Guatemala Task Cards

Music of  a Highland Train
The marimba, a type of xylophone with wooden bars arranged like piano keys, is believed to have been first brought to Latin America by African slaves. Marimba Chapinlandia, a band based in Guatemala City, uses an additional instrument, a train whistle, on "Ferrocarril de los altos" ("The Highland Train"), composed by the renowned marimbista Domingo Bethancourt in 1930 to commemorate the first railroad line from the highlands to the coast.   Listen to Marimba Chapinlandia sing "Ferrocarril de los altos" Draw, dance, or write a poem about how the music describes a train.

Habla Espanol!
Work through a lesson from Children’s Living Spanish.  It can be found in the Guatemalan library.  Use the cassette tapes and headphones.  Practice something you learned with someone in the class.



Vuelve a Casa:  Easier
Find Snoopy, Vuelve a Casa in the Guatemalan library.  Choose one of the strips, and write what you think the characters are saying.  Find someone to help you translate and see how well you guessed.  Try some more!

Vuelve a Casa:  More Difficult
Find Snoopy, Vuelve a Casa in the Guatemalan library.  Choose one of the strips, and try to translate what the characters are saying.  Find someone to help you discover how closer you were.  Try some more!


Earth:  The Making, Shaping and Workings of a Planet
Locate this book in the library, and read the chapter about “The Interior,” pages 30 to 61.  Report on a new thing learned about the forces of the Earth.




A Fragile Democracy
Read the article about “Guatemala’s Fragile Democracy” in the June 1988 National Geographic.  Predict how the future might have turned out.  Then research the current political landscape of Guatemala.  Has it changed?  How close were your predictions?  Are things better or are they worse?  What future do you now expect for Guatemala?  Report your conclusions.


Phantoms of the Night:  Jaguars
The largest cat in the Western Hemisphere is also the least studied of the great cats.  Scientists are gaining ground on the elusive jaguar, but it remains a moving target.  Find out what they know in the National Geographic, May 2001, page 32.  Report on your findings.


The Elusive Quetzal
In the pantheon of Mesoamerica towered Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent that bestowed corn on humankind.  The plumage of this god was that of an equally esteemed bird:  the Quetzal.  Breathtaking glimpses of the shimmering feathers of this bird are becoming increasingly.  Take a peek in this article in the National Geographic, June 1998, page 34.  Show what you observe.


Maya Heartland Under Siege
“Who cuts the trees as he pleases cuts short his own life.”  Guatemala’s heartland of the ancient Maya is wounded daily by chain saw and ax as forest is felled to make way for corn.  Learn about this environmental concern in the article in the November 1992 National Geographic, page 94.  Consider the consequences of man’s effect on the forests of Guatemala.  Research to see if things are worse now or better.   Perhaps you could make maps of the extent of the deforestation now compared to Mayan time, the time of this article, and today, Or, think about a plan to help save the world of the Maya.  Present your findings.



The Maya:  Children of Time
From the deeps of mystery they came, and in mystery their unique culture fell.  Scholars call them Maya.  Learn about these incredible people in an issue of National Geographic, December 1975, devoted just to them!  Read all these interesting articles and then produce an art project interpreting what you have learned.


The Maya Glory & Ruin:  Saga of a Civilization in Three Parts:
the rise, the monumental splendor, and the collapse.  The doomed splendor of te Maya unfolded against te backdrop of the rain forests of Central America.  Here, Maya civilization reached improbably heights?  What went wrong?  Find out by reading “The Violent Satga of a Maya Kingdom” (National Geographic, Feb. 1993, page 94) and “Maya:  How a Great Culture Rose and Fell” (National Geographic, Aug 2007, page 70) Reconstruct Mayan civilization: Build a temple, make a chart, write a play; use your imagination!


The Dawn of Maya Gods and Kings
New discoveries from a Guatemalen site, including a sacred mural and a royal burial, show that the Mayan lords of heaven and earth were in full command more than 2,000 years ago.  Learn about the lore and legend of the Maya.  See the articles “Sistine Chapel of the Early Maya” (National Geographic, Dec 2003, page 72) and “Maya Gods and Kings” (National Geographic, Jan 2006, age 68).  Report your findings.  Find a fun way to make that report.

