Central and South America Introduction to the region – additional information History of the region The Mayans The classical period of Mayan culture lasted for six centuries and then collapsed for reasons that have never been explained. Theories range from an epidemic to bad farming methods that exhausted the land, to clear-cutting that led to climate change. The collapse happened very quickly – Mayan cities thrived at the beginning of the ninth century and were abandoned by its end. The only surviving written record of Mayan history is three codes written in heiroglyphs on bark paper. Aztecs The Aztec civilization is the name given to a group of city states in central Mexico that controlled most of Central America from the twelfth century until the Spanish invasion in the fifteenth century. The capital city of the Aztecs was at Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City, and their empire covered almost all of modern day Mexico. The state language was Nahuátl. Written records were kept on bark cloth manuscripts (most of which were destroyed by the Spanish). Religion was extremely important to the Aztecs. They worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses, each of whom ruled over one or more human activity, or aspect of nature. There were frequent human sacrifices (part of their military and ritual activities) although it is likely that these were exaggerated by the Spanish invaders. The Spanish Conquest The Spanish conquest of Mexico refers to the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Spaniard Hernándo Cortés, from 1519-1521. A Spanish force of 600 men led by Cortés overturned an empire of 2 million. The Spanish had horses and guns; the Aztecs had neither. Cortés landed in Mexico, made friends with the enemies of the Aztecs, and attacked Tenochtitlan, where the legend of ‘the pale god from over the sea’ aroused a mixture of fear and reverence in the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma. Cortés, after having Montezuma murdered, took control of the Aztec Empire with relatively few men.

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Mexico • The capital city of Mexico is Mexico City. Mexico City is the largest city in the world. Its location is very strange for a capital city; sited on a marsh in a lake bottom ringed by mountains and prone to earthquakes. • In the Central Highlands region of Mexico there are many volcanoes. Two volcanoes can be seen from Mexico City: Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. Both of these are inactive, although Popocatépetl sends up steam and smoke occasionally. • Mexico City was built on the site of the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, destroyed by the Spanish when they conquered Mexico. When Tenochtitlan was invaded by Cortés in 1519-21, it was a flower-covered, whitewashed city, five times as large as London was at the time. • The main language in Mexico is Spanish. • Roman Catholicism is the main religion. • Corn, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, tobacco and livestock are all grown in Mexico. • The main industries are oil, silver, gold, steel, textiles, tourism and fishing. • Mariachi refers to a particular style of music heard in Mexico, and also to the band that plays that music. Its instruments include trumpets, violins, guitars, harp, and the guitar-like vihuela. Among the Mexican music played by Mariachis there are famous tunes like La Bamba and La Cucaracha. Mariachi bands play at national celebrations, public parties and fiestas.

Nicaragua • Nicaragua is a democratic republic in Central America. • Managua is the capital city, around which 90% of the population live. • Almost 20% of the country consists of national parks and biological reserves. • The main language is Spanish. • Roman Catholicism is the main religion. • Nicaragua has always been famous for its poetry in the Hispanic world. The first Latin American ever nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature was a Nicaraguan poet, Salomón de la Selva. • A recent economic crisis has greatly increased child poverty: 85% of children under 14 years old are considered to be in poverty. 1 in 3 children suffer from chronic malnutrition and many live on the streets.

Rainforests • Rainforests cover less than 6% of the earth’s total land surface. • Rainforests have three to four different levels: - The emergent layer (top most level where tops of the tallest trees are as tall as 45 metres) - The canopy (tops of trees ranging 18-28 metres tall) - The understory (trees of up to 15 metres tall, trunks of canopy trees, new trees) - The forest floor (branches, roots, leaves, little vegetation, thin layer of soil) • A third of all the birds in the world live in rainforests. • Birds, bats and insects are the main means of spreading seeds throughout the forest floor. • A rainforest can have more ants than any other living thing. • Rainforests are home for up to three-quarters of all known species of plants and animals. Thirty million species of plants and animals live in the world’s rainforests. • Two thirds of the world’s plants are found in rainforests. • Thunderstorms, on average, occur on 200 days of each year which causes the atmosphere to be very humid.

