The Ancient Abodes

Slide 3, 5

Introduce the ground rules, lesson norms, and team roles to students. You can check out our lesson approach if it’s your first time conducting an Eddy lesson.

Slide 6

Ask learners about what the ancient kingdoms of the Aztecs and Mayans looked like. You can take two to three responses to this question. 

Educators can ask the learners about the different types of shelter, housing and structures and cities during Aztec and Mayan civilizations.

Slide 7

Share the project about the Aztec and Mayan Kingdoms on Google Arts and Culture. Pause at each image and ask learners to explore the cities, houses, and buildings of Aztec and Mayan Kingdoms.

Educators can also ask a few questions while walking learners through the Aztec and Mayan civilization to increase their curiosity and enthusiasm, like, "What are some of the features of early homes that are similar to today's homes?  What are some of the features that are different? 

Slide 8

Share that learners will  fill their worksheet with the information they have  gathered while exploring Aztec and Mayan Kingdoms.    

Slide 9, 10

Introduce learners to the activity's central part, where they will create a "House for sale" advertisement for Aztec and Mayan civilizations.

NOTE: As a less logistics-intensive alternative to Virtual trip to Aztec and Mayan civilization, teachers may check out these alternative activities.

Slide 9

Introduce learners to the Maker challenge, where they will create an advertisement for the various prehistoric houses in the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. Explain that with their exploration of the knowledge they gathered. They will now become a house agent and create a "House for sale” advertisement for the prehistoric house.

Slide 10

Share the steps to accomplish this maker challenge.

Introduce them with the components of a good advertisement they need to follow while creating an advertisement. 

Selection wall of the pre historic house put for the learners to select their prehistoric house they want to put for sale.

Slide 11

Ask them to state some features which they have witnessed of Aztec and Mayan civilization of houses during the virtual walk. Apart from those stated on the slide, other examples of Aztec and Mayan civilization houses include:

• Long passages
• Spacious courtyards
• Wide patios 

Slide 12, 13

Ask learners if they can think of a tagline that can help to give a buyer a brief introduction about the house and the experience they will get in that ancient house.

Explain to the learners how to frame a sales tagline. At the start,they will find this word play difficult, but as we show them various examples of how a tagline should look like and what are the steps to frame a tagline:

Here's a step-by-step guide for explaining how to frame a tagline for an advertisement:

• Start by explaining what a tagline is. A saying is a short and catchy phrase companies use to help people remember their product or service. It's like a little slogan or motto."
• Next, talk about the importance of a tagline. You can say, "Taglines are important because they help people remember what a company does or their product. When you see or hear a tagline, you'll immediately know what the company is trying to sell."
• Then, give examples of some famous taglines that the kids might recognize. For example, "Just Do It" for Nike, or "I'm Lovin' It" for McDonald's.
• After that, explain how to come up with a tagline. You can say, "To create a tagline, consider what makes your product or service special or different. Then, you need to find a short and catchy phrase that sums up that idea."
• Finally, help the kids choose the best tagline from their ideas. You can say, "Which tagline best describes your product or service? Which one is the most catchy and memorable?" Once you've chosen a tagline, you can use it in your advertising materials to help people remember your product or service.
• Ask learners to brainstorm and finalize the prehistoric house they want to create an advertisement, its features with a suitable selling tagline.They will fill up the  preparation worksheet with the details of their project.

Slide 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Introduction to canva :

• Get students to navigate on their devices to https://www.canva.com/en_in/ 
• Guide your students through the process of creating an advertisement on canva
• If this your first time using canva, please refer to the tech tutorial here.
• Share tips on how to use canva tools and templates to create an attractive advertisement to the learners.

To demostrate how to use Canva, use this video tutorial.

Slide 22

Play the timer on the screen for learners to be mindful of completing the task on time.

Slide 23

The educator asks the learners to present their advertisement and have the class guess which house they advertised.

• Learners go through the presentation guidelines and present taking help from supplement questions from the presentation template.
• Towards the end, teams could open the floor for feedback on further refining their advertisement.

Slide 24

Consolidate learning and ask the learners a series of reflective questions below to help learners reflect on their work:

• What did you learn about the prehistoric houses of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations?

• By creating models of Aztec and Mayan houses, learners can learn about the different building materials, designs, and techniques used by these ancient civilizations. 

  They can also learn about the cultural and environmental factors that influenced the architecture of these prehistoric homes. For example, the Aztecs used adobe bricks made of clay and straw, while the Mayans used limestone blocks or adobe bricks.

• What features did you include in your classified ad to make the house appealing?
• Location: Highlighting the house's proximity to schools, parks, shopping centers, and other amenities can make it more attractive.
• Size and Layout: Mentioning any unique features like a fireplace, balcony, or large backyard can catch the attention of potential buyers or renters.
• Safety and Security: Highlighting features like a gated community, security system, or neighborhood watch program.
• What lessons can we learn from prehistoric housing design in terms of sustainability?
•  We can learn several lessons from prehistoric housing design in terms of sustainability. 

  First, The importance of constructing a house with local and natural materials, such as mud, clay, and stone, which are abundant and readily available in the surrounding environment. 

  The importance of designing houses adapting to the local climate and weather conditions. For example, prehistoric homes in arid regions were designed to provide natural cooling and ventilation, while houses in colder areas were designed to retain heat.