Why Learning?

What Learning? Learning Outcome The students will be able to identify Mayan long count calendars verbally and in writing 4 out of 5 times

Where Learning? Learning Activity Look at pictures of Mayan calendars. Ask them key questions about what they see in the pictures.

Core Curriculum Speaking and Listening Standards: Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

Why is this the best way to learn it? Research Visual Discovery Activities and Blooms taxonomy questions for critical thinking.

How showing learning? Assessment Show students calendars of todays time in comparison to Maya time. Gain knowledge of how well the group does as a whole, allowing them to indicate between the two calendars. Their note sheet from the video will be turned in and graded for accuracy.

Speaking and Listening Standards: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

The students will also be able to answer key questions 5 out of 7 times about the calendar in writing using comprehension skills.

Speaking and Listening Standards: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics in small or large groups.

Students will be able to gain new insight by collaborating with peers and by filling out the worksheet, getting the worksheet 100% correct.

Students will watch a short video regarding the Mayan Calendar and listen for answers to the questions on the worksheet that they will have to fill out throughout the video clip. Students will talk to each other often to discuss questions about the Mayan calendar

Multiple Intelligences (visual-spatial, linguistic), Visual Discovery, Interactive Student Notebooks.

Visual Discovery, Multiple Intelligences (interpersonal, linguistic, logicalmathematical).

Students will fill out a worksheet that has them calculate their birthday using the Mayan Long Count Calendar that will be graded for accuracy.

Grade 1: Early American Civilizations Materials

Computer with internet access Document with images of calendar Video on Maya calendar Video Worksheet Pencils Reading on Maya Calendar Worksheet on Maya long count calendar

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Procedures
1) Students will get in a semi-circle on the front carpet in front of the SMARTBoard with a set of lights off. This creates a positive environment and assures that all students will be able to see what is in front of them. Images of the Mayan Calendar will be shown and students can pair up and talk to each other about key questions such as: What do you notice is different about these images? Why do you think they look different? What do you think this is used for? What do you see? This will allow them to critically think while discussing with a partner. 2) After a few minutes, allow students to tell you what they think they are looking at. It will be hard for them because they most likely have never seen anything like the Mayan Calendar before. Give them time to think but then tell them that they are looking at the Mayan version of the calendar. Throughout this min-activity, you can gain a sense of who is participating while trying to figure out what the image is. It is important to understand that the students at an individual level in order to differentiate the amount of time given to them. Which calendar would you rather use? 3) After short discussions with peers, come together in a group again and ask these questions to the whole group. It will be easier for them to talk about it this time because they conversed with peers. Students should come up to the SMARTBoard and point to different things that they notice. Read them an excerpt or two (highlighted) that are in relation to the important of the Mayan Calendar. This will give them a lead into the video. 4) After this activity, students will listen and watch a short clip about the Mayan Calendar. Before this you should put up a poster on chart paper (made prior to today) that will look like a replica of the worksheet the students were given. This is a short 2 minute clip that will keep the students attention. While listening and watching the video, students will have a fill-in-the-blank worksheet. They will have to listen carefully for the answers. After an answer is said in the video, it should be stopped and the question will be read out loud to the students. This process will be repeated all 7 times for the students to comprehend each segment of the video and be able to have time to write the answers. We will discuss the questions and the worksheet will be turned in and graded for accuracy.

5) For the final activity, begin by showing an example of how to fill out the worksheet of calculating their birthday using Mayan Long Count Calendar. You will go through the worksheet using your birthday. Go through each step thoroughly and allow them to ask question when needed. It is possible that same students I the class will struggle with this. Take these students aside at a small table and work through it with them. Differentiate the instruction by giving them oral directions step by step in order for them to understand. Allow them to think about each step of the directions and to allow student based learning. The rest of the class will have to o through the worksheet using their own birthday based on your example. It will be a good learning experience for the students to know if they are on the right track while completing the worksheet on their own. Walk around the room when the small group is working on a part of the worksheet so the rest of the students can ask questions. Encourage all of the students to think on their own Students can share what they came up with for their birthday. This is a fun closing activity for them to put their skills in action!
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Evaluation

The students will be assessed on how well they can pick out a calendar that we use today, and a Mayan Calendar. Students will be graded through the two worksheets. The first worksheet is their note sheet from the video clip. This will be graded for accuracy as they should have been able to complete all of the questions with correct answers. The birthday calculating worksheet using the Mayan Long Count Calendar will also be turned in for accuracy. They should get the entire sheet correct to ensure that learning outcomes have been met through all activities.
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Vocabulary

Maya (Tier 3) Definition a member of an American Indian people having an ancient culture once characterized by outstanding achievements in architecture, astronomy, chronology, painting, and pottery. Calendar Definition a table or register with the days of each month and week in a year. Context: He put my birthday on the calendar Calculate (Tier 2) Definition to count on, rely, or to form an estimate Context: They calculated on good weather.

Conversion (Tier 2) Definition to change something into different forms or properties. Context: They converted the study into a nursery for the new baby. Gregorian calendar system (Tier 3) Definition the most widely accepted and used calendar since 1582. Context This is the calendar that we use every day.
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Standards

This lesson plan addresses the following Common Core Standards: 1) Speaking and Listening Standards: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas Describe people places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly. 2) Speaking and Listening Standards: Comprehension and Collaboration Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. 3) Speaking and Listening Standards: Grade 1 Comprehension and Collaboration Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and text with peers and adults in small or larger groups.

