Linda Frost Inquire Unit. Glendale Middle School. Curricular Topic or Text: Aztec Civilization

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1 Linda Frost Inquire Unit. Glendale Middle School. Curricular Topic or Text: Aztec Civilization Essential Question: Were the Aztecs civilized or barbaric? Conceptual Knowledge: Students will be able to: 1. name and define barbaric and civilized behavior 2. discuss how point of view influences the way events are perceived and recorded the Aztecs could be viewed as either or both civilized and barbaric as could people of any time 3. understand and demonstrate core knowledge about Aztec daily life, government, religion, geography, economy 4. personally determine whether the Aztecs were civilized or barbaric or both and support their stance Procedural Knowledge: Students will be able to: 1. give examples of barbaric and civilized behavior 2. distinguish between fact and opinion statements 3. partner read and mark text to help identify author claims, salient points, etc. 4. use a variety of resources to find information on different aspects of Aztec life. 5. generate questions about 4 different areas of the ancient Aztecs that they will use and answer to show how Aztecs were civilized or barbaric or both. 6. use facts, quotes, opinions to build argument 7. Write a persuasive paper after analyzing information and stating their opinion 8. Use a graphic organizer to form their argument 9. demonstrate core knowledge by completing two projects of their choice on the Aztecs Frontloading Activity: 1. Brainstorm all the ideas/information that comes to mind when the word, Aztecs is heard 2. Define and discuss barbaric and civilized and the difference between fact and opinion 3. Time Line for Aztec civilization AVID notes 4. View a short DVD (Ancient Aztecs) to begin generating four individual student questions about the Aztecs regarding core knowledge: geography, government, social structure, daily life, religion Fill out listening guide as watch and discuss afterward a. What was the Temple Mayor? b. What was Atzlan? c. Describe Tenochitlan d. Who did the Aztecs conquer and why? e. Why did the Aztecs sacrifice? 5. Students write personal questions about the Aztecs

2 Scaffold of Activities: Activities Read Text: Using World text, students will partner read The Aztec Empire, mark key words and phrases, and discuss for understanding. Use Frayer Model Connection to Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge Concepts Core information about Aztecs geography, religion, daily life, social structure, and government Strategies Pair stronger and weaker readers Mark text circle key words; underline author claims or answers to identified questions; write thoughts and/or questions in the margins Students generate four questions they have that relate to Aztec social structure, geography, government, daily life, economy Formative Assessments and proof of one s learning Teacher circulates and listens as partner reads, observes and questions as students mark text Hand in to check on individual student questions Read Civilized or Barbaric essays on Aztecs Point of view. Discuss that the essays each take the exact same main ideas but one essay judges the Aztecs as civilized, the other barbaric. Discuss structure of essay: introduction, body, conclusion Questions about content Students use a variety of books on the Aztecs to find answers to their individual questions Research strategies Text features Fill in Frayer Model this info provides the body of the essay Circulate and help as needed Organizing/ordering sentences within a paragraph: topic sentence, like information goes together Students fill out Persuasive Planning Sheet Writing needs to be organized in order for reader to follow student thinking Complete example as a class and individually State opinion about Aztecs, order their points Turn in organized and rewritten paragraph

3 Read Introduction hooks Students discuss what strategy writer is using in each paragraph: quote, facts, description, question Students choose the introduction strategy they like best and write introduction Read Writing Conclusions Rewrite/Edit Aztec Crafts Aztecs created beautiful gold work Students discuss elements of a conclusion Students read and provide feedback Students create their own metal work in the Aztec or their own style Students write conclusion to their essay Use Persuasive Writing Rubric to evaluate Credit given if they completed the craft Culminating Project Project Description: The project is twofold: Sequence of Project Summative Assessment/Proof Positive of Learning 1. Write a persuasive paper on Were the Aztecs civilized or barbaric? Described above Writing Project: Teacher assessed based on criteria 2. Students receive a list of 12 While these are independent possible projects regarding projects they do on their own, Aztec geography, daily life, class time has been spent government, social structure, investigating all five areas. and religion. They choose two: one they do independently. The other may be done with a partner. If students prefer, they may create their own project and OK it with the teacher before beginning it. Individual Project: Teacher assessed based on criteria Opportunities for Formative Assessment throughout the unit: teacher observation, handouts, class discussions and questions, formal projects. Possible Multimedia and Social Action Extensions of the Writing Assignment/Culminating Project: What behavior do you see in your present day life that appears to be barbaric? Civilized? Why is this?

