As the graphic organizer in the Teacher Section indicates, this unit emphasizes higher order thinking skills.  Students not only recapitulate information  in this unit, but they must also summarize, draw conclusions, and hypothesize about the information, ideas and concepts they encounter in their study and research.

Interdisciplinary projects/activities are central to this unit content and activities.  In order to demonstrate mastery of the unit objectives, students must complete all projects and activities-most of which are interdisciplinary in nature.  That is to say that they involve researching and utilizing information in a number of fields, from history to dance, from art to geography.

Lesson 1-The objective of this lesson is to probe students’ knowledge about Mexico and to create initial interest in its geography and culture by showing the video Esplendores!/Splendors of Mexico (1992). There will be a class discussion on Mexican culture and how much is maintained by Mexicans living in the United States. Do students' parents carry on their culture? Do students? What obstacles get in the way and what facilitates nurturing the culture of their grandparents?

For homework students should first visit a site with a map of Mexico:  http://192.100.181.220/map/  and study the map of Mexico focusing attention on the various state names and locations. Then choose two states and click the mouse on them for a detailed view. Students should then do a free-hand map drawing of one of the two states they have viewed and include the names of the bordering states outside their state map. Students will also study the Map of Mexico and its bordering countries for a quiz in the next class.

Lesson 2-The objective here is to learn the names and location of at least fifteen Mexican states by having students study the map of Mexico for two minutes, then writing as many states and capitals as they recall on a blank map, and finally, comparing their partially filled maps with the first one, then two more classmates and sharing the information with them. The class will be taken to the computer lab where they will visit the Mexican map site referred to in Lesson 1. Each student will study and then print out a copy of the map of his or her chosen state. Students will each use the mouse and directional focus functions of the map site to arrive at a detailed mapping of their choice (for example, a map of the Southeastern section of Puebla), which they will print out in order to hold side by side with a general map of Mexico and see where it fits in. Students will review in groups the map of Mexico and its neighbors and then will take a short quiz in which they will fill in the names of Mexico and its neighbors.

For homework, students will first go to a videocam site where they will be able to see a live view in Mexico: the following Spanish language site and look up whatever information they can on that particular state, especially regarding its artistic, musical, and dance traditions: http://www.espanol.yahoo.com/Zonas geograficas/Paises/Mexico. For the following class, students will present to the class in Spanish the information they have found on their chosen states at that site.

Lesson 3-This lesson objective is to gain a deeper understanding of a particular Mexican state of the student’s own choosing by randomly distributing the cut-out states of Mexico, one per student, and having students write the name of their state, its capital, bordering states, and any other information they may know about the state.  Students are told to work on the state they are holding in their hand, unless some have special reasons for wanting to work on another state.The class will be taken to the computer laboratory in order to visit the Mexico map site again, and then will visit a site on the state of Oaxaca and read about its tradition of tapetes (handwoven rugs and tapestries) and how they are made. The site is: http://www.mexonline.com/valle.htm. Next students will visit a site called the Textile Art of the Chiapas Maya, (http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/ma/chiapas.html) where they will learn about the design and look of sacred designs and clothes made by the Chiapas Highlands Mayas.

For homework students will translate the English language description of the tapestries and textiles to Spanish and will be prepared to talk in general terms in class the following day about the process of making them.

Lesson 4-The objective here is to learn the names, location and important features of ten more Mexican states by taping sheets of paper with the names of the seven locations bordering Mexico in their proper location on classroom walls, assuming the front of class is north, and having students to write the name of a new state (a new cutout state of Mexico per student), its capital and bordering states, and any other information they may know about the state.  If they have difficulty identifying their state, they may hold it up to the map on the wall and identify it by shape.  Finally  students will create a human map of Mexico by standing next to the persons representing their neighboring states.

For homework students will visit a site on Oaxaca black pottery and will report back to class in Spanish on what they learned about the pottery made there: http://www.mexonline.com/bclay.htm. As that site lays out step-by-step the process of making this form known as black pottery, students will retell in Spanish their own words how the pottery is made.

