Teaching the indigenous civilizations of hispanic America : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

This teaching unit, designed to last a minimum of three weeks, will provide a broad overview of two important pre-Columbian civilizations: the Aztec and the Inca. Second and third year Spanish students will be translating, actively viewing videos, reading text selections, writing expressively, and working cooperatively. The pedagogy behind this unit includes content, cooperative, and active learning, and the Before-During-After model. The culminating activity will be the creation of a mural. Students will select a theme, create rough drafts on paper, and paint on the actual classroom wall(s). This mural will be in the pre-Columbian style and will reflect a student-selected aspect of their new knowledge.