Pre-Columbian Unit Study/ Aztec, Mayan, and Incan Resource List and Reviews

Books, mask, pottery, and calendar

This is my top list for Pre-Columbian unit study resources! It integrates the Aztec, Mayan, and Incan cultures. Because these resources were so comprehensive, we skipped additional library books and supplemented with BrainPop and Britannica.

Extra project photos:

Aztec temple statue made from free, recycled boxes. We added important vocabulary on the side of the statue.

Replica of Aztec pottery - the original artifact is made of obsidian and adorned with a monkey. Our version uses air dry clay and tempera paint.

And now for my resource list! 
You'll find a little of everything here - arts/crafts, short passage reading, chapter books, and field trips ideas.

 Activity Books
Aztecs: Dress, Eat, Write and Play Just Like the Aztecs (Hands-On History)

My absolute favorite resource! Each aspect of Aztec life is introduced, then followed with a craft or activity. The historical information sections are short and directly correlate to the activity. Lessons are presented in a two-page format. The first page and half are historical text and illustrations, the remaining portion lists supplies and activity instructions.

Pros:

• Supplies are common items so our purchases were minimal. The majority of projects can be made with paint, construction paper, air dry clay, markers, etc. 
• Because of the common supply list and excellent directions, activities are equally suited for classroom or homeschool use. 
• The directions are clear - my student (age 10) worked independently on all the activities. Always a bonus. 
• Activities and projects were fun! 
• Full color with engaging graphics

Cons:

• Wish it was longer and included other Precolumbian cultures!
• Some projects take more than a session to complete. Example: one session to form a piece of pottery, another session to paint after the clay had hardened and dried. 

Hands-On History! Aztec and Maya: Rediscover the lost world of ancient Central America, with 450 exciting pictures and 15 step-by-step projects

My second favorite resource. Parts of this book are impressive, especially the historical text. The chapters are presented "encyclopedia style".  Expect short paragraphs with tons of illustrations. Each topic begins with several pages of reading, then the activity follows.

Pros:

• The historical text and illustrations are phenomenal - great content!
• Comprehensive contents - this book had so many interesting topics (including many that were not as addressed as fully in Aztecs: Dress, Eat, Write, and Play Just Like the Aztecs). 
• Full color

Cons:

• The projects and activities were labor intensive and required purchasing many new supplies such as: feathers, cane/bamboo sticks, wood veneer strips, straw, etc. 
• Supply list might be cost-prohibitive for many, or simply just hard to find.
• Many activities require cutting cardboard pieces to a specific size with a blade - a safety hazard for most kids. I tired of this quickly!

Reproducible Workbook
Mayan, Incan, and Aztec Civilizations Resource Book

This workbook is more standards and comprehension driven. It will appeal to those students who dislike crafts. Each lesson is short - one page or two of text, then a reading comprehension "knowledge check". An answer key is provided at the back of the book.

Pros:

• Reproducible lessons make preparation a snap
• The lessons are short and full of interesting details
• Introduces terminology and words specific to the culture not found in other books
• Answer keys for grading

Cons:

• Black and white workbook lacks color and visual interest
• No crafting/activities can be difficult for kinesthetic learners
• Most of the fun for my daughter in unit studies is the activities, so she was happy to have the other Hands-On History books! 

Chapter Book
The Incredible Incas (Horrible Histories)
Love, love, love this series! My daughter begs for me to load these onto her kindle. She read the Groovy Greeks, Incredible Incas, and Ruthless Romans in less than a week.

This series truly brings history to life. Every time I ask my daughter what she learned from the book, her answers floor me. When stories are told in an entertaining way, students remember so much information. A must-have resource!



Art/ Coloring Book

Aztec: 70 designs to help you de-stress (Coloring for Mindfulness)
Just a fun addition to study motifs and color in Aztec culture. The design are printed double-sided on cardstock weight paper. The weight works well for a variety of media - we've used watercolor, pastels, and markers. The designs are intricate, detailed, and beautiful!

