teacher’s guide · such as life in maya villages (page 4), the roles of maya men and women (page...

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Theme: Civilizations of the Americas

• The Aztec• The Inca• The Maya

The MayaLevel Q/40

Social Studies

Skills & Strategies

Anchor Comprehension Strategies

• Draw Conclusions• Analyze Text Structure and

Organization

Comprehension • Stop/think/write

• Summarizeinformation

• Usetextfeaturestolocateinformation

Vocabulary/Word Study Strategy • Antonymstodeterminewordmeaning

Social Studies Big Idea • Earlycivilizationsestablishedgeographic,

political,religious,economic,andsocialstructuresthathadenduringeffectsonthedevelopmentoftheworld.

TeACher’S Guide

Synthesize Information • Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment

• Summarize Information

D a y

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A c t i v i t i e s

Using Navigators Chapter Books

Explicit Strategy InstructionUse the complete guide to model, guide, and support students as they apply comprehension and word-study strategies. Use portions of the guide to scaffold reading instruction for students who do not need modeled instruction.

Small-Group DiscussionIntroduce the book and model strategies. Instruct the group to set a purpose for reading based on the introduction. Students should read the book, or parts of the book, independently. Then tell them to use the Small-Group Discussion Guide as they discuss the book together.

Independent ReadingEncourage students to select titles at their independent reading levels. After reading, instruct students to respond to the text in reader response journals or notebooks.

Core Lesson Planning Guide

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4108-5245-82

Pages 4–6: Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Stop/Think/Write

• Comprehension Strategy: Analyze Text Structure and Organization

• Use Text Features to Locate Information: Sidebars

Page 3: Prepare to Read• Build Content Background

• Introduce the Book

Pages 7–8: Guide Strategies: Chapters 2–3• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Stop/Think/Write


• Use Antonyms to Determine Word Meaning

Pages 9–10: Apply Strategies: Chapters 4–5, Conclusion• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Stop/Think/Write


• Use Antonyms to Determine Word Meaning

This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.

Build Content Background • Ask: What questions do you have about the Maya? Allow two minutes for students to write their own

questions and then ask students to share them. If the following questions are not mentioned, suggest them: How long ago did the Maya live? Where did they live? What kinds of leaders did the Maya have?

• Ask: What other questions do you have about the Maya civilization?

Encourage students to consider additional questions, such as these: How did the Maya earn a living? What were their buildings and cities like?

• Draw a T-chart as shown. Write one question on the left under the heading Main Question and invite volunteers to offer possible answers. Write the answers on the right under the heading Possible Answers.

• Tell students that they will discover the answer to this and other questions about the Maya as they read.

Introduce the Book • Give students a copy of the book.

• Direct them to turn to the table of contents and read the chapter titles. Ask: What is the title of Chapter 1? (The Early Days of the Maya) Ask: On what page does this chapter begin? (page 4)

• Instruct students to turn to page 4 and skim the first chapter of the book. Tell them that when they skim a chapter, they look at the chapter title, pictures, maps, charts, and boldfaced words to get an idea of what the chapter will be about.

• To introduce Key Words and Text/Graphic Features found in this book, use the inside front cover of the book.

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Assess students’ ability to skim a chapter.

2. Document your observations in a folder or notebook.

3. Keep the folder or notebook at the small-group reading table for use during reading sessions.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC The Maya 3

Meeting Individual Needs

For students who struggle with skimming, model the process by going through a chapter and pointing out the chapter title, pictures, maps, and boldfaced words that give clues or information about the chapter topic.

Instruct students to preview the map on page 4. Ask them to find the present-day countries where the Maya civilization once flourished. Invite volunteers to name the countries. (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador)

Write the word civilization on the board and explain to students that this word means a group of people and everything that makes up their way of life, including their foods, religions, music, customs, houses, and so on. Ask students to share the word for civilization or its equivalent in their native languages.

Tell students to study the pictures of art and artifacts that appear throughout the book. Ask students to choose their favorite picture and write a brief description of it.

This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.

Prepare to Readnglish anguage earnersE L L

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What kinds of leaders did the Maya have?

presidents

kings

queens

Main Question Possible Answers

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Stop/Think/Write

• Say: Good readers think while they read and stop to write details or main ideas about the text they’re reading. Doing this can help you to remember more information.