Introduction to the region – activites

• The mystery of the Mayan’s disappearance: Explore other societies or groups that have vanished, for example, what happened to the last inhabitants of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roanoke settlement, off the coast of North Carolina? Investigate different types of evidence. • Use a variety of world map types to find out more about life in this region and to make comparisons with another place. For example, you could use maps to show: - human population density - land elevation - July temperature - January temperature - vegetation types. • Research the following areas and make a PowerPoint presentation to show others your findings: - climate and weather patterns - landscapes and landforms - plants and animals - how people live.

The Amazon rainforest and river • The Amazon is the largest and densest rainforest on earth. • The Amazon rainforest covers an area of 2.5 million square miles. • Its vegetation represents about a third of the remaining forest on earth and provides about 15% of the world’s oxygen. • Scientists have catalogued: - 2 500 species of fish - 1 500 species of birds - 1 800 species of butterflies - 4 types of big cats - 200 species of mosquitoes - 50 000 species of plants living in the Amazon rainforest. • Each minute the Amazon river discharges 3.4 million gallons of water into the Atlantic Ocean. • The Amazon river runs 4 007 miles from its source in the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean, making it the second longest river on earth. During its journey it travels through eight different countries.

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Texts

This unit contains three poems and three prose pieces from Central and South America. It also offers contextualisation and a number of additional activities. Use the activity sheets on pages 14–17 to support the notepad activities. The assessment foci linked to each Writer’s room activity will be useful when assessing a range of pupils’ work for the purposes of APP. Text

Notepad and Writer’s room activities

Poem 1: The Moon is Yours by Jaime Sabines (Mexico)

to consider the importance of layout in poetry to identify techniques writers use to engage the reader to write a poetic description that goes beyond the literal

Poem 2: The Cedar Chest by Rosario Castellanos (Mexico)

to identify how poets use alliteration

Poem 3: The People in Poverty by Gloria Guevara (Nicaragua)

to identify the images that highlight a theme

Prose 1: How Music Was Fetched out of Heaven (Aztec myth)

to consider how and why writers use personification

to present information about yourself in different ways

to write a formal letter with a specific purpose

Prose 3 : The Pilgrim Dogs by Quetzalcoatl Vizuel (Mexico)

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AF1, AF2, AF7

AF3, AF4

The Moon is Yours by Jaime Sabines (Mexico) Science • Find out about the phases of the moon. Investigate the question: What is the dark side of the moon? Why is it called this? • In groups, research the Apollo space missions, and make a PowerPoint presentation about them to show at assembly. English • Following your research, write a diary entry for one of the members of Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission. History • Research the belief in moon gods and godesses in ancient societies, such as the Greek goddesses Selene and Phoebe, or the Egyptian god Thoth. What was their significance? Make a class book of your findings.

The Cedar Chest by Rosario Castellanos (Mexico) AF2, AF3, AF6, AF7

to make links between poetry and prose to use the main features of a myth in narrative writing

Prose 2: Bufeo Colorado by Saviour Pirotta (Amazon region)

Assessment focus

Cross-curricular activities

AF2, AF6, AF7

to identify how writers keep the reader’s interest to write about an imagined creature to use the main features of a myth in narrative writing

AF1, AF7

to compare customs around the world

AF3, AF4, AF5

Science • Find out about the world location and habitat of cedar trees. Design and technology/Maths (shape and space) • Research the construction of different boxes: lids, hinges etc, drawing diagrams, making sketches and taking photographs. Use this information to design and make your own wooden chest or box. • Look at a range of everyday objects from your home or classroom. Find out what materials and natural resources have been used to make them. Take photographs and cut out pictures from magazines and images from the Internet. Display the objects on large sheets of paper, writing all the natural resources needed to make the object, around the edge.

The People in Poverty by Gloria Guevara (Nicaragua) PSHE • Find out more about the lives of ‘The People in Poverty’ by writing to different world charities, such as CAFOD (Catholic Action for Overseas Development – www. cafod.org.uk) and Oxfam (www.oxfam.org), or to the World Health Organisation (www.who.int), asking how you can help. • Organise a fundraising event in school, designing posters to raise awareness of child poverty.