Maya Artistry Unearthed
Tunnel into the heart of a Maya temple pyramid and find amazing masterpieces.  Look at the artwork of the Maya found in these National Geographic issues:  Feb 1995:  “Maya Masterpiece Revealed at Bonampak” page 50,  Aug 1981:  “Maya Art Treasures Discovered in Cave” page 220, Aug 2003:  “Royal City of the Maya” page 96, and Sep 1991:  “Maya Artistry Unearthed” page 94.  Choose a form of art used by the Maya and try a work of your own.  Share some of the history of the art that inspired you.

Descent into the Maya Underworld
To the Maya a cave is a portal to the underworld, Xibalba.  In the Maya cosmos, Xibalba is a complex realm, the dwelling place of monstrous supernatural beings but also the source of life-giving rain and corn, and the home of the beloved dead.  Discover Mayan amazing beliefs about Xibalba by reading these articles out of National Geographics:  “Watery Graves of the Maya” (Oct 2003, page 82), “The Royal Crypts of Copa” (Dec 1997, page 68), and “Into the Maya Underworld” (Nov 2004, page 36).  Be sure to tell the tale!

DECODING A MAYAN BOOK
Mayan documents, called “codices” were drawn in beautiful colors on fig-bark paper.  Mayans were experts in the arts and sciences and we can learn about their science as we interpret these codices.  The file in the Equipo Escolar has a long lesson plan to help you do this.  Begin with page one, and work through it, stopping at the hand symbol and do the activity described.  Share this activity.  See if you can work your whole way through this lesson plan, stopping at all the hand symbols, and become an expert at reading Mayan books!  (The answers are in the lesson plan, but see if you can figure them out for yourself.  It will be much more interesting and meaningful that way.  Then check your work.)




MAKING BASKETS:  THE STRUCTURAL PATTERNS OF WEAVING
This activity will introduce you to one of the oldest, most widespread crafts in the world and will give you the opportunity to see the mathematics and symmetries in the structures of two weaving techniques. The file in the Equipo Escolar has a long lesson plan to help you do this.  Begin with page one, and work through it, stopping at the hand symbol and do the activity described.  Share this activity.  See if you can work your whole way through this lesson plan, stopping at all the hand symbols, and become an expert at weaving!

MILCUENTOS: STORY TELLING
Listen to children reading in Spanish stories you already know.  Go to this website and then click on the picture to hear the story.  See if you can find “Peter and the Wolf.”  What other stories do you recognize?  Tell which stories you listened to, and see if you can re-tell them yourself – in English, of course!

Adelante, Charlie Brown:  More Difficult
Find Adelante, Charlie Brown in the Guatemalan library.  Choose one of the strips, and try to translate what the characters are saying.  Find someone to help you discover how closer you were.  Try some more!


THE SPORT OF LIFE AND DEATH:  THE MESOAMERICAN BALL GAME
Join this online journey into the spectacle of athletes and gods.  Share what you have experienced and learned. http://www.ballgame.org/main.asp?section=5

MAKE A PAPER FACE MASK
Design a symmetrical facemask based on symbolic animal images found in the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame.
The instructions are in Equipo Escolar.  Wear the mask and explain its symbolism and meaning in the “Sport of Life and Death.”
 
HEADRESS FOR A MESOMAMERICAN BALL PLAYER
Create a Headdress based on mythological images found in Mesoamerican ballgame artifacts.  Find instructions in the Equipo Escolar.  Wear your headdress and explain its symbolism and importance to the “Game of Life and Death.” 


MAYAN KIDS
Spend some time at this interactive web site and learn all about the Mayans!  Play one of the games and share your best score.  Share one new thing learned.  Be sure to explore all of the interesting sites!  Go to:

ANCIENT AMERICAS
Learn all about these amazing peoples. 
Be sure to click on the link for the Mayan Ball Game.  It has the picture of the Mayan ruins.  Share what you have learned.  Did you hear the Howler monkey?
 
The Articulate Object
Enjoy the active process of looking, questioning and investigating an object left for us by the Ancient Americans.  Look in the Equipo Escolar to find this object and the instructions for its analysis.  What amazing answers will you find?  Share those facts you have learned.