Field Trips
Temple of the Jaguar Exhibit

Photo with performers at Mundo Maya

After studying about the importance of jaguars and feathers in the Aztec culture, we caught a short music and dancing presentation at the Dallas World Aquarium. It's upstairs in the Mundo Maya section. The costumes are incredible up close! And yes, those are live birds :)

Other field trip ideas:

• Zoo or animal sanctuary to study jaguars - an important and sacred animal to the Aztecs.
• Aviary or area where exotic birds can be viewed. Discuss the importance of craftsman who collected feathers and created elaborate headdresses.
• Art museum - to see golden artifacts such as Precolumbian masks.
• Chocolatier - compare modern chocolate to the bitter drink appreciated by Aztec nobles.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I will earn a small commission {at no cost to you} should you make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my homeschooling adventures so I can continue to share my experiences and resources with you!

Math Curriculum Review/ Grade 3

With the end of the school year near, it's time to review curriculum! Expect reviews {by subject/unit} for the few weeks. Curriculum for next year will also be posted. It's been exciting to see all our new resources arriving!

MATH SCHEDULE

Math is one of our daily subjects. During the summer, we continue math lessons and drills. 

Spectrum Math

CORE CURRICULUM

This year, M finished Math Grade 3 and is about halfway through Math Grade 4. This is still my FAVORITE math series. We'll continue Math Grade 4 through the summer and into the fall. 

Spectrum is awesome at teaching math skills in the proper order, building each skill as you continue through the workbook! Chapter pretests at the start of each chapter identify skills students may already know. 

In addition to pre-tests, there are also chapter tests, a midterm exam, and a final exam. All lesson and test answers are in the back of the book. The answer key makes it easy to pinpoint exactly which skills were learned and which may need extra practice. 

Most times, my third grader can teach herself independently. If she has questions, I explain the concept. Then we'll do a few problems together until she understands the process. After that, she's usually back to completing lessons independently.

Sylvan Super Math Success

SUPPLEMENTAL CURRICULUM

Super Math Success adds FUN application practice to our daily math lessons. This workbook does not explain the concepts! But it works beautifully for supplemental practice. The activities are short and skill targeted. My daughter loves the activities and often does extra pages. 

We will most definitely continue with this series, too! 

One caveat, Sylvan's Super Success books are THICK. Removing the spine and adding spiral binding makes them much more functional. Any office supply store with a copy center can do it. Staples usually takes care of this for me ;)

Math-Drills {Free online}

SPEED DRILLS

When we need extra fact practice, I've been pulling sheets from Math-Drills. It's a very comprehensive site with many math grade levels! 

Writing/ Using Literature Based Writing Prompts

Are they right for you?

Time to change our writing curriculum. Even though I love Writing Curriculum: Grade 3 (Week-by-Week Lessons), it became apparent that the daily writing prompts and weekly lessons were not interesting Madeline any longer.

Fictional literature, on the other hand, interests her greatly. She possesses a voracious, insatiable appetite for literature! 

What to do with the rest of our curriculum's writing prompts? Scrap 'em. Instead, I'm creating prompts from her favorite books (see examples).

Keeping up with Madeline's reading is a huge challenge. She is a reading machine. Even though I'm nearly done with Seven Wonders: Lost in Babylon (book two), Madeline has already moved onto book three!

Literature based prompts have reinvigorated daily journal writing. The transformation from September to February is absolutely staggering. So much progress!

If you are looking for a way to make your daily journaling more enticing, try literature-based writing prompts. It has worked incredibly well for us.

Math Curriculum Grade 3/ Final Exam

Our worn Spectrum Math cover

One of the best parts of the Spectrum series is their tests - pretests, chapter tests, mid-term tests, and final tests. They definitely help give you an idea of your student's skill mastery.