• Use a real-life example of stopping to think and write. Say: I recently read an article about the artifacts of the Maya

civilization. The article contained many details that I wanted to remember. As I read the article, I stopped to write down details about each artifact that was described. By stopping to think and write, I knew I would better remember the information from the article.

• Read pages 2–3 aloud while students follow along. Anticipate words and ideas in the text that might cause students to stop and think. Stop and think as you read, and share your thought process aloud. Write your ideas on self-stick notes and place the notes in the book as students observe.

Say: One thing the introduction tells me is the time period when the Maya civilization existed. It began around 1000 b.c. and lasted about 1,200 years. I want to remember this detail, so I will stop and write it on a self-stick note. I’ll place this note on the page where I found the information.

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading

• Ask students to read pages 4–6 silently. Encourage them to practice stopping to think and write as they read. Tell them to write any details they’d like to remember or main points from the reading in their reading journal or on self-stick notes.

4 The Maya © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

ABOUT THE STRATEGY Stop/Think/Write

What? Good readers stop and think about what they are reading as they are reading. Then they write down their thoughts. Because this strategy is so simple, many readers forget to use it. Remind students that stopping, thinking, and writing are the beginning steps to using all other monitoring strategies.

Why? When good readers stop and think, they are able to make connections, ask questions, visualize, make inferences, determine what is important and what is not, and synthe-size information. When good readers write down their thoughts or write about their thoughts and how those thoughts apply to them, they clarify their thinking and keep track of their thoughts.

When? Good readers stop, think, and write about what they are reading during and after reading.

How? Good readers stop and think about the text. They keep track of their thoughts in a journal or on self-stick notes. After reading, they reflect on their thoughts and synthesize information.

Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1

After Reading Discuss the Reading

• Invite volunteers to share the notes they took while reading. Ask students to give examples of details or main points from Chapter 1 that they wrote down during reading.

• Discuss with students how the practice of stopping to think and write can help them remember information from the text.

• Ask students to recall the questions they posed before reading. Discuss which questions were answered, and where the answers were found. Say: Who were the leaders in the early days of the Maya? (nobles)

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for the Introduction and Chapter 1 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Comprehension Strategy: Analyze Text Structure and Organization

• Explain that authors organize their writing in different ways, and that in Chapter 1 the author uses many descriptions. Ask students to point out some of the descriptions they read, such as life in Maya villages (page 4), the roles of Maya men and women (page 4), and Maya cities (pages 5–6).

• Distribute the graphic organizer “Analyzing Text Structure and Organization” (blackline master, page 14). You may want to make a chart-size copy of the graphic organizer or use a transparency.

• Explain that as students read, they will complete the first five rows together. They will complete the last two rows independently or in pairs.


1. Check to see that students are stopping to think and write notes as they read.

2. In a folder or notebook, write down what you see each student doing.

3. Students should be writing key points and details from the text as they read. Document students who are and are not using the stop/think/write strategy.



For students who struggle with stopping to think and write, suggest that they pause at the end of each paragraph and scan the paragraph for any important details they want to recall later.

Rapid readers can organize the notes they have written during reading according to topics in their journals.

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Introduction–Chapter 1 (continued)


Comprehension Strategy: Analyze Text Structure and Organization (continued)

• Instruct students to return to Chapter 1 and follow along as you model how to analyze text structure and organization. Ask students to focus on the descriptions the author includes.

Say: Let’s reread the description in the first paragraph on page 4. What does the author say the men and women in a Maya village did? (Men hunted, fished, and raised turkeys and bees. Women wove and made pottery.) Write those ideas on the graphic organizer.

• Ask students to tell about the buildings in the first Maya cities. Check to see that students are referring to the description on page 5. Add those ideas to the graphic organizer.

• Ask students to tell about Maya city life and where they found that information. (description on page 6) Add those ideas to the graphic organizer.

Use Text Features to Locate Information: Sidebars

• Explain to students that authors use sidebars to give additional information that does not appear in the main text. Sidebars are used in many different kinds of publications, from magazines to textbooks.

• Tell students to turn to page 5 and locate the sidebar. Point out that the sidebar is a box with the title “They Made a Difference.”

