Art

This guide provides information regarding Mayan Calendars and activities that help facilitate understanding of the use of Mayan calendars. Within you'll find an overview of Maya calendars, the 2012 phenomenon, enrich activities for 4-5th and 6th-7th grades, as well as recommended web links for further extension on the topic. An excerpt from the book "Mysteries of the Maya Calendar Museum" is included at the end and is used to help youth understand the start of a new Maya calendar. Images are included towards the end of the document showing different figures represented on Maya calendars. For access to the document email our Outreach Coordinator Clea Conlin at cconlin@email.arizona.edu.

This guide provides background and activities relating to the book "Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book". The book can be found at the CLAS Library and checked out if needed. Many questions are provided for teacher's to hold a discussion with students. This guide will assist teacher's in teaching about traditions in Mexico such as day of the dead, traditional Mexican foods and Mexican motifs. Email our Outreach Director Clea Conlin at cconlin@email.arizona.edu for the guide.

This teacher's guide accompanies the book "Grandma and Me at the Flea" which can be found in the CLAS library. This document provides teacher's with background on the author and artist of the book, as well as different activities to help students relate the book to topics such as vocabulary, economics, reading comprehension, social studies, art, math, science and more.

Students will write a story about either themselves or someone they know but in song form. Students will first listen to a Corrido and then begin writing one themselves. A sample of corrido music will be needed to play for the students. Students will make the link between language arts and music within Mexico in the form of Corridos.

This unit includes three lesson plans that are meant to expose students to the diverse population of Mexico comparing it to the United States, have students learn and sing traditional songs of Mexico including the nation anthem, have students memorize simple Spanish vocabulary, allows students to cook Mexican dishes by reading recipes and allow students to create a class mural in the style of traditional Mexican artists. Overall these three lesson plans are a great way to not only introduce but inform students about a variety of topics within Mexico.

The objective of this activity is to learn about the Mexican diet by preparing and tasting some popular Mexican foods. An easy way to immerse students in Mexican culture.

The Yaqui people believe in an enchanted world called the "Flower World" always filled with animals and beautiful flowers. Flowers are a very important part of any Yaqui celebration. The Yaqui people are located within Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico. Students will earn how to make Yaqui paper flowers and immerse themselves in the Yaqui culture through art.

Students will learn about Mexican paper cutting, a tradition within Mexican culture and how make their own patterns, creating their own masterpiece. This a fun way to immerse younger ages in Mexican culture.

Students will learn about the different plants and animals that are in the desert by making cubes with drawings of different native plants and animals around in the squares of the cube. Included is a recipe for tepary beans, a bean native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico grown in Pre-columbian times, either to make as a class or for students to bring home to their families. This lesson helps emerge students in the biodiversity and culture of the region which once all belonged to Mexico.

This document contains four activities that promote knowledge and awareness of the animals living on the border of the United States and Mexico. Through making the Sonoran desert animals and participating in a related class discussion, students will begin to understand how the border may affect the animals living there and their habitats.