by Carl Shutoff, Edmonds School District
This webquest is designed to introduce high school students to the world view of the Maya who lived in the Yucatan peninsula from the 3rd century of the Common Era to the time of the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.
Teacher Introduction
This lesson came out of the curriculum initiative on ancient civilizations and to address standards in reading, writing and communication. Rather than assigning a dry research paper, it seemed to me that students would become more engaged if placed in a situation where they had to assume a different perspective and make important decisions dictated by an urgent situation. The hypothetical situation that students find themselves in constitutes a kind of Essential Question which stimulates students to engage in a problem-solving activity as opposed to one where they are simply recording facts and observations.
In order to implement this webquest, students will need Internet connectivity and access to print media as well. Since their findings will be coming from writers and researchers, it will be important for them to have a good working knowledge of intellectual property laws with respect to the Internet.