Unit Plan Template
Unit Author
First and Last Name
Hannah Falkenburg
School District
Jefferson Area Local Schools
School Name
Jefferson Elementary
School City, State
Jefferson, Ohio
Unit Overview
Unit Title: Early Civilizations
Unit Summary:
Some of the earliest civilizations were very advanced and organized. I will be educating the students
about the Maya, Inca, Aztec, and Mississippian civilizations. We will go over the location, government,
religion, agriculture, and cultural and scientific contributions of each civilization.
Subject Area: Social Studies
Grade Level: Sixth Grade
Approximate Time Needed: 5 lessons/days
Unit Foundation
Targeted Content Standards and Benchmarks Ohio Academic Content Standards
Academic Content Standards for grade 6 history: The First Global Age 5. Describe the characteristics of
Maya, Inca, Aztec, and Mississippian civilizations including: a. Location; b. Government; c. Religion; d.
Agriculture; e. Cultural and Scientific Contributions.
Student Objectives/Learning Outcomes
Lesson 1: Students will be able to describe characteristics, such as location, government, religion,
agriculture, and cultural and scientific contributions of the Maya civilization.
Lesson 2: Students will be able to describe characteristics, such as location, government, religion,
agriculture, and cultural and scientific contributions of the Inca civilization.
Lesson 3: Students will be able to describe characteristics, such as location, government, religion,
agriculture, and cultural and scientific contributions of the Aztec civilization.
Lesson 4: Students will be able to describe characteristics, such as location, government, religion,
agriculture, and cultural and scientific contributions of the Mississippian civilization.
Lesson 5: Assessment: The students will have a review game followed by a short essay exam.
Curriculum-Framing Questions
Essential
Question
Unit Questions
What are some characteristics of early civilizations, such as the Mayans,
Incas, Aztecs, and Mississippians?
Lesson 1: What were some characteristics of the government, religion,
and agriculture of the Maya civilization?
What are some of the cultural and scientific contributions of the Mayans?
Lesson 2: What were some characteristics of the government, religion,
and agriculture of the Inca civilization?
What are some of the cultural and scientific contributions of the Incas?
Content
Questions
Lesson 3: What were some characteristics of the government, religion,
and agriculture of the Aztec civilization?
What are some of the cultural and scientific contributions of the Aztecs?
Lesson 4: What were some characteristics of the government, religion,
and agriculture of the Mississippian civilization?
What are some of the cultural and scientific contributions of the
Mississippians?
Lesson 5: What have you learned about the four civilizations we have
covered?
Assessment Plan
Assessment Timeline
Before project work begins
Students work on projects
and complete tasks
After project work is
completed
Worksheet, test, project, rubric
,presentations
-Classroom
discussions
-Review
power point
-Review
different
reliable
sources for
students to
use during
independent
study
-Filling in blanks
on the power
point
-Brief discussions
-Answer
questions
using clickers
-Review
game/
discussion
-Short essay
exam
Assessment Summary – type in each lessons assessment copy/paste
Lesson 1: Prior to starting the lesson I will ask the students what they know about some of the
earliest civilizations.
At the end of the lesson the students will answer a series of questions about the Mayans using
clickers.
Lesson 2: At the end of the lesson the students will answer a series of questions about the Incas
using clickers.
Lesson 3: At the end of the lesson the students will answer a series of questions about the Aztecs
using clickers.
Lesson 4: At the end of the lesson the students will answer a series of questions about the
Mississippians using clickers.
Lesson 5: The students will play a review game and then take a short essay exam to demonstrate
what they have learned.
Unit Details
Prerequisite Skills: Students need to have basic reading and writing skills.
Instructional Procedures:
Lesson 1: Anticipatory Set: I will begin the class by asking the students which early civilizations they
are familiar with and what they know about them. I will also give the students a printed copy of the
power point that will be used in the lesson. There will be key parts deleted that the students will be
expected to fill in as I present the power point.
Procedure: I will present the power point to the class. We will discuss the Mayans, a group of Native
American tribes located on the Yucatan Peninsula from 2000 BCE to 1500 CE. The Mayans were one
of the greatest civilizations of the original cultures in the western hemisphere. The Mayans had the
only known sophisticated writing system of the Pre-Colombian Americans that they developed to
record the transitions of power throughout the generations. I will talk about how the Mayans had
common organization along with common artistic and religious components but were not under a
unified empire. Politically the Mayans consisted of several independent Mayan states. I will also talk
about agriculture being the main basis of the Mayan economy and the major crops they grew. The
religious aspects of the culture, such as the connection with the stars and human sacrifice, will be
covered in the lesson. I will provide examples of contributions that the Mayans have made including
their writing, mathematic, and astronomical systems. To conclude the power point I will mention the
different theories of the downfall of the Mayan empire, which is still unknown.
