Latin America: Our Neighbors at Home and to the South
A Curriculum Framework

Esential Questions	Why study Latin America?	What are the main geographic features of Latin America and how do they affect people's lives?	Who are the peoples of Latin America both past and present?
Sub-Questions	What types of relationships exist between Latin American countries and the United States ? Why have many people emigrated from Latin America in recent years? How has the immigration of Latin American peoples to Port Washington benefitted our community?	What are the three main regions of Latin America? How are their geographical features similar and/or different? How does geography affect the way people make a living?	How did the legacies of the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs affect present day cultures in Latin America ? What are the lifestyles, beliefs, traditions, laws, and social/cultural needs and wants of the peoples of Latin America?
Standard	NYS Social Studies Standards 2, 3, 4	NYS Social Studies Standards 3, 4	NYS Social Studies Standards 2, 5
Esential Questions	Why study Latin America?	What are the main geographic features of Latin America and how do they affect people's lives?	Who are the peoples of Latin America both past and present?
Content	Political framework of local Latin American countries: Cuba: A dictatorship Haiti: A developing democracy Puerto Rico: Commonwealth of the United States Our neighbors to the south: Proximity of Cuba Panama: The strategic location of the Panama Canal. Necessity of a waterway dividing North and South Americas. Mexico: A bordering country Latin America: natural resources Some Latin American cultures face struggles: Guatemala: Rigoberta Menchu's struggle for freedom and equality Economic development: Interdependence Industry vs. agriculture Brazil: The shrinking rain forest Local Latin Americans: Diversity and Tolerance Celebrations Language Religion	Geography: Western Hemisphere Physical features/landforms Three regions: Carribean, Central and South Americas Peru: Lake Titicaca, Andes Mountain range, altiplano plateau region, Pacific coastal region. Climate: Climate Zones: Elevation as an indicator of temperature Natural Resources: Vegetation Amazon River: second longest in world, largest capacity since it carries about 20% of world's fresh water. Rain Forest :Resources of the Amazon Rain Forest Oil Industry	History of Latin America: Early Civilizations: Maya: Hieroglyphics (first forms of writing) and number system development. Aztec: Tenochtitlan-the floating lake capital, trading, education, astronomy and medical advances. Incas: Successful farmers-built shelves into mountain sides for increased land area, builders and managers, developed a system of roads and aqueducts, organized government, communication techniques-quipus, sun god worship. European Conquest and Later Independence: Cortes: conquers the Aztecs Pizarro: conquers the Incas. Colonization and Spanish Empire: effects of the conquests. Similarities and Differences in Latin American Cultures: Housing, Religion, Language, Schooling, Festivities, Arts, Crafts, Food, Occupations, Daily Lifestyle, Family.
Esential Questions	Why study Latin America?	What are the main geographic features of Latin America and how do they affect people's lives?	Who are the peoples of Latin America both past and present?
Skills	Identify positive influences of Latin American culture on our community. Identify relationships between United States and a variety of Latin American Countries. List reasons for Latin Americans' emmigration to the US. Identify ways Latin American people are gaining independence both financially and politically. Analyze the relationship between Latin American countries and the United States. Describe the challenges faced by poor people in rural areas of Mexico and reasons for their migration to urban centers. Analyze the role leaders have played in various Latin American cultures such as Guatemala: Rigoberta Menchu, Cuba: Fidel Castro, and Haiti: Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Interpret the importance of preserving the well-being of the Amazon Rainforest as it relates to the world's resources. Recognize differences in government systems: democracy, dictatorship, and commonwealth. Debate the pros and cons of Puerto Rico becoming the fifty-first state of the United States of America. Examine the reasons some of the peoples of Latin America have chosen to emigrate to the United States. Define the terms fact and opinion and identify the two in context. Identify ways in which we and our local community in general, benefit from multi-cultural diversity and Latin American influences.	Extract information from written material and record (take notes) using a graphic organizer. Identify causes and effect relationship between geography and the peoples of Latin America. Categorize notes to identify the relationships that emerge on information matrix by color coding to show connectedness. Translate written information and two-dimensional elevation map to create a three dimensional model. Identify Latin America's main geographic regions by using political, physical, and contour maps. Determine cause and effect relationships: Describe how physical features of Latin America affect people's lives. Recognize population distribution patterns by reading population density and distribution maps. Relate population settlement information to regional geographic features in order to make connections regarding the cause and effect relationship of the two. Read climate maps to distinguish differences in climate and vegetation depending on geographic location. Analyze natural resource maps in order to draw conclusions based on geographic information and the types of natural resources located in an area. Distinguish between a two-dimensional representation (contour map) and a three-dimensional representation of landforms (relief map). Read and interpret symbolic representations using a map key and scale. Interpret the city structure of the Altiplano Peruvians with the geographic constraints of the area.	Gather data about the lifestyles, beliefs, traditions, laws, and social/cultural needs and wants of the peoples of Latin America. Compare the lives of Latin American people living in the city and the country in order to determine how city life differs from country life. Compare data of Latin American people in a variety of countries to learn more about their lives. Identify contributions of Latin American peoples. Describe the chief characteristics and accomplishments of Mayan, Aztec and Inca civilizations. Apply the connection between our number system and that of the ancient Mayan civilization. Analyze how Latin America's early civilizations have affected present-day cultures in Latin America. Interpret information presented in a sequential manner using a timeline. Outline the basic reasons why Europeans sailed to the Americas. Analyze the effects of Spanish rule over the native populations of Latin America. Explain how people from Latin American countries are trying to gain economic independence. Illustrate the differences between urban and rural communities in Latin America. Research literacy rates, infant mortality rates, life expectancy rates and occupation categories using the internet. Record information on a chart. Analyze research findings and create a graph depicting percentages for categories based on information gathered for each country. Synthesize information in order to connect the experience of Latin American children from Guatemala to one's own life.