This week, we are working through our final exam! Madeline should finish her final test by Friday. Monday, we'll start Spectrum Math Grade 4.

Because she always asks for MORE math work, we've been adding application practice from Third Grade Super Math Success. Rather than pages of equations, the book is full of fun puzzles, games, and activities to apply the common core concepts.

A few months back, Madeline tried a couple Khan Academy online lessons. Although the video instructions were wonderful, they disappear when the math equations/questions come up. Having to toggle back and forth from the explanation to the math problems frustrated her. Thinking about it now, why not just open them both in separate windows?

This week, she asked to retry the online lessons. Perhaps with her increased computer skills, she is more confident to give Khan Academy another try. I am curious to see how our experience goes the second time around...

End of Year Curriculum Review: Science

We love our science book!

Science:  McGraw Hill 

This year we skipped a science workbook and used McGraw Hill Science Grade 2. Our first year using a textbook was a resounding success!

Madeline is a science sponge. She LOVES science and will literally read her textbook like a chapter book. It's not uncommon for her to keep reading until she's finished a whole unit ;)

UNITS 

Life Science/ Plants and Animals

Life Science/ Homes for Plants and Animals

Earth Science/ Changes on Earth

Earth Science/ The Sun and Its Family

Physical Science/ Matter and Energy

Physcial Science/ Watch It Move {Forces and Machines, Forces and Magnets}

WHAT I LIKE

Full-color pictures make for a stunning book that makes science come to life! All the photographs and illustrations make the topics easy to understand. It's easy to read with age-appropriate text. Students can easily read and comprehend the book on their own.

This book is well organized, making it easy to plan and incorporate enrichment activities. Each chapter starts with a critical thinking skill, a list of vocabulary, and an experiment or exploration activity.

Units are comprised of 6-8 lessons, depending on the unit. At the end of each lesson, 2 to 3 comprehension questions follow. A test for each unit is also included.

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
I wish there was more about the Kuiper belt and smaller dwarf planets. Of course, astronomy seems to change every few years so we read lots of library books and online articles about space.

While this book is primarily for reading, adding more activities would be beneficial. We supplemented with Enchanted Learning online. They have tons of science booklets and activities for the lower grades. You can see our planet printables here.

WILL WE CONTINUE THIS SERIES?
Absolutely, yes! We love the McGraw Hill texbooks the most of any we've tried. Grade 3 is purchased and ready to go.

End of the Year Curriculum Review: Writing

The BEST teaching guide for writing

Scholastic Grade 2 Writing Curriculum

Hands down, this is the most fabulous series for writing curriculum! Writing is one of the few subjects that we use the same text for the entire school year. After seeing the progress made last year with Grade 1 Writing Curriculum, I will use ONLY this series for teaching writing. If you use it, prepare to be amazed at your child's progress.

Grade 2 Writing Curriculum Week-By-Week Lessons provides a year's worth of exercises. Each month has daily writing prompts. We cut and paste our writing prompts into a journal {composition book}. I highly recommend doing so, you will not believe the gains your child makes from the beginning of their journal to the end of the year.

After the month of writing prompts, there are four longer lessons -- one for each week of the month. A full page of directions explain how to present the assignment. Typically, Madeline brainstorms and fills out a planning page on the first day of the lesson. Then, the first draft is composed on the second day. And finally, Madeline self edits her work and turns it in for grading on the third day.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT SCHOLASTIC GRADE 2 WRITING CURRICULUM

This book is comprehensive. In addition to the daily writing prompts and weekly assignments, you'll learn how to help your student achieve success! The front portion contains lots of tips for teaching writing. Also included are writing samples typical of the age range.

One of the best things in the book is the 'START' handout. No longer will you have a child that doesn't know what to write about. No more writer's block! The handout specifically gives students a formula for writing descriptive, interesting sentences and paragraphs.

The back has quite a few handouts including a brainstorm page for the weekly assignments, a list of commonly misspelled words, and checklists for students to edit their own work.

