Mayan Civilization, 5th Grade

Students learn the mysterious history of the Maya by decoding glyphs, by investigating the unusual religion of the Maya, by unraveling the complex Mayan calendar, and by discovering the Mayan number system's secret meanings. Students re-create the structure of the ancient Maya hierarchy to discover the way life might have been in ancient times. Before the simulation draws to a close, students will have discovered that the needs of ancient cultures in many respects are not that different from the needs of successful contemporary cultures.