Exploros | Southern Coastal South America: History and Its Influence

Southern Coastal South America: History and Its Influence

Students are introduced to the Inca Empire by first exploring Machu Picchu. Then they learn about various elements of life in the Inca Empire. Next, they focus on the Spanish conquest of the empire by Francisco Pizarro and explain how he was able do it with so few soldiers. Finally, students explain what they would most like to see and understand about Machu Picchu.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

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Overview

In this experience, students are introduced to the Inca Empire by first exploring Machu Picchu. Then they learn about various elements of life in the Inca Empire. Next, they focus on the Inca view of gold as a sacred object versus the Spanish view that gold is a material asset. Finally, students explain what they would most like to see and understand about Machu Picchu.

Objectives:

Describe the early civilizations of the Andes and the Pampas, including the Inca.
Explain the effects of Spanish conquest and rule in the Andes and the Pampas.
Evaluate the impact of geography on important events in the region’s history.

Have you ever climbed a high mountain or seen photos of high mountains? What do you think it’s like to live up in a place like that? How would you get your food or grow a garden? Would you be able to keep animals up there? In this experience, you will learn about the history of the Inca Empire, an empire that was located in the mountainous region of western South America.

Objectives:

Describe the early civilizations of the Andes and the Pampas, including the Inca.
Explain the effects of Spanish conquest and rule in the Andes and the Pampas.

Evaluate the impact of geography on important events in the region’s history.

black and white photograph of ruins on a mountain peak

Imagine that you are reading a newspaper that announces that an ancient lost city has been discovered. This unknown city reveals parts of a culture that people never knew about it.

What would you want to know about that lost city? Who would you want to talk to? How would you go about exploring it?

Post your answer

Discuss your response with someone sitting near you.

Discuss student responses as a class.

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.