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Social Studies, Science, Language Arts
To acquire knowledge of the Maya Indian culture through the use of literature, reference materials, and technology.
This project demonstrates elements of the Illinois Academic Standards:
The project lasts two months, starting mid-February and continuing through mid-April, and includes the use of Mayaquest on the Internet. The study and research of the Maya Indians will take place during Social Studies class, four forty-five minute periods per week; during Computer class, one forty-five minute period per week; and Library Skills class, one thirty minute period every other week
25 students, 5/6 th grade, 2 gifted/talented clusters, 4 bilingual
Students will learn to use the Internet for research and e-mail, to participate
in all aspects of Mayaquest
a nd to demonstrate their knowledge of the use of the Internet and
HyperStudio, and of the Maya Indians, by creating a multimedia presentation
and a visual product.
The students will be assessed on their abilities to access information from the Internet, on their participation in Mayaquest, and on their creativity in producing a product using HyperStudio and a visual aide. The students will then, in their journals, reflect on what they experienced while working on this project, as well as what they learned about the Maya Indians.
The evaluation of the project will be determined by the experiences of the students. This is a rather large undertaking, but I believe it will go relatively smoothly. The one part of this project that I would change would be to make sure that the students know the technology before starting. Learning how to use the Internet and HyperStudio, at the same time as learning the material, is probably going to be somewhat difficult given the time line and the limited use of the computers.