Explore the Mayan Empire with a clickable map
Click on "Reading Maya hieroglyphs" for an activity to interpret Mayan hieroglyphs.








CALENDAR COUNT
If someone asks you when your birth date was, you probably answer them by giving them a month, day, and year.  But that’s not the only way to record passing time.  Different cultures have used different calendar systems to mark time.  One such system used by the Maya culture is called the Maya Long Count.  In this activity, you’ll figure out your birth date in Maya Long Count.  Find the instructions in the Equipo Escolar.  Tell your birth date!
 
COLLAPSE:  THE MAYA
The Maya once occupied a vast area in Central America.  Maya civilization produced awe-inspiring temples and pyramids, accurate calendars, mathematics and hieroglyphic writing, and a complex social and political order. Looking at its impressive remains, it's hard to imagine how it could collapse.  Clues can be found at Copán, a Maya royal center.  In spite of its wealth, power, and size, Copán collapsed. No monuments seem to have been produced after A.D. 822. Does this mean that the collapse was sudden? Or did the society collapsed more gradually? To explore why Copán collapsed, try an archaeological activity and discover what scientists recently found. Share your Copan journal.


ARCHAEOLOGY
Many ruins from the ancient cultures of Central America are now the stuff of postcard images. But have you ever wondered what they looked like before they were excavated, when the jungle had taken root and trees masked the structures beneath? Take a journey back through time, and examine some famous ruins, before and after. Click on any of the thumbnail images to see the full views, and captions with more information.  Make a presentation about your findings.

DISCOVERY:  THE AMERICAS
Find out why explorers risked their lives, how they navigated and the maps they used.  This interactive site was built for British students by the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.  Americans can explore, too!  Report what you have found.

 
RED HOT VOLCANO
Beneath the Earth’s crust lies a hot, deep layer of rock called the mantle.  Some of the mantle is molten, or melted.  It forms a hot, flowing substance called magma.  Discover this exciting story.  Work through all the pages and watch the videos.  At the end, be sure to take the Red Hot Volcano quiz.  Keep track of how well you did and report.





OUT OF THE INFERNO:  VOLCANOS 
No geological phenomenon assails our senses quite like a volcanic eruption.  Stay close enough, and you can hear the explosion, see the fire fountaining, smell the gases, feel the ground tremble, taste the ash in your mouth.  Read all about this amazing experience.
Then be sure to watch the animation:  click on “Animation” just after Sidebar Three.  Could you imagine actually being there?  Report what it would be like.

HOT LAVA!
Different kinds of lava differ in their viscosity, and lava's viscosity influences how quickly it flows. Experiment with three different liquids to determine the relative viscosity and flow rate of each liquid.  Share your results.  Instructions are in Equipo Escolar.
 
SUPERVOLCANO
What’s under Yellowstone?  The world’s first national park sits atop one f the largest active volcanoes on earth.  Peek below ground and learn all about it at: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/supervolcano.html
Also learn about other volcanoes and tour the virtual supervolcano to see how a supervolcano is born.  Make a super report.

RAINFOREST HEROES
A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1500 species of flowering plants. Learn facts like this about rainforests.
First click on “About Rainforests” to discover all kinds of interesting facts, and then click on “Jungle Gym” to see how you do at remembering that information!  Make a poster.  You can get ideas by clicking on the poster contest icon on the home page.

PASSPORT TO THE RAINFOREST
What are rainforests, and why are they
found where they are?  Maps and graphics set rainforests in a planetary perspective. What are rainforests, and why are they found where they are? Maps and graphics set rainforests in a planetary perspective.
You will also find a gallery of images and information on the trees, plants, birds, animals and insects of the rainforest. This is a place to find out about the organisms and issues we’ll
encounter on this virtual expedition.  You can also meet researchers in the field and the multimedia production crew who use satellites and online connections to erase the miles between you and the rainforest.
Biographies and Field Journals from scientists and special student correspondents take you “behind the screens.”


 
WORRY DOLLS
In Guatemala, tiny worry dolls are made out of scrap materials. Before children go to bed, they tell their worries to their dolls, one at a time. They believe the dolls take away their worries while they sleep. Often six dolls are kept together in a tiny wooden box. The dolls, about 11/4 inches tall, are made with wire with paper wrapped around, and yarn or cloth scraps wrapped on for clothing.  Find the instructions in Equipo Escolar.