Overview of the Maya Calendars

The Maya were (and still are) the indigenous inhabitants of a region known as Mesoamerica, an area roughly consisting of the central and southern parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and part of El Salvador. Maya civilization flourished during the first millennium of the Common Era. The period of their greatest cultural achievements is today referred to as the Classic Period. Classic Maya civilization was marked by the construction of sprawling ceremonial centers with towering stone pyramids, the development of sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems, a hieroglyphic writing system, and of course, highly complex calendars. Like many ancient societies, the Classic Maya charted time according to cycles they observed in the world around them. However, instead of just one calendar, the Maya had as many as nine! Each calendar served a different, but critical, function in Maya society. The most important of these were the Haab, the Tzolkin, and the Long Count calendars. The Long Count calendar is the one that is reputedly coming to an end on Dec. 21, 2012. More on that later! The Haab (pron. hob) was a 365 day solar calendar consisting of 18 months made up of 20 days each (18 X 20 = 360), plus a month of five remaining days known as the Wayeb or nameless days. These days were thought to be unlucky, and people born during this period were believed to be doomed to a miserable life. (Funny fact for the kids) The Tzolkin (pron. sole-keen) was a 260 day calendar that was used for ritual and divinatory purposes. It consisted of 20 named days (such as Deer, Crocodile, Death, Eagle, etc.) that intermeshed with the numbers 1 13 to form a 260 day cycle (20 X 13 = 260). The Tzolkin was used by ritual specialists to make predictions about the future, especially regarding the lives of individuals. Maya infants were given as one of their names the combination of number and day sign, for example 4 Ahau (lord). The Long Count was the most elaborate of all the Maya calendars. THIS is the calendar that so many people are making a fuss about these days, the one that is supposedly coming to an end on December 21st of this year. Well get into the issue of end of the world prophesies in a moment, but for now lets focus on what the Long Count is and how it worked.

The Long Count calendar measured enormous spans of time, according to some scholars as long as 9 million years! Unlike the other calendars, the Long Count measured time in a linear fashion, with the current count beginning around the year 3114 BC and progressing forward in a complex counting system based on units of 20 days. According to this system, the current count is scheduled to conclude on the 21st of December of this year, nearly five thousand years after it began! The Long Count system allowed Maya priests to measure time with extreme precision. Each day of the Count received its own unique annotation consisting of 5 digits, read from right to left, with each digit representing an increasingly longer unit of time. The five units of time were: 1 kin = 1 day 1 uinal = 20 days (or 20 kin) 1 tun = 360 days (or 18 uinals) 1 katun = 7,200 days (or 20 tuns) 1 baktun = 144,000 days (or 20 katuns)

All Long Count dates record a certain number of days since 3114 BC, or the creation of the current world. Therefore, a date of 9.10.5.1.1 means 9 baktuns, 10 katuns, 5 tuns, 1 uinal, and 1 kin since 3114 BC. Maya priests used Long Count dates to record important events in the lives of Maya royalty like weddings and funerals, births and deaths, battles, important rituals, and anniversaries. The so called end date of the Maya calendar on December 21, 2012 corresponds to the Long Count date of 13.0.0.0.0, which is also the date of the very first day of the current creation back in 3114 BC.

Name: ___________________________________________ Maya Calendar Video Clip Worksheet

1) There are _______ days in the Maya Calendar.

2) The calendar round marks ________________.

3) There are _______ cycles in the calendar round.

4) ________ years will pass before all of the cycles line up.

5) The calendar round goes on for ________ years.

6) The date that is seen throughout the Maya world is ____________.

7) This date means _________________________________________________.

Calendar Count
NOVA Activity Lost King of the Maya If someone asks you when your birth date was, you probably answer them by giving a month, day, and year. But thats not the only way to record passing time. Different cultures have used different calendar systems to mark time. One such system used by the Maya culture is called the Maya Long Count. In this activity, youll figure out your birth date in Maya Long Count. Part I Most people today measure time in days, months, years, decades, and centuries, based on whats known as the Gregorian calendar system. The ancient Maya measured time in kins, uinals, katuns, and baktuns based on the Maya Long Count system. The numbers add up to the number of days since the beginning of the Maya Fourth Creation (which is calculated as August 13, 3114 B.C.E., on the Gregorian calendar used today). Procedure 1 Your first task is to convert a Maya Long Count date into days. In Maya Long Count, the date December 31, 1979 is recorded as 12.18.6.9.14
2 Use the Maya Long Count Conversions chart below to convert each Long Count place value in the

date above to days and then add up all five values to calculate the total number of days. Write your answer below. Days from the beginning of the Maya Fourth Creation to December 31, 1979 = ________ Maya Long Count Conversions Part II Procedure 1 Now, using the Days in Each Month/Year chart below, calculate how many days there are from January 1, 1980, to the day you were born. Note that leap years have an extra day in February. Your Birth Date Days from J anuary 1, 1980, to your birth date =

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Part III Procedure 1 Add the number of days from the beginning of the Maya Fourth Creation to December 31, 1979, and the number of days from January 1, 1980, to your birth date. Write the total in below. Days from the beginning of the Maya Fourth Creation to your birth date = ______ . ______ . ______ . ______ . ______ ________ 2 Now its time to convert the number of days since the Maya Fourth Creation to your birth date back into Maya Long Count. Use the Maya Long Count Conversions chart to turn the number of days into Long Count. Write the conversions in below. ______ . ______ . ______ . ______ . ______ baktun katun tun uinal kin

3 Congratulations! Now when somebody asks you when you were born, you can say Do you want to know by the Gregorian calendar or Maya Long Count?