Download Mexico

DO Now

Take out your Mexico Study Guide for
Lesson #1and prepare to discuss!!
Mexico
Lesson 2: Creating a Mexican
Culture
Essential Question:
How would you compare and contrast
Mexico’s major cultural groups?
Do Now

In your notebook, define the following
vocabulary words.
 Civilization
 Innovation
 Missionary
civilization
•
•
A culture that has a complex economic,
governing, and social system.
More advanced in technology
innovation
•
New ways of doing things.
missionary

Religious teachers that came to
Mexico to teach the Roman Catholic
religion.
Who were the early civilizations in
Mexico?
Turn to page 177. (Section on DVD)
 Read along with the narrator as he reads
about the Olmec Civilization.
 Assignment: Create an outline of the
Olmec Civilization

Who were the early civilizations in Mexico?
I. ____________ Civilization
A. ____________
1. First settled along the coast of the
____________ of Mexico
2. ____________ lived along the coastal rivers
in villages in small houses made of
reeds and straw
B. ____________ Society
1. Fished in the rivers and ____________ land
2. ____________ flooding watered crops and
made the ____________ rich
C. Religion
1.
2.
a.
3.
D. Innovation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
E. Spreading of Culture
1.
2.
3.
Who were the early civilizations in
Mexico?
I. Olmec Civilization
A. Settlement
1. First settled along the coast of the Gulf
of Mexico
2. 1200 B.C. lived along the coastal rivers
in villages in small houses made of
reeds and straw
B. Farming Society
1. Fished in the rivers and farmed land
2. seasonal flooding watered crops and
made the soil rich
Check your work from yesterday.
C.
Religion
1. based on the forces of nature that affected
crops, artwork and carvings were used for
religious purposes.
2. worshipped many different gods
a. most important god, Jaguar, the rain god.
3. Villages became centers of religion and great
temples were made of huge stones for
worship.
D.
E.
Innovation
1. created a calendar
2. used a form of picture writing
3. carvings and artwork
4. religious centers
5. architecture
6. technology
Spreading of Culture
1. interacted with others through trade
2. Maya and Aztec culture added to the
Olmec innovations.
3. referred to mother civilization
Who were the early civilizations in
Mexico?
Read about the Maya on page 178.
 Create an outline of the most important
information.

II.
The Maya
A. Settlement and Farming
1.
2.
3.
B. Tikal was the largest Mayan City
1.
2.
3.
C. Innovations
1.
2.
3.
D. History
1.
2.
3.
1)
2)
3)
4)
The Olmec Civilization has been called
the __________ civilization of Mexico.
Where did the Olmecs civilization settle?
Name 2 innovations that were started by
the Olmecs?
The Olmecs worshipped Jaguar which is
the ______ _______.
II.
The Maya
A. Settlement and Farming
1. farming culture in the rainforest of
what are now Belize, Guatemala,
Honduras, and southern Mexico
2. 500 BC started to clear the forest to
farm more land and build cities.
3. Built more than 100 cities
B. Tikal was the largest Mayan City
1. population 100, 000 people
2. located on the Yucatan Peninsula
in what is now Guatemala
3. six large temples, shaped like a
pyramid Jaguar carved on top.
C. Innovations
1. created a 365 day calendar
2. created a number system including zero
3. used picture writing
D. History
1. lasted more than 600 years
2. by 900 AD some Mayan cities were
left empty reclaimed by the
surrounding rain forest
3. Mayan culture has contributed to
the later civilization of Mexico
III.
The ____________
A. ____________
1. AD 1200
2. Settled in the ___________of ____________
3. well organized cities
B. ____________
1. ____________ Aztec city
2. population of ____________ by 1400
3. Located in ___________and southern Mexico
C. Culture
1. Included 5 ____________ people
2. daily trips to the ____________ to trade
3. ____________ language
4. foods- ____________
III.
The Aztecs
A. Settlement
1. AD 1200
2. Settled in the Valley of Mexico
3. well organized cities
B. Tenochtitlan (Present day Mexico City)
1. largest Aztec city
2. population of 300,000 by 1400
3. Located in central and southern
Mexico
C. Culture
1. Included 5 million people
2. daily trips to the market to trade
3. Nahuatl language
4. foods- tortillas
Essential Question:
How were the Olmec, Maya, and
Aztec Indians similar and different?
Do Now

From your readings on the Aztecs and the
Mayans, what was a common religious
practice?
Place your answer on the back of the
second Essential Question page.
How were the Olmec, Maya, and
Aztec Indians similar and different?
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


..\..\Social Studies\Chapter 5 Mexico\Maya and
aztecs.asx
..\..\Social Studies\Chapter 5 Mexico\Maya.asx
We are going to do a compare and contrast of
the Mayas and the Aztecs
Use the Column Venn Diagram or make your
own.
How were the Maya and the Aztec
Indians similar and different?

Continue independently working on your
compare and contrast chart.
Rubric

..\..\..\Social Studies\Chapter 5
Mexico\compare and contrast rubric.doc
How do I write a compare and
contrast?
Introduction
 Similarities & Differences
 Conclusion

How do I write a compare and
contrast?
Introduction
Similarities
Differences
Conclusion
Introduction



Grab the attention of your audience.
Tell the audience who, or what you are going to
compare.
Explain the purpose (compare and contrast) of
your writing.
Write a rough draft of your introduction on a
piece of paper.
Share your introduction with a neighbor.
Partners, give each other recommendations
about your partner’s introduction.
Introduction
In the following paragraphs, you are going to
learn about the culture and history of the Maya
and Aztecs. We will be discussing the similarities
and differences about the two cultures.
How do I write a compare and
contrast?

Using, your 4 square, write your rough
draft.
Similarities
There are many similarities between
the Maya and the Aztecs. Both groups of
people invented a calendar. They also
both played a game similar to soccer. The
Maya and the Aztecs made sacrifices to
appease their Gods.
Differences
There are many differences between
the Maya and the Aztecs. For example,
the Maya introduced a 365 day calendar
unlike the Aztecs which created a 360 day
calendar.
Good Words for Compare and Contrast
To indicate more
Information:
Besides
Moreover
Furthermore
In Fact
Indeed
Second…Third….etc
To indicate an example:
For example
For instance
In particular
Particularly
Specifically
To demonstrate or illustrate
To compare or
In Comparison
Likewise
Similarly
Contrast:
Although
Whereas
However
Yet
In contrast
Nevertheless
On the other hand
Examples



The Mayan and the Aztec both invented
calendars, however the Mayan calendar had
365 days and the Aztec calendar was 360 days.
Both civilizations were in Mexico although the
Aztec civilization was located more in the central
part of the country and the Mayans were on the
Yucatan.
In addition to farming they both relied on
trading for goods at market.
Summarization Activity

Name the three early civilizations in
Mexico and give at least two facts about
each civilization.