Defining Success
OBJECTIVE: What will your
students be able to do by the
end of class?
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WWBAT state the geography of the Mayan
Civilization
• WWBAT state the cultural and scientific contributions
of the Maya Civilization
Identify how limited resources and unlimited human wants
cause people to choose some things and give up others.
Identify how cultures adapted to and altered their
environment
Analyze how a complex division of labor allowed for
population growth
Describe how religious traditions helped shape culture
Explain the development of and importance of written
language
Cite achievements of ancient societies that contributed to
the advancement of civilization
Identify characteristic monumental architecture and unique
art styles to specific civilizations
Describe the factors that led to the collapse of or transition
from empires
Define relationships between civilizations and the systems
for administering territories
KEY IDEAS: What 3-5 key
City-state
knowledge or skills will
Maya script
students need to master the
Stelae
objective?
ASSESSMENT: How will you assess to determine which students mastered the objective?
Exit Ticket
Lesson Cycle
DRILL/DO NOW/OPENING: How will you focus, prepare, and engage
students for the lesson?
"We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle
or zoos. We are people and we want to be
respected, not to be victims of intolerance and
racism."
Share out of “Do Now” Students will be told of
the fact that even though we are learning about
ancient civilizations the Indian people of these
MATERIALS:
regions are still around today and face a great
deal of racism.
Students will fill in guided notes via power point
• Why did hunter gatherers settle down and stop moving all the
time?
•
What grew when people started to settle down?
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MATERIAL: How will you convey the
knowledge and/or skill of the lesson? What will you student be doing
to process this information?
Fill in guided notes
Geography
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Central Area of Mexico
Yucatan Peninsula
Thick Tropical Forests
Way of Life
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4000 years ago
Grew crops
Small isolated Villages
Used plants and trees to build houses
Religion
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Center of Culture
Polytheistic
Temples dedicated to gods
Mono-theism
a religion that believes in one
God Poly-theism
a religion that believes in
more than one God Theocracy
Society ruled by
religious leaders
Government
•
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Several City-states
Strong military
Achievements
• Step Pyramids
• System of writing (Maya scripts)
- Phonetic (representing sounds)
-Number system
- Stelae: large stones with Mayan art
- Astronomy
Questions to check for understanding:
1. Describe the Mayan Religion.
Mayan’s were polytheistic people who used religion as the
center of their culture. They built temples dedicated to
Gods as a way to worship them.
2. How did living in a thick forest help the Mayans in their
daily lives?
They used the plants and trees to build. They also took
advantage of the rich land to build crops of their own for
food.
GUIDED PRACTICE: In what ways will your learners attempt to explain
or do what you have outlined? How will you monitor and coach their
performance?
1. Students will receive 4 different articles/maps
2. Each section will be in charge of reading and researching
one article
3. Students will read article and discuss on library level 2 facts
they want to share with the rest of class about Mayan
Civilization.
4. Students will answer questions that go with article as a
group
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: In what ways will your different learners
attempt the objective on their own? How will you gauge mastery?
1. We will go around class and students will stand up to share article
facts with class.
CLOSING: How will you have students summarize what they’ve
learned? How will you reinforce the objective’s importance and its
link to past and future learning?
Organization
Blocks
Preview homework: read article and answer questions.
DIFFERENTIATION: How will you differentiate your instruction to reach the diversity of learners in
your classroom?
Reminds me of….
Fact about the Maya
Do Now:
Blast from the past
Why did hunter gatherers settle down and stop
moving all the time?
What grew when people started to settle down?
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1. What was the ball game called that the Maya would play?
2. Which god did not like the game?
3. What happened to the Maize gods?
4. How did the daughter of the underworld God get pregnant?
5. What would happen to the captain of the losing team sometimes?
5.6 - What Happened to the Maya?
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
• What happened in 900 C.E.?
• When was the “Classic” period of the Mayan people?
• What are some of the reasons that the Maya may have left the cities? (Paragraph 3)
• Did the Northern cities suffer the same collapse as the southern cities? What
happened to them?
•
What are some natural features that Maya trade route followed?
•
What two resources were found in Southern part of the Mayan civilization?
Geography of Mayan Civilization
The area of the Maya was from the central area of Mexico south to the northern part of
Central America. It was in this region that a people called the Maya (MY-uh) developed a
remarkable civilization. Around 1000 BC the Maya began settling in the lowlands of what is
now northern Guatemala. Thick tropical forests covered most of the land, but the people
cleared areas to farm. They grew a variety of crops, including beans, squash, avocados, and
maize, or corn. The forests provided valuable resources, too. Forest animals such as deer,
rabbits, and monkeys were sources of food.
In addition, trees and other plants made good building materials. For example, some Maya
used wooden poles and vines, along with mud, to build their houses. The early Maya lived in
small, isolated villages. Eventually, though, these villages started trading with one another
and with other groups in Mesoamerica. As trade increased, the villages grew. By about AD
200, the Maya had begun to build large cities in Mesoamerica.
•
How long ago did the Maya start settling? (Hint you have to do some math)
• Illustrate at least 3 foods that the Mayans grew.
• What were early Mayan houses like?
1. Think back to Mesopotamia. The Mayan settlement is very similar to the growth of the Fertile
Crescent. Why do you think this is true?
The Maya’s religious beliefs led them to make impressive advances in science. They built
observatories, or buildings from which people could study the sky, so their
priests could watch the stars and plan the best times for religious festivals. With the
knowledge they gained about astronomy, the Maya developed two calendars. One,
with 365 days, guided planting, harvesting, and other farming activities. This calendar was
more accurate than the calendar used in Europe at that time. The Maya also
had a separate 260-day calendar that they used for keeping track of religious events.
Why would a calendar be so important to the Maya?
The Maya could measure time accurately partly because they were skilled
mathematicians. They created a number system that helped them make complex
calculations, and they were among the first people with a symbol for zero. The Maya
used their number system to record key dates in their history.
The Maya also developed a writing system. In a way, it was similar to Egyptian
hieroglyphics, because symbols represented both objects and sounds. The Maya carved
series of these symbols into large stone tablets to record their history and the achievements
of their kings. They also wrote in bark paper books and passed down stories
and poems orally.
Why is writing important to civilizations?
The Maya created amazing art and architecture as well. Maya jade and gold
jewelry was exceptional. Also, their huge temple-pyramids were masterfully built.
The Maya had neither metal tools for cutting nor wheeled vehicles for carrying supplies. Instead, workers used obsidian tools to cut limestone into blocks. Then workers
rolled the giant blocks over logs and lifted them with ropes. The Maya often decorated
their buildings with paintings.
Of all of the Mayan achievements which do you think is the most amazing? Why?
1.
How many different calendars have archeologists found from the Maya?
2. Why did the Maya keep the solar calendar?
3. What was the calendar round used for?
4. What was the long count calendar used for?