Silvério A. Barroqueiro
Objectives and Strategies
Objective 1: To learn the origins of the Mesoamerican population.
Objective 2: To draw a map of the Mesoamerican region and be able to trace the immigration route, locate and plot the more famous city-states.
Objective 3: To be able to identify and plot the location of the early civilizations of Mesoamerica, from the Olmecs to the Aztecs.
Strategies: Students could be shown a World Map with or without the depiction of the major population movements. Indicate how the land masses of the present world were once one huge block of land named Pangaea (pan jí’ uh). To support this idea, point out that, among other things, the western coast of Africa and the eastern coast of South America fit together like the pieces of a giant puzzle. Provide the students with, or have them draw, a map of Mesoamerica to plot the approximate locations of the earlier civilizations –the Olmecs, Teltocs, Zapotecs, Mexica, etc. They were the descendants of the first Asian people to arrive on the North American continent after crossing the Bering Strait and migrating south, following the mammoth herds.
Classroom materials: World Map showing Tectonic Plates and Population Movements. Supplies to complete a drawing of a map of Mesoamerica. Excerpts from Narrative in the Curriculum Unit or from books in the Teachers Bibliography.