How Music was Fetched Out of Heaven (Aztec myth) History • Research Aztec gods, to discover their significance in Aztec society. Compare them with the gods of Ancient Greece, listing the similarities and differences. • Compare the Aztec beliefs about the universe with modern scientific knowledge. Design and technology • Research Aztec masks and their uses. Make a range of masks to represent the gods in the myth. Music • Music is an important means of communication in Mexico. Talk about the importance of music in your lives: when and why do you listen to music? Organise group discussions, making notes under headings: ‘Times I listen’, ‘What I am doing’ and ‘How the music makes me feel’.

Bufeo Colorado by Saviour Pirotta (Amazon region) Science • Investigate the plant origins of modern medicines, linking this to the importance of conserving the rainforest. • Make a ‘rainforest food chain’ mobile. Arrange downwards in this order: Sun > Producer (plant) > Consumers (herbivores and carnivores). • Make a ‘rainforest in a bottle’, planting mosses, ferns and other plants that thrive in damp environments. Cover with clingfilm and keep in a warm place. Maths • Find out statistics for rainforest plants, animals and insects. Experiment with different ways of presenting this information.

The Pilgrim Dogs by Quetzalcoatl Vizuel (Mexico) History • Research the significance of dogs in ancient Mexico. Science • Research the origins of different breeds of dogs and how they are physically adapted to their environment. Display on a chart with headings: Breed and Adaptation.

• Use music with contrasting moods e.g. Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Bach’s Air on the G String to inspire ‘mood’ paintings. • Consider the times when we celebrate occasions with song, for example: birthdays, Christmas, hymns, school assemblies, world football songs. Record some examples. Listen and discuss ways in which music and lyrics reflect the mood of the occasion. • Research Mexican musical instruments: which are most commonly used and why? Is their use linked with particular occasions? Art • Find the description of the four musicians, and use as a basis for a large collage or painting. The whole story could be represented as a series of paintings and used as a prompt for storytelling

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Central and South America: Activity sheet 1 Rainforests Working in pairs, use atlases to help you mark the world’s rainforests and their rivers on the map below.

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BBC Active World Writing

Central and South America: Activity sheet 2 Rainforests Use Internet-based research and topic books to list rainforest animals and their importance to rainforest life, and plants and their uses. Use your information as the basis for a class discussion on the importance of these living things, both locally and globally.

BBC Active World Writing

Animals

Importance

Plants

Uses

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Curriculum grid Page title

Learning objective

National Curriculum objective

Primary National Strategy objective

The mystery of the Mayans’ disappearance

To explore Mayan society

History 3: pupils should be taught to recognise that the past is represented and interpreted in different ways, and to give reasons for this

The Mayans: Lost cities and palaces

To explore Mayan society

En3 Writing 2a: plan – note and develop initial ideas

Mexico City

To find out about Mexico City

En3 Writing 1c: use language and style that are appropriate to the reader Geography 3a: to identify and describe what places are like History 5c: communicate their knowledge of history in a variety of ways

Everyday life in a Mexican village

To find out about everyday life in a Mexican village

En1 Speaking 3a: make contributions relevant to the topic and take turns in discussion History 2a: about characteristic features of the periods and societies studied, including the ideas, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children in the past

Y3, S3: Actively include and respond to all members of the group

The Moon is Yours by Jaime Sabines

To identify different techniques writers use to engage the reader

En2 Reading 4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary and patterns of language 4f: consider poetic forms and their effects 4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud

Y4, S7: Explain how writers use figurative and expressive language to create images and atmosphere Y5, S7: Explore how writers use language for comic and dramatic effect

The Cedar Chest by Rosario Castellanos

To identify different techniques writers use to engage the reader

En2 Reading 4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary and patterns of language 4f: consider poetic forms and their effects 4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud Design and technology 1a: generate ideas for products after thinking about who will use them and what they will be used for, using information from a number of sources, including ICT-based sources

