At The Endeavor School in Miami, our students engage in projects to learn about new subjects while improving their social and collaborative skills.
One of the latest projects our students completed was “Exploration of Aztec Civilization,” completed by our 5th Grade class. This was a terrific way for our students to learn about the history of our own continent and expand on their team skills.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Students put on their historian hats to discover and analyze the very first civilizations. Using informational books from our local library, digital encyclopedias, and online resources, students researched the lives and society of the Aztec people.
Throughout this project, the students discovered the Aztecs’ uniqueness and how our present society compares to them, one of the earliest known large civilizations. The students learned about the Aztecs’ government, communication, clothing, societal norms, and human interactions.
Collaborating both as a group and individually, students showed what they have learned by creating a 3D model using mainly recycled materials. Additionally, they wrote a reflection paper analyzing the effects that this civilization has had on our North American society.
The Process
Students decided to make a model of Aztec civilization to show what they learned. Each group of students selected a group of people from the Aztec civilization to portray in their collaborative depiction of the Aztecs. Using a variety of recycled materials and other mediums, students built a model of the Aztec civilization from their point of view based on the research they did.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This project covered multiple learning goals, from social studies and writing to team-building and collaboration skills mentioned above.
Social Studies
- Identify similarities and differences in the culture we have adapted to that of early civilizations
- Understand how we progressed as a society
- Be able to use a map to identify the different locations of several early civilizations and identify any geographical differences
- Work collaboratively with others on a single task with multiple aspects and activities
Writing
- Identify evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflect, and research using several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic
- Expressing one’s self about the abstract material they learned and putting it into words
PROJECT GALLERY