MAYA ADVENTURE
Travel to a site by selecting a red  on the map. Explore each site, try fun experiments, and fill your logbook with records of your adventure!  Your log book is in Equipo Escolar. 

GLOBAL GANG GOES TO GUATEMALA
Guatemala is a very beautiful country in Central America. One of its cities, Antigua, is surrounded by three volcanoes.  Join the gang as they explore that beautiful land.  You will find lots of information, animations, learning games, and other useful ideas.  Have fun and tell us what you found.


MAYA ADVENTURE
Travel to a site by selecting a red  on the map. Explore each site, try fun experiments, and fill your logbook with records of your adventure!  Your logbook is in Equipo Escolar.  Begin your adventure at: http://www.smm.org/sln/ma/map.html



GLOBAL GANG GOES TO GUATEMALA
Guatemala is a very beautiful country in Central America. One of its cities, Antigua, is surrounded by three volcanoes.  Join the gang as they explore that beautiful land.  You will find lots of information, animations, learning games, and other useful ideas.  Have fun and tell us what you found.
http://www.globalgang.org.uk/homeworkhelp/guatemala/

All of these are typed as of Feb 7 2008
 
RED HOT VOLCANO
Beneath the Earth’s crust lies a hot, deep layer of rock called the mantle.  Some of the mantle is molten, or melted.  It forms a hot, flowing substance called magma.  To discover this exciting story go to this site. Work through all the pages and watch the videos.  At the end, be sure to take the Red Hot Volcano quiz.  Keep track of how well you did and report.


EXPLORING GUATEMALA
Using only MapMachine, write a report on what you imagine life is like in Guatemala. Once the reports is complete, use other resources (books, magazines, etc.) to evaluate your work. Compare the information you learned from MapMachine, with what you found in other resources.


Explore the challenges facing Guatemala using Eye in the Sky features. Would you want to live there? Why or why not? Work on creating a week’s worth of journal entries from a person of your age living in that region of the world.  Be sure to explore all the sites there giving all the information about Guatemala you can find.
 
FIND AN ACTIVE VOLCANO
What's happening this week in the world of volcanoes? Drop in and find out.
Smithsonian: Weekly Volcanic Activity Report?
Especially look for volanoes in Guatemala.  Are Santa Maria and Fuego still active?  Find them on the maps and learn about what types of volcanoes they are.  Report on what you find.


21ST CENTURY EXPLORER THEME SONG
Listen to the music at this site.  (It takes a long time to load.)  Be sure and use your headphones!  What is its message?  How did it make you feel?  Was it a good choice as a theme song?  And why are some of the words in Spanish?  Could you tell what was being said?  Could you follow along the written words with the ones sung?  Did it help to hear the song in English and then try to follow along in Spanish?  After you have listened, be sure and express your ideas.


OF WRECKS AND RUINS
Read Kids Discover:  Archaeology found in the biblioteca and learn about the art and science of discovering ancient civilizations, like the Maya.  Then choose one of these activities:  1) What a Find!  2)  What Is It? Or 3) Make a Scale Drawing.  You can look at the pictures in the magazine to help give you clues, but use the copies of these activities found in the Equipo Escolar for writing or drawing your solutions.  Show it to your teacher.
 
LANGUAGE: 6,703 LIVING LANGUAGES, 1 HALF-DEAD
Read Kids Discover:  Language in the biblioteca.  Learn all about human language development.  Then choose one of activities:  1) Answer these questions:  What do you think were the first sounds of human speech?  What would you call your theory?  2) Riddle Time:  How many of these different kinds of word riddles can you answer?  3) Alphabet Challenge:  Find an object that begins with each letter of the alphabet.  4)  Create Your Own Eponyms, or 4)  What Are They?  Match each word or phrase with its definition. You can look at the pictures in the magazine to help give you clues, but use the copies of the activities found in the Equipo Escolar for writing or drawing your solutions.  Show it to your teacher.



GEONET
Click on the map of the world, then on the map of North America.  Play all the games and report your GeoTrekker score, and record it in your DailyLog.  If you like, you can try all the maps and see how much you can learn!  Can you beat Mrs. Winzenried’s score?