Y5 and 6, S 7 and 8

Alliteration

To identify how poets use alliteration

En2 Reading 4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary and patterns of language

Y5, S7: Explore how writers use language for comic and dramatic effect

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Page title

Learning objective

National Curriculum objective

Primary National Strategy objective

The People in Poverty by Gloria Guevara

To identify the images that highlight a theme

En2 Reading 4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary and patterns of language 4f: consider poetic forms and their effects 4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud PSHE 2e: to reflect on spiritual, moral, social, and cultural issues, using imagination to understand other people’s experiences

Y3, S8: Identify features that writers use to provoke readers’ reactions Y6, S7: Understand underlying themes, causes and points of view

Writer’s room

To present information about yourself in different ways To write a formal letter with a specific purpose

En3 Writing 1a: choose form and content to suit a particular purpose 1b: broaden their vocabulary and use it in inventive ways 1c: use language and style that are appropriate to the reader 1e: use features of layout, presentation and organisation effectively

Y4, S9: Summarise and shape material and ideas from different sources to write convincing and informative non-narrative texts Y4, S9: Choose and combine words, images and other features for particular effects Y6, S9: Integrate words, images and sounds imaginatively or for different purposes Y6, progression to Y7: Independently write and present a text with the reader and purpose in mind

The Aztecs and their gods

To find out about the Aztecs and their gods

History 2a: about characteristic features of the periods and societies studied, including the ideas, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children in the past

Y3, S9: Use layout, format, graphics and illustrations for different purposes

How Music Was Fetched out of Heaven An Aztec myth

To consider how and why writers use personification

En2 Reading 4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary and patterns of language 4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud History 2a: about characteristic features of the periods and societies studied, including the ideas, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children in the past Music 4d: how time and place can influence the way music is created, performed and heard

Y3, 8: Identify features that writers use to provoke readers’ reactions Y4, S7: Explain how writers use figurative and expressive language to create images and atmosphere Y5, S7: Explore how writers use language for comic and dramatic effects Y5, S8: Compare how a common theme is presented in poetry and prose

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Page title

Learning objective

National Curriculum objective

Primary National Strategy objective

Amazon rainforest

To find out about the Amazon rainforest

Geography 3a: to identify and describe what places are like

Geography QCA SoW: Unit 16, How people affect the environment

Bufeo Colorado by Saviour Pirotta

Identify how writers keep the reader’s interest

En2 Reading 4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary and patterns of language 4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud Sc2 Life processes and living things 5d: to use food chains to show feeding relationships in a habitat

Y3, S7: Identify and make notes of the main points of section(s) of text Y4, S8: Interrogate texts to deepen and clarify understanding and response Y6, S7: Understand how writers use different structures to create coherence and impact

Choice of language

To explore the reasons for a writer’s choice of language

En2 Reading 4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary and patterns of language 4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud

Y6, S7: Understand how writers use different structures to create coherence and impact

Saviour Pirotta

To find out about a contemporary writer

En2 Reading 8a: read a range of modern fiction by significant children’s authors

Saviour Pirotta: Folk tales and myths

To find out about a contemporary writer

En2 Reading 8a: read a range of modern fiction by significant children’s authors

The Pilgrim Dogs by Quetzalcoatl Vizuel

To identify main clauses

En2 Reading 4a: recognise the choice, use and effect of figurative language, vocabulary and patterns of language 4i: read stories, poems and plays aloud Sc2 Life processes and living things 5c: how animals and plants in two different habitats are suited to their environment

Y3, S7: Identify and make notes of the main points of section(s) of text Y6, S7: Understand how writers use different structures to create coherence and impact

Writer’s room

To use the main features of a myth in narrative writing

En3 Writing 1a: choose form and content to suit a particular purpose 1b: broaden their vocabulary and use it in inventive ways 1c: use language and style that are appropriate to the reader 1e: use features of layout, presentation and organisation effectively

Y5, S9: Experiment with different narrative forms and styles to write their own fiction

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