Interdisciplinary Unit: The Mayans
Spanish Lesson Plan for Day 1
Guiding Statements of Overall Unit
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.
Objectives for Day 1
1. Develop a better understanding of the Mayan music, and the instruments used.
2. Explore the influence of music in the Mayan society and how it has influenced today's music (contribution to society).
3. Learn the Spanish vocabulary for music and the instruments.
4. Create a foundation of information that will be used later on in our mini-unit of Society when we talk about rituals, and in the Festival.
Standards Met
Indiana State Board of Education guidelines to middle school curriculum, proficiency statements 1, 2, 5
Foreign Language Standards 9, 5, and 1
Resources Needed
Computer with sound capabilities, instruments (if accessible), CD player, CD of Mayan music, video: New Audiences for Mexican Music, -- Campanas de America -- Tejano 101. 1994. 30 min. Video/C 6139
Can be ordered on-line at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/LatinAmVid.html
TIME ACTIVITY 5 min Give a brief overview of the topics we will discuss in my class
1. Culture
a. Music
b. Food/Art2. Society
a. Religion
b. Rituals
3. Cities
a. Learning Adventure10 min Introduce the various instruments used in Mayan music, have the actual instruments available for the students. Give an audio demo of what they sound like by themselves, and then play the sound clips from the website to give an example of what they sound like in a song. As we go along, have the students write down all the Spanish terms we learn for the music and the instruments. Make sure they repeat the all Spanish phrases and words as they are introduced.
20 min Lead a discussion on the music, allowing students to make connections between what they hear and what they listen to today. Draw a Venn Diagram on the board and see how well Mayan music connects to the music of the world today. Some guiding questions:
1. What are some sounds that are similar in music that you are familiar with?
2. What do you think this music was used for- entertainment? Religion? Ceremonies?
3. Can you see any traces or influences of this music or these instruments in US music? In other world music?
10 min Show a small clip from the movie New Audiences for Mexican Music. 10 min Discuss the movie clip- Did it change any of our original perceptions? Why or Why not?
Final Thoughts
For the 10-day unit, students will be asked to keep a journal of their experiences. Each day, the student will write at least one page, focusing on what he/she learned, questions that he/she has on material covered, and connections that he/she can make between all the content areas participating in our unit. These journals will not be graded for a letter grade, but will be assessed in terms of completion (that they have it done) and thought process (that they made an attempt at remembering what they did, and showing effort in connecting everything together).