Students generate questions about the oldest human bones found in the Americas. Then they examine how the Paleo-Indians arrived from Asia and how they survived as hunter-gatherers. Next they explain a significant development of the agricultural revolution and the beginning of villages. Finally, they study an object found at an Aztec archaeological site and pose questions and theories about it.
Students read an introduction that contrasts Columbus’s voyage with evidence that humans arrived in the Americas thousands of years earlier, then review the lesson objectives. They examine a brief account of the discovery of “Midland Minnie,” one of the oldest human remains found in the New World, and contribute questions they would ask her about her life to a shared class table.
Teacher MovesPresent the overview and objectives of the experience, highlighting key vocabulary. After students submit their questions about Midland Minnie, review their responses and select one to serve as a guiding question for the lesson before moving the class to the next scene.
Students watch The First Americans to gain an overview of how Paleo-Indians migrated from Asia into North America. Using a migration route map and explanatory text, they learn about the Bering land bridge, hunter-gatherer lifestyles, and how early peoples adapted when the climate warmed and large animals died out. They then answer multiple-choice questions about where the earliest Americans came from and how they obtained food.
Teacher MovesDiscuss how the land bridge disappeared as plates shifted and ice melted, using a globe or polar-view world map to show the proximity of Alaska and Russia. Clarify students’ understanding of migration routes and hunter-gatherer adaptations, and address misconceptions revealed in their quiz responses before advancing to the next scene.
Students study an image of terraced farming in Peru and read about the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture, including the cultivation of maize and beans, animal domestication, and the development of permanent villages, fire management, terraces, and irrigation. They post responses to a class wall inferring how terraces or irrigation affected the growth of settlements.
Teacher MovesGuide students through the explanation of how farming created more reliable food sources and supported population growth and permanent settlements. Review student inferences on the wall, highlight an interesting or exemplary response, and use it to discuss how terracing and irrigation expanded where people could successfully farm and settle.
Students connect the rise of farming and permanent settlements to later civilizations such as the Maya, Aztec, and Inca. They examine an image of an object from an Aztec site and post to a shared wall their ideas about what the object might be, its possible purpose, and questions they have about it.
Teacher MovesPrompt students to consider how historians and scientists could research the object to determine its function. Share background information about the Aztec sun stone (calendar stone) and summarize several scholarly theories about its purpose, then emphasize that historians often work with incomplete evidence and may reach different interpretations based on the same artifact.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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