Lesson 5-The objective of this lesson is to introduce students to information resources and to make them aware of principle historical periods in Mexican history by giving students a handout with a visual overview of major periods of Mexican history, and generating a class discussion about Mexico’s history.  Finally, the teacher will take the class to the library and will help them begin to research their assigned states for an oral presentation and written paper they will be doing. Students will be have all the information resources of the library explained to them as the librarian will give a tour of the resources and give students practice in looking up a couple of themes in the area of Mexican culture: the Mayan pyramids, and the African presence on the Atlantic coast and slave trade history.

For homework students will write a one page essay in Spanish on a single aspect of something new they have learned so far in this project, for example concerning pottery in Oaxaca, and to share that information with the class the next day.

Lesson 6-The objective here is to assess the effectiveness of the research completed to this point and to develop personal strategies to find the required information. Students will complete a questionnaire designed to have them list all research information thus far accumulated, then working in groups, comparing the usefulness of sources  used thus far. Students will discuss in Spanish the advantages and disadvantages of using off-line versions of resources such as periodicals and museum paintings on the one hand, and using on-line resources on the other. In their groups, students will discuss these issues and then report the results of their discussion back to the class.

For homework students will visit the computer lab on their own time and visit the following site in order to explore the resources it offers on Mexican culture. They will create a report in Spanish outlining the results of their web-site survey: http://www.itp.berkeley.edu/~thorne/HumanResources.html

Lesson 7-The objective of this lesson to create interest in and appreciation for different forms of art found in Mexico and to learn to classify them by generating a list of different forms of art they have discovered in their research; then asking them to classify their lists using a handout designed to focus on artes visuales, plasticas, dramata, musica y literatura (Visual arts, plastic arts, theatre, music and literature). The class will take a field trip to the Field Museum to visit and study the collection of Mexican pre-Columbian pottery, textiles, and ornaments.

For homework, students will compare in Spanish the different forms of art they encountered in the museum in terms of function and process of creation, and practical use versus symbolic representation (purpose of art). There is an excellent on-line resource for students to explore Mexican music, art and culture. For extra credit, students may go on-line:http://www.itp.berkeley.edu/~thorne/HumanResources.htmland do further exploration for reporting back to class later in the week.

Lesson 8-The objective here is to introduce students to a variety of music and dances of Mexico and to the use of masks as a Mexican art form by showing the video: FolkloricDances of Mexico (1990) and a series of teacher-prepared transparencies of the dancers' costumes.  Students also read Las Mascaras de Mexico (Castaneda, E. and Losada, R., 1991) (The Masks of Mexico) and discuss the use of masks in some of the dances viewed.

Lesson 9-The lesson objective is to understand more about the use, origins and symbolism of masks in Mexican folk art and to create a personal mask by first discussing the meaning of the Latin word 'persona', and relating it to mascara, then seeing samples of various of various Mexican masks and discussing symbolism.  Finally students will be asked to design and make their own masks using a basic pattern for mask making developed by the Mexican Museum in San francisco. Additional information about Mexican masks can be found at: http://www.milagrosgallery.com/Masks/masks.html

Lesson 10-The objective of this lesson is to have each student give an oral presentation on the Mexican state selected and to have the rest of the class analyze each oral report in writing.

Lesson 11-The objective of this lesson is to test students' overall knowledge of Mexico's geography, history and culture, including information presented in student reports.  Students will be tested on-line, go to:
http://www.motted.hawaii.edu/~quizuser/quizzes/mgarcia/LaCulturaMexicana.html

Lesson 12-In this last lesson the objective is to prepare and perform role plays on a variety of situations in Mexico, including deciding on which package tour to Mexico to buy, teaching a university Mexican culture and civilization course, being transported in a time machine to a specific time in the history of Mexico, etc. A  useful site for students to explore with numerous links is: