Students will:
8.3.1 appreciate how a society’s worldview influences the society’s choices, decisions and interactions with other societies
8.3.2 appreciate how Aztec and Spanish identities and worldviews were affected by intercultural contact
8.3.3 appreciate and recognize how rapid adaptation can radically change a society’s beliefs, values and knowledge
8.3.4 assess, critically, how the Aztecs were affected by the Spanish worldview by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and issues:
What were the key elements of the worldview of the Aztec civilization prior to contact with the Spanish?
How did the Aztec civilization’s worldview influence the Aztecs’ choices, decisions and customs?
What key elements of Spain’s worldview led to the desire to expand the Spanish empire?
In what ways did factors such as technology and disease contribute to the dominance of the Spanish over the Aztec civilization?
To what extent were the divergent worldviews of the Spanish and Aztecs factors in the dominance of one nation over the other?
Dimensions of Thinking
8.S.1 develop skills of critical thinking and creative thinking:
re-evaluate personal opinions to broaden understanding of a topic or an issue
generate creative ideas and strategies in individual and group activities
8.S.2 develop skills of historical thinking: •
distinguish cause, effect, sequence and correlation in historical events, including the long and short-term causal relations
use historical and community resources to organize the sequence of historical events
analyze the historical contexts of key events of a given time period
create a simulation or a model by using technology that permits the making of inferences
identify patterns in organized information
8.S.3 develop skills of geographic thinking:
interpret historical maps to broaden understanding of historical events •
use thematic maps to describe cultural and political regions
construct and interpret various maps to broaden understanding of given topics •
define geographic problems and issues and pose geographic questions •
use geographic tools, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, to assist in preparing graphs and maps
access and operate multimedia applications and technologies from stand-alone and online sources; e.g., GIS
8.S.4 demonstrate skills of decision making and problem solving:
demonstrate skills of compromise and devise strategies to reach group consensus •
propose and apply new ideas and strategies, supported with facts and reasons, to contribute to problem solving and decision making •
propose and apply strategies or options to solve problems and deal with issues •
participate in and predict outcomes of problem-solving and decision-making scenarios
articulate clearly a plan of action to use technology to solve a problem
identify the appropriate materials and tools to use in order to accomplish a plan of action
evaluate choices and the progress in problem solving, then redefine the plan of action as appropriate use networks to brainstorm, plan and share ideas with group members
Social Participation as a Democratic Practice
8.S.5 demonstrate skills of cooperation, conflict resolution and consensus building:
identify and use a variety of strategies to resolve conflicts peacefully and fairly
consider the needs and perspectives of others
demonstrate leadership within groups where appropriate
access, retrieve and share information from electronic sources, such as common files
8.S.6 develop age-appropriate behaviour for social involvement as responsible citizens contributing to their community:
volunteer with organizations, projects and activities that ensure the growth and vitality of their community
Research For Deliberative Inquiry
Students will:
8.S.7 apply the research process:
integrate and synthesize concepts to provide an informed point of view on a research question or an issue
develop a position that is supported by information gathered through research
draw conclusions based upon research and evidence
organize and synthesize researched information
formulate new questions as research progresses
practice the responsible and ethical use of information and technology
include and organize references as part of research
plan and conduct a search, using a wide variety of electronic sources
demonstrate the advanced search skills necessary to limit the number of hits desired for online and offline databases; for example, the use of “and” or “or” between search topics and the choice of appropriate search engines for the topic
develop a process to manage volumes of information that can be made available through electronic sources
evaluate the relevance of electronically accessed information to a particular topic
make connections among related, organized data, and assemble various pieces into a unified message
refine searches to limit sources to a manageable number
analyze and synthesize information to create a product
access and retrieve information through the electronic network