Dec. 20, 2012 – Jan. 2, 2013 Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
Many scholars have calculated that the 5,128-year Mayan Long Count calendar was scheduled to end on December 21, 2012. Some people came to believe that the Mayan Long Count calendar forecast the end of all time. These people developed various theories about what would cause the end of the world. Archaeologists, astronomers, and other scientific experts viewed such predictions as nonsense. Archaeologists noted that no end-of-the-world predictions exist in Maya writings or inscriptions and that the end of the Long Count calendar simply marks the beginning of a new calendar cycle.
Objective:
The Maya were an American Indian people whose civilization in Central American and south Mexico peaked from about A.D. 250 to 900. The Maya made great advances in astronomy and mathematics and developed an accurate yearly calendar. They also produced remarkable architecture, painting, pottery, and sculpture. In the early 1500′s, Spanish conquerors invaded the Maya territories. By the mid-1500′s, they had overcome almost all the Maya. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore the Maya and their supposed end-of-the-world prediction.
Words to Know:
• American Indian
• Astronomy
• Calendar
• Chichén Itzá
• Gregorian calendar
• John Lloyd Stephens
• Long Count calendar
• Maya
• Pyramids (American pyramids)
• Tikal
Discussion Topics:
1. The Maya were an American Indian people whose civilization in what are now southern Mexico and Central America reached its peak from about A.D. 250 to 900. Ask your students what else they know about the Maya. (They might say that the Maya built step pyramids, the Maya made great advances in astronomy and mathematics, the Maya were one of the first people in the Western Hemisphere to develop an advanced form of writing, the Maya worshiped many gods and goddesses.)
2. The Maya developed one of the most important American Indian cultures in Latin America. Ask your students if they can name other important American Indian cultures in Latin America. (They might say Aztec, Inca, Toltec.) Ask your students if they can name other ancient civilizations. (They might say Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Persian, Roman.)
3. Ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of Mayan history.