Una encuesta
Posted by Katie BrennaIt’s always amazing to me, how a familiar unit of study can take such varied paths each year depending on the class dynamic. Recently, I was teaching my seventh graders about the many indigenous groups of Guatemala. I was moved by their response to this lesson. They could not believe that there were so many groups of people and so many languages that they have never heard of in Guatemala! Like so many others, they had heard of the country and simply associated it with Spanish-speaking people. It came to them as a shock, that for many Guatemalans, Spanish is actually a second language. They immediately took to doing personal research on these varied groups to answer some of their own questions: Where are these groups located exactly? What languages do they speak and what does the language sound like? What clothing helps to identify these cultures? After researching, students were inspired to share their knowledge in a meaningful way with others. We worked together to create surveys with the intent to educate the Unquowa community. Seventh graders were then set free to administer their surveys and to spread the word. Students were impressed that most participants had heard of Guatemala and could identify it on the map. They were happy to educate many people (even adults) on the details of indigenous life in Guatemala.
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