Several articles have appeared on the use of the Mayan system for arithmetic calculations. George Sanchez, the pioneer in this area, taught this system to school children in Austin, Texas and claimed that, with a small amount of instruction, they could perform arithmetic operations faster in Mayan than in the decimal system, particularly if they used an abacus arrangement. Mayan arithmetic can be used to get children to deal comfortably with numbers in different systems, to have them play with numbers, and in general to demonstrate that mathematics can be fun. Volcanic activity has always been a fact of life in Mesoamerica. This interesting phenomenon may be used to teach basic concepts in geology while studying culture and geography.
Geology is particularly well suited for interdisciplinary study.
There is no better way to get students interested than starting out with a social issue. The different uses for and sources of many plants can be discussed with particular attention to the ways in which the Indian civilizations have contributed to food resources. Many of their foods show promise for relieving protein shortages and assisting in reducing the energy cost of agriculture. The chemistry and uses of herbal medicines can be used to teach students research strategies which involve literature searches, written reports, personal videotape interviews of friends and relatives, and the design of questionnaires to elicit appropriate information. At the higher grade levels, laboratory research techniques can be taught, such as chromatography of plant extracts showing students how chemical components of complicated mixtures can be isolated.