Focus: In this Grade 1 Core Knowledge History and Geography unit students explore Mexico, a country with a rich and varied heritage combining Native American, Spanish, and other influences to create the vibrant culture that it enjoys today.
The unit’s five chapters introduce students to the diverse physical geography and history of Mexico. They will see modern cities built on the ruins of ancient civilizations and travel from beautiful beaches to towering volcanoes. They will learn about celebrations such as the Day of the Dead, discover mariachi music, and listen to a Mexican folktale.
Additional Search Terms: social studies • geography • map skills • informational text • Mexico • Tenochtitlán • Aztec • Yucatán Peninsula • Mount Popocatépetl • Day of the Dead • Cinco de Mayo • piñata • mariachi • Coyote • folktale
CKHG units are correlated to topics at the grade levels specified in the Core Knowledge Sequence, which allows students in schools following the Sequence to build knowledge grade by grade. In other settings, individual CKHG units may be used as supplemental resources. In general, the content and presentation in the CKHG units for Grades K-2 are appropriate for students in the lower elementary grades.The Culture of Mexico Student Book is intended to be read aloud by the teacher as the students look at images on each page.
We have intentionally left the pacing and timing needed to teach the content presented in the Teacher Guide and Student Book very flexible. Teachers can choose how much they read aloud and discuss in a single instructional period, as well as how often each week they use the CKHG materials.