• Ask students to explain what additional information the author gives in this sidebar. Ask: What is the sidebar about? How is this information connected to the information in the main text on page 5? (The sidebar tells how pyramids in Maya cities were construct-ed. It adds information to the sentence in the main text that says pyramids with temples on top were built in Maya cities.)

• Remind students to read the sidebars throughout the text for additional information that is related to the topic of each chap-ter.

Reader Response

Reread the paragraph on page 4 that describes how the nobles changed the structure of Maya society. Imagine you are a village leader. How would you feel about the change? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

Description

Description

Description

Men and boys hunted, fished, and raised turkeys and bees.Women and girls wove cloth and made pottery.

Pyramids with temples on top; palaces for nobles to live in

Cities were busy places with temples, plazas, markets, and ball courts.

Page Text Clue Words Structure or Phrases

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5

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Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Stop/Think/Write

• Instruct students to review the notes they took for Chapter 1. Ask for a few examples of details they recorded from the first chapter.

• Tell students they will continue to practice the strategy of stopping to think and write as they read Chapters 2–3. Say: When we stop to think and write during reading, we pause to record important details from the text. Think about what you’d like to remember about these chapters as you read, and stop to write on your self-stick notes or in your journal.

• Read pages 8–10 aloud as students follow along. Ask: What are these pages about? (Maya kings) Encourage students to write down the important facts about Maya kings on self-stick notes or in their journals before they continue to read.

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Tell students to read pages 11–18 silently. Remind them

to stop, think, and write as they read. Point out that section heads provide clues about the topics of sections and are a good guide for key ideas.

After Reading Discuss the Reading • Invite volunteers to provide examples of the notes they

took while reading. Ask them to explain why they thought particular details were important to remember.

• Ask students to share notes they made on Maya gods and goddesses. Ask: What gods and goddesses are described? (corn god, rain god, goddess of the moon)

• Ask students to locate the checkpoint on page 15. Read the checkpoint with students and ask them to share ideas about life in a Maya city. Have them complete the prompt in their journal.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapters 2–3 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.


Allow ELL students to copy main ideas directly out of the text rather than paraphrasing. Monitor them to see that they are able to determine the main ideas and key details in the text. If students are unsure of what to write, model the strategy for them again.


For students who struggle with this strategy, model it again. Encourage them to write each section head as a guide. Then tell them to look for details related to the section head that they can stop and write as they read.

Rapid readers can organize their notes and rewrite them in outline format. Show them an outline and tell them that this is another way to record main ideas and important details in a text. Explain that an outline presents ideas in the same order as they appear in the text.

Guide Strategies: Chapters 2–3

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Chapters 2–3 (continued)

Reader Response

Look at the photograph of Maya canals on page 16. Think about the tools the Maya had or didn’t have. (See sidebar on page 5.) What does the construction of these canals tell you about the Maya? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.


• Review the “Analyze Text Structure and Organization” graphic organizer and the descriptions the author used in Chapter 1. Tell students that now they will look for a different kind of structure that authors use in their writing—cause-and-effect relationships. Explain that a cause is the reason something happens, and an effect is the result, or what happened.

• Read the second paragraph on page 8 aloud. Say: The text says that sometimes the Maya cities fought wars against one another. What was the cause of these wars? (the desire to gain more land and rule more people) Write the cause and effect on the graphic organizer.

• Tell students to look for another cause-and-effect relationship on page 10. Point out that Maya servants were sometimes killed along with their kings. Invite volunteers to explain what caused this, and then add this information to the graphic organizer.

Use Antonyms to Determine Word Meaning

• Remind students that two words that have opposite meanings are called antonyms. Tell students to turn to page 10. Read the first paragraph with them. Point out that the opposite of the word dead in the second sentence is found in the next sentence. Ask students to find the antonym. Tell them that the clue word but indicates that alive is the opposite of dead.

• Tell students to turn to page 16 and skim the passage on farming methods. Tell students to pay special attention to the land that is described. Say: Farmers used digging sticks and hoes in the highlands and dug canals in the lowlands. Ask students to identify the antonyms (highlands, lowlands) and explain the meanings of those two words. Point out that this time there is no clue word such as but. However, the word lands appears in both words. Recognizing the words high and low as antonyms helps readers know that the words highlands and lowlands are also antonyms.


