Miriam+Mack

The Mayans
__Goal:__

"We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle or zoos. We are people and we want to be respected, not to be victims of intolerance and racism." —[|Rigoberta Menchú], 1992

__Essential Questions:__ (questions that you can answer better overtime; they don't get completely answered; they might be revisited over the course of the unit.)
 * Who are the Maya people?
 * How has Mayan society changed over time?
 * What are the forces affecting change in the lives of Mayan people today and in the past?

__Major Understandings:__ (What are the things that kiddos need to understand to talk about the essential questions)

The Mayan people, their language and culture existed in the past and continues to evolve today in southern Mexico, Honduras, Belize and Guatemala. Mayan people speak Mayan languages.

Our knowledge and understanding of the Ancient Maya comes from their writings, art, monuments and buildings/material culture. Our knowledge of the Maya at the time of European contact comes from accounts written by Europeans and written in Mayan codeces. Today our knowledge and understanding of Mayan people come from the Mayan people, outsiders that study the Maya and the governments that rule where Mayan people live today,

The ancient Maya developed complex social, political and economic structures. The ancient Mayan society was divided into kingdoms (city-states) that vied with each other for dominance and that were ruled by royal families. Ancient Mayan society thrived between 250 and 900 AD with some exceptions. After 1200 AD the number of Mayan people dropped drastically, building of complex architectural complexes ceased and Mayan society became "informal" (think of a different more accurate descriptive term). Mayan collapse. Scientist are investigating what happened to cause this. Some think it was due to climate change. Some to overuse of the land. Others a combination.

__Knowledge:__ (vocabulary goes here?)

Maya Palenque Tikal Copan Chichenitza

tun lowlands highlands city-state

Political Economic Environment

__Skills:__ (What do students need to be able to do in order to understand the essential questions.)

-Timeline

__Stage II:__

(Performance Tasks) (Other Evidence) (Key Criteria)

__Stage III:__

(Learning Plan)