Focus: In this unit (Unit 6 for schools using the CKHG™ series in Sequence grade-level order), students explore the wave of independence movements that led to the liberation of French, Spanish, and Portuguese Latin American colonies, beginning in the late 1700s and lasting into the early 1900s. Generally, these colonies had rigid class systems, with wealthy landowners controlling large tracts of land and poor workers providing the labor. But by 1830, most Latin American nations had won their independence from European colonial governments, with the help of leaders like Toussaint L’Ouverture in Haiti, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in Mexico, Simón Bolívar in Venezuela, and José de San Martín in Argentina. Students also learn that while many of these revolutions brought about new political and personal freedoms, independence proved easier to achieve than political stability. Almost every Latin American country has experienced the same cycle of government control by caudillos (regional strongmen), revolution, civil war, and violence.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 45 minutes each daily. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: social studies • nonfiction• informational text • geography • map skills • colonialism • indigenous people • Creoles • mestizos • enslaved people • class system • St. Domingue • Hispaniola • Toussaint L’Ouverture • Haitian rebellion • Jean Jacques Dessalines • Mexico • Querétaro • Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla • Ignacio Allende • José María Morelos • Agustin de Iturbide • General Santa Anna • Benito Juarez • Pancho Villa • Emiliano Zapata • Simón Bolívar • Francisco de Miranda • New Granada • Venezuela • Gran Colombia • Buenos Aires • Río de la Plata • Chile • José de San Martín • Brazil • King João VI • Pedro I
CKHG Grade Levels: 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. This particular unit falls in Grade 6 in the Core Knowledge Sequence. In other settings, individual CKHG units may be used as supplemental resources. In general, the content and presentation in the CKHG units for Grade 6 are appropriate for students in Grade 6 and up.
