From Our World To Theirs

Introduction

After viewing "The Second Voyage of the MIMI" (Sunburst Communications, Inc.), the students followed one of our Indian Ridge Elementary School WebQuests called "The Ruins, The Reef, and The Rainforest". Through our WebQuest, they chose to research and study one of the following main topics in greater depth: The Ancient Maya, The Rainforests of the Americas, or The Coral Reef. Then they divided into small groups of students who had the same interests.

The students in this group, "From Our World to Theirs: The Ancient Maya", became "archaeologists" and used a variety of resources to locate facts and compile information about the Maya. They each chose a sub topic area to focus on:

Hieroglyphs

Ruins

Calendar and Mathematics

Astronomy

The Maya Today

As a final project, they collaboratively developed this web site to serve as a resource for other students who may want to learn more about the Maya.

MayaQuest (http://quest.classroom.com) is an on-line "journey deep into the forests of southern Mexico and Central Americas to explore the continuing mystery of the ancient Maya civilization."

The Second Voyage of the Mimi (www.sunburst.com/schoolhouse/mimi.cfm) is a CD-Rom and video series by Sunburst for use in the classroom. The characters in Mimi II "head for Mexico to solve an archaeological mystery. They find a lost Mayan city, learn to decipher ancient hieroglyphs, and gain firsthand knowledge about the ruins of Coba and Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula".