Cobblestone&Cricket: A Teacher's Guide to Inca of Peru

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Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE: Inca of Peru

Teacher guide prepared by: our staff.

Vocabulary
Sweltering * swarm * gape * reprisal * arable * commoner * tortuous
torrent * insurrection * motif * tantalizing * maize * iridescent

Geography
Using this issue, textbooks, the Internet resources on page 49, and The World Factbook 1999 Peru Listing, ask students to define the geographic coordinates, climate, terrain of Peru. Have them compare the size to that of their own state.

Fact-Gathering
As students read through the issue and other related materials you may have available for them, ask them to build a timeline of the history of the Incas and their leaders. Also ask them to keep a list of achievements in the areas of:

Conquests (Students can draw a map of the Inca Empire as they read the articles.)
Engineering
Farming
Arts

Using the facts they have, ask students to write an essay about how the Incas adapted to their environment.

After reading "Who's Who in Inca Society" (pages 14 - 15), have students compare the hierarchy of the Incas with that of other civilizations your class has studied.

What are some of the similarities and differences between the Inca mail system and the Pony Express?

Projects:
Students could compare some of the agricultural techniques of the Inca with those of other civilizations.

Compare building techniques of the Egyptian pyramid builders and the Incas, as well as their burial customs.

The Incas developed a method of freeze-drying their potatoes that could preserve them for a long time. Students could research how other civilizations preserved their food and then find out what preserving methods are used for foods today and whether there are any similarities between the ancient methods and the current ones.

Debate Question:
Many scientists are studying crops developed and produced by the Incas and other ancient peoples. Is it a wise use of research time and money? Ask students to explain their answers.

Creative Writing:
Ask students to write a poem about Machu Picchu, the "city in the clouds."

Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE: Inca of Peru