E-WORDS in SOCIAL STUDIES

It is more fun to play than it is to type!  Go here  to show  how much you know about Central America and it’s people.  Show how fast you can win this game.  Keep the record in your DailyLog

COLLAPSE:  WHY DO CIVILIZATIONS FALL?
Classic Maya civilization was collapsing.  Why did this great civilization fall? The history of humankind has been marked by patterns of growth and decline. What does this mean for modern civilizations? What can we learn from the past?  Explore the collapse of four ancient civilizations. Learn what happens when a society collapses and how archaeologists find and interpret evidence. You can visit the Maya city of Copán and search for clues to its collapse.  Print your journal with interpretations and observations.  Share it with an adult.

MYSTERY OF THE MAYA
Deep within the jungles of Guatemala lie the temples and palaces of the Maya. While Europe slumbered in the Dark Ages, these innovative people charted the heavens, evolved the only true writing system native to the Americas and were masters of mathematics and calendrics. They were able to construct vast cities with an astonishing degree of architectural perfection and variety. Their legacy in stone lives on as do the seven million descendants of the classic Maya civilization.  Click on Maya civilization and People of the Jaguar to explore all the links.  Prepare a report.

ARTS & ARCHITECTURE
Click on the Guatemalan cities on this map and explore photographs and descriptions of the different arts and architectures of the ancient Maya.  Prepare to build or make something that is inspired by what you see.  Choose your materials, construct your artifact, and then share it.  Go to this site for inspiration
 
STORYTELLER’S TALES
Choose one of these sites and read the Maya stories.  Then select one story and illustrate it.  Become a storyteller yourself by telling the story in your own words while you show your pictures.
Rabbit stories or Cautionary tales





PAINTING
Markets are an integral part of life for the Maya. It is where food is bought, where a family will sell the extra tomatoes they have, and where women will buy their cortes [traditional skirts], cooking pots and most other household items. It is one place where friends and neighbors will meet and talk. Look at paintings about markets  Enlarge each picture by clicking on it.  Notice the colors, lines, styles, and similarities, along with the differences.  Try to imitate this style as you paint your family going shopping.  Show your painting and tell about how it is the same and how it is different from the ones painted by modern Maya artists.

IN SEARCH OF MAYA TIME
Understanding a different calendar from our own might seem like an impossible task, especially if the only symbols are a series of glyphs.  However, most of these have now been interpreted, so we can process nearly all the information on the calendar.  At the end of this exercise, you will be able to effortlessly read their calendar!  Find a Maya calendar and explain it to an adult.
 

MUNDO MAYA
This site is full of fun and interesting facts about the Maya.  Visit each one, and then choose one about which to make a report.  Do some research to help prepare your report on this topic.  Include illustrations!  We look forward to learning about the ancient Maya.






WHO WERE THE MAYA?
The mysterious ancient Maya people of Guatemala are beginning to give up their secrets.  Go to site to learn about them.  Make a report of what you have learned.  Choose one aspect of Maya civilization for you to explore further to add to your report. 






WHO ARE THE MAYA?
While the Maya civilization died, the Maya people did not.  Go to this site to learn about the people of the Maya and how they live today.  After searching through the site, prepare a report about the life of the Maya in today’s world.  Be sure to make a presentation!
www.mayadiscovery.com/ing/life/default.htm
 

Casa de Los Artistas
Explore the cultural life of the Guatemalans.  Go to this site and learn about some of the artistic expressions of Guatemalan people.  Choose an art form and try to create your own version of these traditional arts.  Share this with an adult.





 
VOLCANO EXPLORER
Volcanoes are pressure valves that release energy from deep within the Earth.  Beautiful and powerful, awe-inspiring and deadly, they are spectacular reminders of the dynamic forces that continually shape our planet.  Learn about these forces by reading pages 182 to 183 of Usborne Science Encyclopedia.  Then go to volcano explorer
After you enter the site, click on the menu items on the left to learn more about these pressure valves.  Finally, build your own volcanoes, experimenting with different gas and viscosity levels.  Make a report to an adult.



FORCES OF NATURE
What makes a volcano spew fire and stone?
Find out, and then set off your own eruption.  When you have finished, report to an adult what you learned and what you saw.  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive/index.html?section=v