The Maya are probably the best-known of the classical civilizations of Mesoamerica. In this lesson plan, students will be given a thorough introduction to the civilization of the Mayans. Students will complete a variety of tasks, including the viewing of a PowerPoint presentation, a Spanish vocabulary building exercise, a research activity, a group project, and a written exercise.

Created by Xochitl Patricia Rodríguez Herrera, November 2007

Note: meets Mexico education standards

A) Develop the following skills and qualities:

• Critical research skills.
• Information sharing and group cooperation.
• Compare and analyze information.
• Organize and record information from different sources.
• Oral presentation.
• Spanish language practice and vocabulary building.
• Practice written skills.

B) Understand the following aspects of the Mayan civilization, including:

• Its origins;
• Its development and the principal characteristics of the three major periods recognized by archaeologists: Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic;
• The reasons for the collapse of the Maya at the end of the Classic;
• The fate of the Mayan civilization during the colonial period.

1)  Introduction

Use the PowerPoint presentation provided to introduce the Maya Civilization.  Narrate and ask questions about the presentation using the Mayan Civilization narration guide.

2)  Vocabulary Building

Ask the students to give the Spanish translations for 25 vocabulary words (if students have problems they can use dictionaries; turn this into a competition to see who can answer first).

3)  Research Task

Students will find answers to the questions on the Mayan Civilization Worksheet using the websites provided.

4)  Group Work and Class Evaluation

After completing the research task individually, divide the students into groups to compare the answers to the worksheet. The teacher should circulate throughout the classroom and check on the progress of each group.  The teacher may use the Mayan Civilization Fact Sheet as support.

5)  Written exercises

Teachers may wish to set their own written exercises. Some examples of these activities might be:
• Write an essay about the Mayan civilization. Use at least 4 paragraphs covering the Pre-Classic, Classic, Post-Classic, and Colonial periods.
• Create a timeline of the Mayan civilization with major events in their history.
• Spanish language activity:
  The teacher will ask students to find the meanings of the following words. Then the teacher will ask the students to write an essay about the Maya Civilization in Spanish or, more simply, to write sentences including these words:

ancestros	declinar	evidencia
agricultura	evidencia	cultivo
antiguo	conocimiento	tumba
cambio	invasión	quema
culto	ocupación	edificar
competencia	piedra	construir
conquista	reconstruir	enfrentar
conchas	ritual	ceremonia
comunidad	raíz	misterio
clima	título	reinado
colapsar	ruta	templos
epidemia	sobrevivir	castillos
enfermedad	sagrado	ciudad
geográfico	sangre	maíz
hipótesis	vida
inscripciones	vecinos

Maya Civilization PowerPoint PowerPoint narration guide Vocabulary building list Maya Civilization worksheet Maya Civilization fact sheet Maya material on TIDES Computers and internet access