4 Format has changed in the uploading. You can actually get both essays on one sheet of paper if you put them in two columns. Then students can see point by point how perspective can be different on the same point. Civilized or Barbaric? The Aztecs were one of the last ancient civilizations to live in the Americas. They lived from about 1100 to 1521, and from 1427 to 1521, their empire was the strongest in what is now North America. Gods were very important to the Aztecs. In fact, they controlled every aspect of Aztec life. The Aztecs religious beliefs caused them to make sacrifices to the Gods: human sacrifices! The Aztecs human sacrifices were barbaric. The unfortunate victim was forced to climb to the top of a temple and stretch themselves across an altar. An Aztec priest would then plunge a knife into the victim s chest and cut out the person s heart. The still beating heart was placed in a bowl for the gods, while the victim s body was thrown down the stairs of the temple. Sacrificing humans shows complete disregard for the most developed and highest form of intelligence on earth: man. It is barbaric enough to sacrifice animal life for no reason but unthinkable to use humans. By making human sacrifices, the Aztecs showed they were an uncivilized race with no compassion or respect for human life. The Aztecs were also barbaric in the number of human sacrifices they made. Human sacrifices didn t happen just once or twice a year, but thousands of times a year. The huge numbers of people killed by the Aztecs show that they were a blood thirsty and wild people. Finally, the Aztecs enjoyed killing. They were always involved in some kind of war with surrounding tribes. One of their main purposes in fighting was to capture prisoners so they could take them back to their temples and offer them as sacrifices to the gods. For this reason, the Aztecs were constantly fighting other people. The Aztecs were barbaric because they enjoyed killing. Some people say that the Aztecs were not barbaric. They were only following their religious beliefs in order to make the gods happy and stay alive. This is a false argument to support murder. The Aztecs had no respect for human life and enjoyed murdering thousands of people every year. They were barbaric. Civilized or Barbaric? The Aztecs were one of the greatest civilizations to ever live in the Americas. From , the Aztecs conquered, created, and ruled the greatest North American empire. The Aztecs believed that the gods were responsible for their success and so they constantly honored them for their lives and many blessings. Aztec legend says that the gods existed in darkness and it was only when one courageous god stepped forward into fire that the sun was created and rose in the sky. The Aztecs firmly believed that in order to keep the sun rising every day and the gods happy, they had to make the greatest of all sacrifices: humans. In making human sacrifices, the Aztecs were offering the most supreme gift. They recognized that humans were the highest form of life and it was with reverence they offered the best to their gods. In fact, the Aztecs and other warriors believed it was an honor to die for the gods. In return, the gods would give the victims a much better life. The Aztecs sacrificed thousands of people a year because they recognized that each day was a gift from the gods. They knew that sacrifice must happen so that children who were born

5 could continue the great tradition of pleasing the gods and keeping the world alive. If they failed to do this, then the world would end. War was a way of life for the Aztecs because they had to protect their homes and lands. There were many different tribes in the area and each was constantly fighting to obtain what they needed. The Aztecs were simply defending their families and way of life. And because they were good at it, many modern day people call them blood thirsty. They were not blood thirsty, just responsible for their survival. The Aztecs were a great people who wanted to show the gods their gratitude for life. They worked hard to develop a system that honored both human life and the gods. By honoring the gods, they assured that life would continue for man. For this reason, the Aztecs can definitely be considered a civilized people.

