Tumacacori National Historical Park: Making History Come Alive. "Encounters" Fourth Grade Teachers' Guide

Abstract

This 9-unit curriculum guide for 4th grade includes activities relating to the cultural and environmental history of southern Arizona, specifically the area known as the Pimeria Alta. The guide was designed by a group of teachers to be thematic and sequential, and to deal with the encounters of various cultures that are the history of the Santa Cruz Valley. The thematic skills included are: Arizona history; social studies; environmental science; multicultural education; art; critical thinking; mathematics computation; and drama. The units can be taught individually, but if used sequentially they will give the students a solid background on the cultural and environmental impacts the various cultures had on each other and on the Santa Cruz Valley. Each unit is composed of three sections: historical (covers the people, their history and culture); environmental (pertains to the natural environment, biological and natural sciences); and tying it together (deals with how the environment affected the people and how the people affected the environment). Each of the three sections contains one or more activities, resources, references, background information, and a vocabulary list. Extra materials such as readings, worksheets, or visual aids are given at the end of each section and are to be used in the actual teaching of the lesson. (BT)