Independent Practice: The students are expected to study their power points and refer to the
provided text if needed.
Closure: The students will be asked a series of questions pertaining to the lesson using clickers.
Lesson 2: Anticipatory Set: I will give the students a printed copy of the power point that will be used
during the lesson. It will have key parts deleted that the students will be expected to fill in as I
present the power point.
Procedure: I will present the power point to the class. The power point will cover the Inca civilization
that lived in South America in the Andes Mountains from 1200 to 1535 CE. The Incas became the
largest Native American society thanks to their fierce, powerful army and hierarchical organization.
The Incas created rope bridges and introduced tin/copper alloy to South America. We will talk about
how the mountainous terrain made farming difficulty and how they still managed to grow crops. The
Incas were the first to harvest potatoes and use the freeze dry method to preserve food. We will also
talk about the separate sections of the Inca empire and the organized hierarchical system. The
polytheistic views of the people will also be covered.
Independent Practice: The students will be expected to study their power point and refer to the
provided text if needed.
Closure: The students will be asked a series of questions pertaining to the lesson using clickers.
Lesson 3: Anticipatory Set: I will give the students a printed copy of the power point that will be
used during the lesson. It will have key parts deleted that the students will be expected to fill in as I
present the power point.
Procedure: I will present the power point to the class. This lesson will be covering the Aztec
civilization that was in Central America during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The Aztec empire
was composed of several city states and at their peak there were about 15 million people who lived in
nearly 500 communities. We will discuss the very advanced methods of agriculture that the Aztec
people used, including characteristics of the four forms of agriculture that were used. We will also talk
about the Aztecs religious practices, such as human sacrifice. The advanced methods of architecture
and transportation will also be covered in the lesson. I will wrap the presentation up by talking about
the effects of the Spanish discovering the region and the fall of the Aztec empire.
Independent Practice: The students will be expected to study their power point and refer to the
provided text if needed.
Closure: The students will be asked a series of questions pertaining to the lesson using clickers.
Lesson 4: Anticipatory Set: I will give the students a printed copy of the power point that will be
used during the lesson. It will have key parts deleted that the students will be expected to fill in as I
present the power point.
Procedure: I will present the power point to the class. This lesson will be covering the Mississippian
civilization that was located in what are now Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States
from 800-1500 CE. The Mississippian civilization was Native American mound builders that had no
writing system or stone architecture. The Mississippian civilization introduced arrow heads and
produced pottery and pipes. I will provide information about the early, middle, and late Mississippian
periods, including characteristics of each. The large-scale Maize agriculture, widespread trade
networks, and chiefdom of the Mississippian people will be discussed. We will discuss the ceremonial
rituals including the use of burial mounds. I will conclude the presentation by talking about the arrival
of the Europeans and the fatalities caused by disease such as measles and small pox.
Independent Practice: The students will be expected to study their power point and refer to the
provided text if needed.
Closure: The students will be asked a series of questions pertaining to the lesson using clickers.
Lesson 5: Anticipatory Set: I will begin the class by asking the students what they have learned this
week about the four civilizations we talked about. I will then have a short review game for the
students.
Procedure: The students will play the review game and when they are done they will have a chance
to ask myself or classmates any questions they may have. I will then present the students with a
short essay exam that will ask the students to describe two of the four civilizations that we covered in
the unit.
Independent Practice: The students are to work on their exams on their own.
Closure: Further discussion about what was learned in the unit, what the students enjoyed learning
about the most, and anything they would have liked me to do differently in any of the lessons.
Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction 3,4 sentences on what you are doing
overall for each one
Resource Student: Students will have time to discuss the material being covered in each
lesson with their class-mates. I will provide all of the students with a copy of the power point
used in each lesson. Also, I will be available after school to help any individuals.
Non-Native English Speaker: I will frequently check to be sure any student that is a non-native
English speaker understands the material being discussed and isn’t falling behind. Also, the
students will be provided time to discuss the lessons with one another.
Gifted Student: I will evenly distribute the gifted students throughout the class in order to
promote them helping their classmates. Also, I will ask the gifted students some more difficulty
questions when asking questions throughout the lesson.
Materials and Resources Required For Unit
Technology – Hardware (Click boxes of all equipment needed)
Computer(s)
Internet Connection
Printer
Projection System
Technology – Software (Click boxes of all software needed.)
Encyclopedia on CD-ROM
Internet Web Browser
Microsoft Power Point
Clickers
Printed Materials
Supplies
-Power Point used during the lesson
-Book: Prehistoric Mesoamerica by Adams, R.
-writing utensil
www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latinamerica/meso/cultures/maya.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/maya_civilization
www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latinamerica/south/cultures/inca.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/inca_civilization
www.allabouthistory.org/aztec-civilization.htm
Internet Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/aztec
www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/mississ.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippian_culture
Other Resources