Esential Questions	Why study Latin America?	What are the main geographic features of Latin America and how do they affect people's lives?	Who are the peoples of Latin America both past and present?
Assessments	Guatemalan Market Place Lessons Write two paragraphs describing how Latin American people are working to gain economic and political independence and what effect that has on us as Americans. The first paragraph should explain what people in various Latin American countries are doing to improve their economic and political situations. The second paragraph should describe why this is important to the United States. The second paragraph should address the question: How is our relationship with Latin American countries affected by their political and economic stability? (This assessment is also applicable for Essential Question #3) Interview a local Latin American person to determine reasons for his/her emigration to Port Washington. Compare and Contrast the lifestyle of a Guatemalan child shopping with his/her parents and an American child going to the supermarket. Create a Venn diagram showing differences and similarities between the two cultures. Read the book, Friends From the Other Side, by Gloria Anzaldua and answer questions based on the story. (Questions will focus on facts and opinions.) Students will complete the letter writing activity described below based on their reading of this book. Letter Writing Activity: Pretend that you are Joaquin, the Mexican boy who recently emigrated to Texas. Write a letter to your friends back in Mexico stating why you do or do not feel coming to the United States was worth the effort. Include evidence from the story for your decision. Be sure to describe what happened to you when you first arrived, your friendship with Prietita and how you felt when the boarder patrolmen came looking for illegal aliens. Hold a class meeting: Discuss ways in which we can reach out to newcomers in the community to make them feel more welcome. What can we do in our school for students entering who do not speak English and are not familiar with our culture? Develop a plan to help students integrate and share their culture with us.	Three Regions of Latin America PhotoAnalysis Relief Map Create graphic organizers depicting the climate, vegetation, natural resources, physical features and effects of each on the local population that comprise the three main regions of Latin America. Write a journal entry from the point of view of a native from one of the three regions of Latin America. Students may choose to take the point of view of a person from Central America, the Caribbean, or South America. Through the journal entry they must convey what life in that region is like based on the climate, geographical features, natural resources and physical features. Students must write a two paragraph entry depicting the pros and cons of living in the region based on the geographic habitat. The first paragraph should include advantages; the second paragraph should include disadvantages. Use a contour map to research the physical features of Latin America. Students will then build a relief map of one region. This model will serve as a tool for describing the way landforms affect the people of the region. Students will label their models in order to show how local inhabitants adapt to their geographical elements. The map will be accompanied by a map key. The cooperative groups will have to present their findings to the class in a brief five minute oral presentation. Create a poster based on the quote: "The weather in Latin America is a great friend to the people, but also a terrible enemy." The students must produce visual examples and written information that supports the statement. Analyze a photograph of an Altiplano village. Answer questions and respond to the visual cues by drawing conclusions based on evidence found in the photo.	Guatemalan Market Place Lessons Population Data for Five Central American Countries Mayan Math Construct a timeline showing the major developments and contributions of the Maya, Aztec and Inca civilizations. Create a web depicting the reasons why Europeans set out to explore and conquer the nations that now comprise Latin America. Create a cause and effect "T-chart" illustrating the actions taken by European explorers and the consequences those actions elicited. Create two want ads for jobs that could be found in a Latin American country. Describe the location, responsibilities and monetary compensation for the position. One job should be based in a rural area, while the other is based in an urban area. Record the differences between the two jobs using a T-chart. Write a paragraph describing how Latin American people are working to gain economic independence. (This assessment is also applicable for Essential Question #1) Complete a data statistics chart by using the United Nations web site. Translate the information into a bar or pie graph in order to draw conclusions and make comparisons regarding the way of life in Latin American countries. Respond to several pieces of literature. Responses should reflect an understanding of the essential question: "Who are the people of Latin America, both past and present" and Why study Latin America?" Students will compare and contrast their daily life with that of children in Guatemala through the creation of a Venn diagram and other reading response strategies. Students will answer questions pertaining to both non-fiction and fiction reading and will generate a written and artistic reading response synthesizing what they have learned through the interdisciplinary literature study.
Final Assessment	---Newspaper Project---

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