6 Introductions In1590, Hernan Cortes arrived in the Aztec empire. Later he would write to the Spanish king about the beautiful art objects and gold work of the Aztecs that none of the princes of this world, of whom we know, possess any things of such high quality. He also said, No smith in the world could have done better. Cortes came from an area in the world where the best of civilization existed. For him to say that the Aztecs had finer craftsmanship than the great craftsmen of Europe, is to say that the Aztecs were indeed very civilized. A civilized society has the ability to organize and control its people while providing them with all of their basic needs. This was true of the ancient Aztecs. Markets held in several cities were large and varied but in Tlatelolco, 25,000 people shopped everyday. Every 5 days, there was an even bigger market that attracted as many as 60,000 customers. Markets were policed by officials to keep them organized, running smoothly and free from thieves. The Aztecs were able to keep enormous markets functioning properly on a daily basis. This is only one sign that the Aztecs were a civilized people. The defeated warrior was forced to walk up the steep stairs of the Templo Mayor. He tried to look courageous but still his body trembled. As the reached the top, Aztec priests took hold of him, stretched his body across an altar, raised a sharp stone knife and plunged it into his chest. He could feel the hand inside of him as it ripped out his heart and then he lost consciousness. Some scholars estimate that Aztecs sacrificed as many as 20,000 people a year and did it in a most barbaric way. The Aztec civilization was simply not civilized. They were barbaric. How much blood is too much blood? The human body has 6 quarts of blood. Imagine 6 quarts of blood from 20,000 bodies. That s 120,000 quarts or 30,000 gallons of blood. 30,000 gallons of blood will fill 60,000 compact cars. That s how much human blood Aztec priests poured down their temple steps in one year while making human sacrifices. How could anyone do this sort of thing? Aztecs weren t civilized. They were blood-thirsty savages.

7 Persuasive Writing Planning Sheet Purpose: What do you wish to convince or persuade the reader to think or do? Audience: Who is my audience? Who will my audience affect my writing? Lead (background information/prepare the reader): I might begin by saying Body I believe My first point is Support for first point is My second point is Support for second point is My third point is Support for third point is Others may believe, but So (what should a person think or do)

8 Aztec Civilization Projects Learn more about the Aztecs by completing some independent projects of your choice. Choose 1 project from each category. You may substitute your own idea for one of the choices but you must clear with me what you are going to do before you do it. Daily Life 1. Archaeologists study large and small artifacts like the statue of the bird warrior and the stone knife found in a skull to learn about the people who lived at that time. Draw three artifacts coming from the Aztec civilization for a class museum on the Aztecs. Label your artifacts so that visitors can understand their importance. 2. Boys were taught how to harvest maize and be warriors by their fathers. Girls were taught how to cook by their mothers. Choose one daily routine in the life of an Aztec and draw it in detail. Explain what is happening in the scene and what each person s responsibilities are. 3. The market in Tenochitlan was the trading center for the Aztec empire. Draw what an Aztec market might have looked like. Include items from all over Central America that might have been traded there. Research animals, food items, natural resources, etc. 4. There were many different classes of people in the Aztec society: the emperor, warriors, priests, craftsmen, merchants, farmers, slaves, prisoners. Choose a person from one of these classes and create a diary of their daily life for one week. Date each day and include what they might have done and how they might have thought about their lives. Geography 5. Tenochitlan was a great Aztec city built on an island in the middle of a lake. Create a map of Tenochitlan. Be sure to include bridges, causeways, and boats as that is the way the Aztecs moved from one part of the city to another. Label the different areas of the city and the buildings in them. 6. The Mexicas journeyed for a long time before they crossed over mountains to reach the valley where they built Tenochitlan. Draw a physical map of Mexico and explain why the area the Mexicas chose was a good and or bad area geographically. 7. The Aztecs were a warlike people. They conquered many tribes and made them pay tribute. Draw a map that shows how much of modern day Mexico and Central America the Aztec Empire covered. Label the present day countries and make a key that shows what natural resources the Aztecs would have had by conquering the areas they did. 8. Aztec warriors were often dressed as animals to scare their enemies. Design your own animal uniform for an Aztec warrior. Explain why you chose the animal you did (what is its symbolism) and label the parts of the uniform that relate to the animal.

9 Mythology 9. Aztecs believed that the gods ruled every part of their lives. Read about one Aztec god or goddess. Draw what you think they looked like and tell their story OR 10. Write a short play telling the story of one of the gods. Write the speaking parts for the characters, design the costumes and the setting. 11. Today s Mexican flag is based on an Aztec myth/legend. The legend said the Mexicas would find a place for their homes when they found an eagle sitting on a cactus and holding a snake. Design an Aztec flag for Tenochitlan. Explain the symbolism behind the new flag you create. Partner reading, marking, summarizing, making claims Persuasive writing Were Aztecs civilized or barbaric when it came to their religious beliefs?