Cause and effect

Cause and effect

Cause: People in Maya cities wanted to gain more land and to rule more people.Effect: They fought wars.

Cause: The Maya believed kings needed servants in the life after death.Effect: Servants were sometimes killed when their king died.


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Apply Strategies: Chapters 4–5, Conclusion

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Stop/Think/Write • Instruct students to look at their self-stick notes or in their

journals to review the notes they took yesterday. Remind them that stopping to think and write during reading is one way to remember important details from the text.

• Read pages 19–21 aloud as students follow along. Say: The Maya had a system of writing. Let’s stop and write a few details about glyphs to help us better remember how the Maya recorded information.

• Remind students that because authors put important words in boldface, these words indicate key ideas. Encourage students to stop, think, and write notes about the boldfaced words that appear in Chapters 4–5.

During ReadingSet a Purpose for Reading

• Instruct students to continue to read Chapters 4–5 and the Conclusion silently. Tell them to place their self-stick notes in the text at the places where they decided to stop and write a detail they wanted to remember from the text.

• Encourage students to stop and think about the questions posed in the conclusion. Encourage them to write notes about each question on their self-stick notes or in their journals.

After ReadingDiscuss the Reading

• Invite volunteers to share their notes for each chapter with the group. Ask them to explain why they chose to record particular details.

• Discuss the fall of the Maya civilization with students. Ask: What caused the end of the Maya civilization? (The Maya were conquered by the Spanish. Their temples were destroyed and their cities fell into ruin and were forgotten.)

• Tell students turn to page 27 and read the checkpoint. Explain that talking about what we read is another way to understand and remember the information. Encourage students to discuss the achievements of the Maya.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapters 4–5 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Teaching Tips

After discussing the reading, instruct students to remove the self-stick notes from their books and place the notes in their journals on a page titled “Stop/Think/Write.” Use this page to review the practice of stopping to think and write throughout the year.


• Review the graphic organizer that students have been completing. Explain that they should look for a description on page 22 and a cause-and-effect relationship on page 27, and then finish the graphic organizer independently or in pairs.

• Ask students if they have any questions before they begin. Monitor their work and intervene if they are having difficulty. Discuss students’ responses together.

• For more practice with analyzing text structure and organiza-tion, instruct students to complete the blackline master “Analyze Text Structure and Organization” on page 15.

Use Antonyms to Determine Word Meaning

• Tell students that antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. Tell them to turn to page 26 and read the first paragraph aloud. Ask them to find a pair of antonyms in this paragraph. Say: Peasants were the lowest class of the Maya, while the nobles were the highest class. So the words peasants and nobles are antonyms. There is no clue word, but the fact that one class rose up against anoth-er class tells us that the two words are probably antonyms.

• Instruct students to `look for a pair of antonyms in the Conclusion on page 28. Point out that the words forgotten and found, as they are used in the text, are antonyms. Forgotten means “not remembered; lost from mind,” while found means “discovered; come on by chance.” The clue word then helps readers recognize that the two words are antonyms.

• For additional practice, instruct students to complete the blackline master on page 18.

Chapters 4–5, Conclusion (continued)



1. Watch students as they analyze text structure. Ask yourself: How have students progressed with this strategy? What problems are they still having?

2. Watch students as they complete the graphic organizer. Ask yourself: Who is still struggling with this strategy? How can I help them?

3. Jot down your thoughts in a folder or notebook. For students who struggle with analyzing text structure and organization, review the strategy with them individually.

1.

2.

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4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

highlands/lowlands

dry/wet

low/high

southern/northern

large/small

buying/selling

commoners/nobles; sentence compares two groups of people

cooperation/competition; words joined by

Reader Response

Think about the way the Spanish conquerors treated the Maya. What misunderstandings led to the fall of the Maya civilization? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

Religious ceremonies: dancing, competition, dramatic performances, prayer, sacrificeBloodletting: the priest pierced a body part to give blood to the godsGods and goddesses: creator god; god of the underworld; goddess of love; gods of war; gods of agriculture, fertility, and rain;

Description

Cause and effect

Maya calendar – 365 days, 18 months, 20 days per month, 5 unlucky days

Cause: Spaniards destroyed Maya temples and took over Maya land.Effect: Maya cities fell into ruin. The Maya became farm laborers and servants for the Spanish.


