Intro the the Aztecs

Objective: The Junior Historians of 2018 will be able to interpret archaeological findings to hypothesize about the decline of the Maya Classic period. Students will be able to describe the founding of Tenochtitlan.

A link to today's handout can be found here!

Do now. From your homework, what are the 4 possible reasons the Classic Mayan civilization collapsed? Do you think that countries today could fall for the same reasons? Why or why not?


Step 1: Founding of the Aztec Empire. We will be using the reading in the guided notes to talk about the founding of the Aztec Empire.

Reminders for annotations:

• Summary sentences show the main idea and should be blue
• Highlights are to distinguish important fact from interesting details
• Yellow = Important (If you didn't read this, you wouldn't understand the reading)
• Pink = Interesting (Marshmallow Fluff Details that keep you reading)
• Meaningful tracks make connections to other civilizations or prior knowledge, ask top quality questions, make predictions, define new vocabulary, etc.
• When writing a summary paragraph, never begin with, "This is about..." or "I think.." "How/What/When/Where the....." Just say it! 
• No TMNT.

Review & Preview. Focus question: Why did the Aztecs practice human sacrifice?

Video. 

As you watch the video, what are some details that we saw in the reading?

According to the video, why did the Aztecs practice human sacrifice?  Be as specific as you can in your answer.

Homework: Geography Exam Wednesday!

1. Study the geography of Central and South america using online games or paper.
2. When you think you can do it from memory, try it on paper. Turn in a completed paper copy tomorrow for credit.
3. Read, Track, Highlight and Summarize an Mayan Civilization Review Article at the bottom of Today's handout.
4. Using your readings from Friday and Today, fill in what you can about the Mayas and the Aztecs on the Maya, Aztecs and the Inca | Compare and Contrast.

• We'll fill out the Incas later this week. This will be your study guide for District 7 Quiz next Monday, so do it well!