COST
Originally, I purchased the Grade 1 book from Scholastic's website. However, our copies for Grades 2 and 3 came from Amazon used. Expect to pay around $7 for each copy plus $3 for shipping {about $10 total}.

Very inexpensive considering this is a reproducible book. Since it's meant to be photocopied, you can use it with as many children as you like!

WILL WE CONTINUE?
Definitely! Grade 3 Writing Curriculum has already been ordered.

End of Year Curriculum Review: Reading Comprehension

Spectrum Reading Grade 2
This is the second book in the Spectrum Reading series we've purchased. If you follow common core standards, this book is wonderful! If you aren't concerned with common core standards, you'll still be pleased with this book.

Spectrum Grade 2 teaches reading comprehension in an approachable, fun way. Every lesson is in a two-page format. A story is printed on the left {or first page} and the comprehension questions are printed on the right {or second page}.

Through the early primary years, learning to read well is one of my top 3 goals. If you can advance a child in reading and math, I feel like they can learn any other subject!

I credit Spectrum Reading and Modern Curriculum Press Phonics with Madeline's reading success. In tandem, they make a dynamite combination. This was the first year she could really read material on her own {chapter books}. She absolutely loves reading! It's easy to love when the right curriculum sets you up for success.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT SPECTRUM READING
There is a great variety of reading subject matter. Grade 2 had both fiction and non-fiction stories. As the book progresses, the stories become longer with more paragraphs. We read about states, sports games, travel, family life, and animals. Madeline enjoyed learning about baseball and baseball cards. Her dad even took her to her first Rangers game :)

This book also contains an answer key. The pages are perforated so you can tear them out if you wish. We choose to leave the book intact to eliminate paper clutter. Simple, colorful illustrations usually accompany the stories.

WILL WE CONTINUE?
Absolutely! We plan to continue with Spectrum Grade 3.

Supplemental Reading Comprehension/ Literature Units
Madeline also has reading comprehension exercises from her homeschool book club selections. I search for free reading guides online. If none are available from the publisher, sometimes units are available from Teachers Pay Teachers. If I still can't find a reading guide, I develop my own :)

My favorite units this year were: Chasing Vermeer, by B. Balliett, Literature Unit, 98 Total Pages!! and Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren: Characters, Plot, and Setting.

New for Fall 2014
For extra practice activities, we plan to incorporate the Reading Comprehension section of Sylvan Super Reading Success. We've not used the Sylvan book before, but are really excited to give it a try!

End of Year Curriculum Review: Vocabulary

Vocabulary:  240 Words Kids Need to Know Grade 3 by Scholastic

During the fall, it was evident Madeline was done reading level readers. But tackling the chapter books she wanted to read was difficult due to the more advanced vocabulary.

To read more challenging chapter books, I knew we'd have to start vocabulary lessons. Enter 240 Vocabulary Words Kids Need to Know: Grade 3. We began this book in January of this year {2014}.

Our vocabulary lessons definitely helped Madeline read more challenging material. This also meant we were able to jump to the next homeschool book club level, Grade 3 and up. Prior to vocabulary lessons, we were reading the Kinder - Grade 2 book club selections.

In the beginning of the book, most lists have four lessons. Some lists have only two or three. Total, the book has 24 word lists. Depending on your pace, you could finish the book in a semester or even over the summer. The first list: foe, vast, purchase, drowsy, absent, prank, feeble, annual, sturdy, reply. The last list: awareness, laziness, frightful, tactful, recently, quietly, arrangement, contentment, performer, trainer.

This is a reproducible book, meant to be used by a teacher. I photocopy the pages and keep my master book clean so that it can be reused later. You could also use a plastic sleeve with one side cut open to protect the page your student is currently working on. Use dry erase markers and wipe away after each lesson :)

WHAT I LIKE
The lessons are short, usually four lessons per word list. There is a variety of exercises including crossword puzzles, matching, synonyms, antonyms, fill in the blank, and picture clues. An answer key and master word list are provided at the back.