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Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment• Administer Ongoing Assessment #5 on pages 40–41 in the

Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 4).

Summarize Information• Remind students that nonfiction material often contains many

facts to read and remember. Writing a summary is one way to remember key ideas from the text.

• Instruct students to review the notes they made while reading. Tell students to organize their notes so they can use them to write a summary of one chapter. You may want to group students, and assign each group one chapter to summarize. Say: When we write a summary, we write the key ideas in our own words. You will use the notes you took during reading to write a sum-mary of one chapter.

• Model the process of summarizing information by picking out the key ideas from Chapter 1 with students. Explain that this is the first step to writing a good summary. Say: This chapter describes the early days of the Maya. What were the key ideas you wrote down from this chapter? (village life, city life, roles of men and women)

• Encourage students to share their notes with group members and work together to choose key ideas from their notes and use them to write a summary. When students are finished, select one from each group to read aloud the group’s summary.



1. Score assessments and determine if more instruction is needed for this strategy.

2. Keep group assessments in a small-group reading folder.

3. Look closely at students’ responses. Ask yourself: Why might this student have answered the question in this manner? For in-depth analysis, discuss responses with individual students.

4. If needed, reteach this strategy and administer Ongoing Assessment #6 on pages 42–43 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 4).

5. Use Ongoing Assessments to document growth over time, for parent/teacher conferences, or for your own records.

Allow ELL students to work with a partner in their group to review their notes and determine the key ideas in each chapter. Instruct ELL students to dictate their summaries to the partner, who acts as a scribe and records the summary. Ask ELL students to read their summaries aloud. Note whether or not they have included all the key ideas from the chapter they are summarizing.

Synthesize Information

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Write a Personal ResponseInvite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. The prompts below provide a variety of alternatives.

• Compare this book about the Maya to other books or articles you have read about Maya civilization and culture. (text-to-text)

• The Transamerica Pyramid on page 9 is an example of a mod-ern-day pyramid. In what other ways have the Maya influenced the modern world? (text-to-world)

• What did you think about while you were reading this book? (make connections)

• Did any part of this book confuse you? What was confusing? What could you do to make it clearer? (self-monitor)

• Think about the ball game pok-ta-pok that Maya boys played. Would you be interested in playing this game? Why or why not? (text-to-self)

• Did you like this book? Why or why not? Would you recommend it to a friend? (evaluate)

• How did you feel about the Maya as you read this book? How did you feel about the Spanish conquerors? (personal response)

Write to a Text PromptUse the prompt below as a timed writing activity. Allow students a maximum of one hour to draft, revise, and edit a response. Use the rubric provided in the sidebar to score students’ writing.

Write to a Picture PromptUse the following picture prompt to develop students’ visual writing abilities.

Reading/Writing Connections

Teaching Tips

Transfer personal response prompts to a piece of large chart paper and hang in the room. Students can refer to the list throughout the year.

The prompt is well-developed. There is strong evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is developed. There is adequate evidence of focus, orga-nization, voice, and correct con-ventions. The prompt is somewhat developed. There is minimal evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is weakly developed. There is little evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

Scoring Rubric

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Describe the achievements of the Maya. What do you think is their most important achievement? Use information from the book to support your answer.

Look at the picture on pages 14–15. How does the picture show Maya society? Is this a good way to illustrate their society? Why or why not? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member. Be sure to use details from the picture to support your answer.


© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Name ____________________________________ Date _____________

Directions: Use this sheet to talk about the book.

Word Study: Write words you did not know. Discuss the meanings with your group. Use the text to clarify the meanings.

Questions:Write two to three questions you had while reading this book. Discuss the questions and answers.

Make Connections:Write three connections you made with the text. Discuss them with your group.

Adapted from Daniels, Harvey. 1994. Literature Circles. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishing

Co.

Rules for a Good Discussion:

1. Be prepared.

2. Pay attention to the person who is talking and do not interrupt him or her.

3. Think about what others are saying so you can respond.

4. Use inside voices.

5. Let everyone in the group have a turn to speak.

6. Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.

Adapted from Fountas, I.C., and Pinnell, G. S.

2001. Guiding Readers and Writers.

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishing Co.

