South American History Lesson Plans

In this lesson 9th graders explore the history of the African Methodist Church in the United States. In this African American history lesson, 9th graders discover why the church was founded and research its history and noteworthy members. In this lesson 9th graders read some primary source archives and discuss historic preservation.

Learners barter with each other in order to get ingredients to make chicken sancocho. In this trading lesson plan, learners read a story about a family in Central or South America who have to barter to get their needs. Then learners try to barter with each other, and in another activity use money, and talk about the advantages money has when trading.

Learners research the products of countries in Central and South America. t research which products from the countries they represent are imported to the United States. They create tables and/or graphs to indicate annual totals.

4th graders create a travel news letter about a country in South America. In this South America lesson plan, 4th graders research the Internet to find information about the culture, community, and attractions of their country.

Students examine Puerto Rico's location and from its geographic location, reflect on its culture and people. They also read a play by a Puerto Rican author. This is an excellent cross-curricular unit, including history, geography, and literature.

Students examine the role of women in Mesoamerica. In this women's studies lesson, students watch segments of the Discovery video "Mesoamerica: The History of Central America". Students conduct further research pertaining to specific Mayan women. Students write essays based on their findings.

This lesson has learners examine periods of time throughout world history. In this time chronology lesson plan, learners read and create time lines. This lesson has learners complete a variety of activities involving the ordering of events in time. 

Students engage in a study of the Inca indians and how they founded their civilization. The students conduct research using a variety of resources that are used to gather the information. Then presentations are made from the facts that are gathered.

Students explore South African history from pre-colonial times to today. They create a timeline of important events in South African history and reflect on connections between this timeline and the existence of tribal traditions in the country.

Students discover the multicultural contributions to New Orleans gumbo through participation in cross curriculum activities. In this multicultural diversity and New Orleans history lesson, students shade regions of a map according to a color code representing the countries that contributed ingredients to the gumbo recipe. Students listen to jazz and creole folk tales. Students follow a gumbo recipe and write a critique of this "melting pot" dish as if they were a food critic.