Unit Rationale
Overall Theme: Mayan Culture and Civilizations
School: Burris Middle School, 6th grade
Content areas: Technology Education, Spanish, Language Arts, and Social Studies
Guiding Statements:
1. Explore why the Mayans are not as prominent today as they were in the past.
2. Discover what were the important contributions of the Mayans to society.
3. Develop a better understanding of the Mayan culture and their civilization.
As part of the curriculum for 6th graders in Indiana public schools, students learn about the Americas. Our interdisciplinary unit combines the content areas of Spanish, Technology Education, Social Studies, and Language Arts to form a better understanding of the Mayan culture and civilization and its importance in our world history. We will divide the ten day unit into three sub-themes: Cities, Culture, and Society.
This unit emphasizes the importance of curriculum integration through all subjects at the 6th grade level. Middle school students learn better when their subjects have relevance in today’s society. Therefore, through this unit we hope to make the connections between this ancient civilization and society from the past to the present. The unit demonstrates the fact that different concepts build on each other, and interweave to form a whole. For example, knowledge about the landscape and geographical location of the Mayan civilizations (Social Studies) helps to understand why the Mayans chose to construct their buildings the way they did (Technology Education).
Another main focus of this unit is to create a positive learning atmosphere that relies heavily on group participation and teamwork. We know that students at this age level tend to turn toward their peers, and fostering an environment where they are able to do so will create a setting in which students are able to give and receive the support needed from their peers. We also plan to incorporate a variety of meaningful activities that are developed to engage all types of learners. Included in these activities are lessons that involve various forms of technology. Through these activities students will be able to build on their basic skills, and begin to develop their abstract thinking and problem solving skills.
Here are the specific standards that will be met in this unit for each content area:
Social Studies
The Social Studies class in our interdisciplinary unit will focus on the areas of geographical locations of important cities of the Mayans, the government structure of the Mayan people, as well as the demographic aspects of their culture. The students will explore the climate, landscape, and regional locations of the various Mayan cities throughout Central America. They will learn about the Mayan people and their class structure.
The Sixth Grade Social Studies Standards for the state of Indiana hit these topics
in standards 6.3.3, 6.3.4, 6.3.5, 6.3.9, and 6.3.10.
Language Arts
The Language Arts class in our interdisciplinary unit will focus on the areas of Mayan writing, folklore and participate in a learning quest. These lessons will engage students in their learning of English/Language Arts and its connections to the other disciplines that are involved in the unit. The students will be asked to analyze the information presented, and participate in learning activities involving other content areas.
As this is a multidisciplinary unit, students will be engaged in group learning, problem based learning, and individual research and application of language arts skills. The educational atmosphere will be organized, and will create a positive learning environment social structure for the students to learn. School and community are easily incorporated in the study of other cultures. As the Mayan culture is now integrated with many Hispanic cultures, the students will be given the opportunity to learn about an essential and rich history that is important to a large minority in the United States.
The Language Arts Standards for the state of Indiana hit these topics in standards
1, 5, and 9.
Technology Education
The Technology Education class in our interdisciplinary unit will cover the technology
that the Mayans used over the years. It will focus on these three main areas of
technology: Manufacturing "what types of things they made/make", Construction "the
types of buildings they have built", and Transportation "how they get from place to
place". This will enable the students to develop an understanding of technology
concepts and relate them to a real life situation. Students will also learn the role
technology plays in our society and throughout history.
The Technology Education Standards for the state of Indiana hit these topics in
standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 18, 19, 20.
Spanish
The Spanish class in our interdisciplinary unit will focus on the areas of
Music and art, religion and rituals, and a learning quest that will explore the Mayan
lifestyle and their reaction to the Spaniards arrival.The students will develop an understanding of other cultures, and explore the interrelatedness of the Spanish language and the Mayan language, and the connection between the Hispanic culture, Mayan culture, and their own culture. They will be asked to communicate with each other and with the whole team on what they have learned throughout the project. Students will also develop their reading skills through appropriate reading material for their age group. They will use strategies such as context clues and cognates to understand some readings written in Spanish.
The Foreign Language Standards for the state of Indiana hit these topics in
standards 9, 7, 4, 5, 3, 1. The Indiana State Board of Education guidelines
to middle school curriculum are addressed in this content area as described
in proficiency statements 5, 4, 1, 3.