Ways to Make Connections

Text-to-Self: This reminds me of a time when I . . .

Text-to-World: What’s going on in this book is like what’s happening right now in . . .

Text-to-Text: This book reminds me of another book I read called. . . . It was about . . .

Small-Group Discussion Guide


Name ____________________________________ Date ________________

Page

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6

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Text Structure Clue Words or Phrases

Analyze Text Structure and Organization

Description

Description

Description

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect

Description

Cause and Effect


Name ____________________________________ Date ________________

Analyze Text Structure and OrganizationDirections: Read the passage. Identify descriptions in the text. Write a description for each word or phrase shown below the passage.

Maya Religion

Religion was a part of daily life for the Maya. Their existence

depended on the forces of nature. The origins of many gods were

related to the earth, farming, and the weather. The Maya were

always concerned about keeping the gods happy.

Rainfall, a plague of insects, or a poor harvest could mean

disaster for the Maya. They believed that religious festivals pleased

the gods. The festivals included dancing, competition, dramatic

performances, prayer, and sacrifice.

Bloodletting was one kind of sacrifice. The Maya believed that

only human blood could feed the gods. The person selected to

do bloodletting was usually a priest. He would pierce a body part

to give blood to the gods.

The Maya gods and goddesses numbered more than one

hundred. They included a creator god, a god of the underworld,

a goddess of love, gods of war, and gods of agriculture, fertility,

and rain.

Religious ceremonies and festivals

Bloodletting

Gods and goddesses

Skills Bank

16 ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

The Maya

Build ComprehensionDraw ConCLusions

Explain • Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “The Maya” or draw it on the board. Say: An author can’t give us every bit of information about a topic. We figure out some things on our own. We use the author’s words and graphic features such as photographs and maps for clues. Figuring something out using three or more clues is called drawing a conclusion.

Model • Say: Let’s draw a conclusion about The Maya. On page 7, we read that Maya civilization was at its peak from about a.d. 250 to 925. We read that the city of Tikal had about 90,000 people in and around it in a.d. 600. On page 8, we read that 29 kings of Tikal came from one powerful family. They made up most of the kings of Tikal. Record this evidence in the first Clues box on the graphic organizer. Say: Now we need to use the clues to draw a conclusion. We can conclude that while it was at its height, Tikal was ruled mostly by one family dynasty. Write this in the first Conclusion box.

Guide • Say: Now let’s draw a conclusion about Mayan plazas. Look at pages 6 and 11. What do we learn about plazas? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, plazas were busy public centers of Mayan cities. Ordinary people gathered there to buy and sell goods. They also celebrated religious festivals in the plazas. Record this evidence in the second Clues box on the graphic organizer. Ask: What can we conclude from these clues? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, the plazas were the social center of life for ordinary Mayan people. Record this sentence in the second Conclusion box on the graphic organizer.

Apply • Ask students to work with a partner to draw further conclusions from the book. Remind them to use text and graphic feature clues to figure out things the author doesn’t say. As partners share, record their ideas on the graphic organizer. Finally, invite volunteers to read the completed graphic organizer aloud.

©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

The MayaDraw Conclusions

Name ____________________________________ Date _________________

Clues Conclusion

Name ____________________________________ Date _______________


Identify AntonymsDirections: Underline the two antonyms in each sentence. Use a thesaurus to check your work.

1. The highlands of the Maya were actually located south of

the lowlands.

2. Unlike the high, dry areas, the lowlands might get 160

inches of rain a year and were covered with wet swamps

and dense forests.

3. The topography of the Maya land ranged from low

limestone shelves to high volcanic mountains.

4. Rain forests covered the southern lowlands, but only short

thorny trees grew in the northern lowlands.

5. Although Maya rulers and priests lived in large cities

with pyramids and temples, most people lived in small

farming villages.

6. At the market people were buying and selling vegetables,

fruits, honey, turkeys, doves, feathers, shellfish, salt,

and pearls.

7. Commoners who lived in cities in the lowlands paid the

ruling nobles with goods and labor.

8. As Maya civilization became more complex, cooperation

and competition grew between the people who lived in

different areas.

Directions: Underline the two antonyms in these sentences. Then explain how you identified the antonyms in each sentence.

teacher’s guide · such as life in maya villages (page 4), the roles of maya men and women (page...

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