I also love the way the definitions are presented. The first exercise shows the definition in a short sentence. The vocabulary word is bolded. This enables the student to learn the definition without memorizing lengthy definitions.

Even though the lessons seem easy, the student really learns the vocabulary! Madeline has already recognized some of the words in our book club selections like Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Pippi Longstocking. I love this book and the results!

WILL WE CONTINUE?
Yes! We plan to continue with 240 Vocabulary Words Kids Need to Know: Grade 4. I plan on alternating between Scholastic and Sylvan for vocabulary. Once we finish Grade 3, we'll tackle the vocabulary portion of Sylvan's Super Reading Success 3rd Grade. 

End of Year Curriculum Review: Phonics

Over the next few weeks, I'll be reviewing last year's curriculum and planning for next year. Sharing what works for us, why I like it, and what I'll be using in the fall. Hopefully, it will lead to a dialog where we all learn and share together :)

Phonics:  Modern Curriculum Press 

It took many tries to find a phonics curriculum that interested Madeline. Finally, we found Modern Curriculum Press {MCP}. It was suggested by a master teacher who taught reading for 40 years! 

This year Madeline finished Level B, and has about 25% more to complete Level C. We've used the whole series, starting with Level K and then continuing on to our current workbook.

Just a note, the workbooks were updated in the last decade or so. They have been published for the last 50 years though!

Some of the workbooks you can purchase new online are the older version with the plaid only cover, no animals pictured. The older versions are still excellent! We started with the older versions of K and A.

I purchase my MCP books through Amazon. None of my local teacher supply stores seem to carry them.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT MCP
A strong phonics foundation is essential for good reading. MCP teaches the basics with enough repetition so that the students really learn phonics. There are a variety of exercises:  filling in the blank, crossword puzzles, short reading books, multiple choice, and writing exercises. Teachers guides are available, but not really needed.

The inside back cover has helpful terms and rules. So if your child is working on page comparing vowel pairs and vowel diphthongs, they can find the rules and definitions and complete their page independently.

The cost is very reasonable! Each workbook cost between $10-$12. We can typically cover one and a half to two workbooks a year.

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
There is no answer key unless you buy the teachers edition. That being said, I've not needed one yet :)

Also, why did they start with K and then go to A? Why not start with K for kinder and then move to 1, 2, 3, etc.? I think their letter designations are confusing if you are used to grade level classifications or are unfamiliar with the product. The content is so good, however, that it's not a deal breaker for me.

WILL WE CONTINUE MPC?
Absolutely, unequivocally YES! We'll continue with the series until it ends :)

Homeschool Tip: Removing Book Spines & Adding Spiral Binding

Can I say how fabulous it is to remove book spines? If your curriculum workbooks are thick, it can be difficult for your child to keep the pages flat while working. Madeline gets so frustrated when the books want to close on her. And if it closes, she loses her place and has to find it again. There's a simple solution that's dirt cheap.

Cut off the spines and add spiral binding! Your kids will love it. I get my books done at Staples. It was just under $10 to remove the spines, add spiral binding, and insert plastic cover sheets to both of these Sylvan workbooks.

New spiral binding and clear plastic coversheet

Now the books lay perfectly flat. This workbook is open to page 182. If there was no spiral binding, it would be impossible to photograph open. Madeline would also be fighting to keep the workbook flat with one hand and write with the other. Now, no frustration during lessons!

Perfectly flat while open to page 182/183!

Even with a total of 310 pages, this book sits flat!

Another bonus, your student can just roll the extra side to the back. I learned about removing book spines from some of my sewing friends. They'd buy sewing books with quilt patters but couldn't keep the books open. So they removed the spines! Genius...

Try it and let me know what you think. I bet you'll want to do it to most of your workbooks  :)