
  Aides.
• Posters of many Mexican traditions, foods,
  games, and people.
• Maps- Central and South America. National
  Geographic
• Charts- Mexican American Ethnic Chart. Good
  Apple, 1997.
• The celebrations and contributions of Mexican
  Americans.
• Globes- GeoSafari
• Play geography games, find out about the
  currency, climate, and time.

31
Media References

• Workbook- Hispanic Plays for Young People.
  Teacher Ideas, 1996.
• Plays about many Mexican traditions, Cinco De
  Mayo, and Quiencera.
• Websites- www.thenewsmexico.com
• Websites- www.cyberatlas.internet.com
• Websites- www.nationalgeographic.com/mexico
• Websites- mexicanfood.about.com
• Websites- www.web-holidays.com/demayo
• Websites- www.pinatadesign.com