Aztec Lesson for fourth grade social studies.

1. By: Ted Angstadt

2. The Aztec tribe lived in ancient Mexico for about 400 years.
No one wanted the Aztecs as neighbors. The Aztecs
practiced human sacrifice.
They believed that if their gods were not fed, they
would not do their jobs. The sun god would not bring up the
sun, and everyone would die.

3. Some of the people they sacrificed were Aztecs. However,
most of the people they sacrificed were captured from
neighboring tribes.
This did not make them popular with their neighbors.
Sooner or later, their neighbors would band together to chase
the Aztecs away.

4. When the Aztecs first arrived in the Valley of Mexico, other
tribes were already living on the best land in the area.
This time, rather than fight for the best land
or for captives to feed their hungry gods, the Aztecs quietly
settled along the swampy shores of Lake Texcoco.

5.  To build the city they wanted, they knew that
they would need engineers, builders, and traders.
This required an educated population. To solve this
problem, the Aztecs set up a system of public
schools.
Attendance was mandatory for all Aztec children,
even girls and slaves.
The Aztecs were the only people up to that time in
history to have free schools that every child had to
attend.
They set up three schools, one for girls, two for
boys.

6.  Boys Schools: Sons of the upper class
and of wealthy traders and merchants
went to the nobles’ school. They studied
law, writing (hieroglyphics), medicine,
engineering and building.
 The other boys’ school was for sons of
commoners. Its main goal was to train
warriors and farmers. Boys had to sleep
under skimpy blankets. They were given
hard bread to eat.

7. Girls learned about religion and were trained to be good
wives and mothers. They learned how to cook, sew,
and how to care for their children. They also learned how to
make beautiful woven textiles.

8. Thanks to Aztec schools, which produced trained engineers,
builders, and traders, the Aztec capital of
Tenochtitlan (Tec-noc-tay-lan) became a great city. It had
huge temples, beautiful open plazas, and a large central
marketplace.
By the mid-1400s,Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities
in the world. It had a population of over 200,000 people.

9. As the Aztec population grew, more food was needed. To
solve this problem, Aztec engineers created “floating”
gardens called Chinampas. They built rafts, which they
anchored to the lake bed. They piled on dirt and grew crops.
They made walkways out of mud and reeds to connect the
floating rafts.

11. Citations
Creative Commons. (2010) Floating Gardens [Image]. Retrieved November 10,
2010 from http://search.creativecommons.org
Creative Commons. (2010) Aztec Dancer [Image]. Retrieved November 10,
2010 from http://search.creativecommons.org
Creative Commons. (2010) Mexican Flag [Image]. Retrieved November
10, 2010 from http://search.creativecommons.org
Discovery Education. (2010) Aztec Mural [Image]. Retrieved
November 8, 2010, from http://www.discoveryeducation.com
Discovery Education. (2010) Aztec Mural [Image]. Retrieved November 8, 2010,
from http://www.discoveryeducation.com
Discovery Education. (2010) Aztec Mural [Image]. Retrieved November 8,
2010, from http://www.discoveryeducation.com
Discovery Education. (2010) Aztec Mural [Image]. Retrieved
November 8, 2010, from http://www.discoveryeducation.com
Discovery Education. (2010) Aztec Mural [Image]. Retrieved November 8, 2010,
from http://www.discoveryeducation.com