Introductory Activity Involves students either doing very quick research on Mexico or brainstorming what they already know to share with the class. For assessment students can be held accountable for a record of their research or brainstorm, as well as for sharing their information with the class either informally or as a presentation. From Aztlan to Tenochtitlan Involves reading Aztec myths about the founding of their capital city. For assessment students either create their own illustrated version of the story or write a diary as if they were one of the characters in the stories. For assessment students can take notes, write post cards as though they were there, and take a quiz.
Students can either create individual work, share ideas, or present to the class.
A wonderful activity as an introduction is for each student to do a search on the Web about Mexico and have each report to the class on something they learned. This is easily adaptable to the age of the students as young kids can tell about something neat they saw whereas older students can actually do some writing in a brief report, perhaps including images. The trick is what resources do you have available. The most popular and easiest resource is the Internet. If your time on the Internet is limited, it will take some work on your part to either assemble some materials for the classroom or within your library.