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This curriculum unit is adaptable for students in grades 1-12, from Mexico, Latin America, or any culture using the Roman alphabet in their written language. The unit proposes that students of limited English proficiency will transition from visual and tactile work to written English production. Using culturally familiar activities to enhance their cultural confidence and communicative skills, learners will write on paper in various modes of expression using the critical thinking common to the Mexican craft-making world. The six units of study are: (1) From Murals of Chicanos in El Paso to Informative Writing To Explain; (2) From Woven Wristbands of Tarahumaras in Sierra Madre to Fictional Narrative Writing; (3) From Amate Paper Making of Otomis in Puebla to Informative Writing of Instructions; (4) From Yarn Paintings of Huichols in Jalisco to Personally Expressive Writing of Haiku Poems and Personal Letters; (5) From Clay Figures of Purepeche in Michoacan to Dialogue Writing; and (6) From Codices by Mixtecs in Oaxaca to Persuasive Letter Writing. Each unit features background reading for students on a Mexican people group, their terrain, their craft, presented in the type of text required by students in that unit; critical thinking questions; objectives for the art and writing projects; warm-up and closure activities for art and writing; procedures that include word banks, instructions for students and teachers, writing prompts for students with teacher guidance, and evaluations using rubrics for students and teachers. An Appendix on Mexican music suggests selections for each unit. (Contains 47 footnotes and 25 references.) (BT)

This paper introduces students to lesser known and traveled parts of Mexico. The text is intended to accompany a Power Point presentation that traces the trip a Fulbright-Hays group took through Mexico, highlighting places of cultural and historical interest. The paper includes a list of slide notes and realia for each slide to be shared with the class. (EH)

The development of calculus and science by being permanent, didactic, demands on one part an analytical, deductive study and on another an application of methods, rhochrematics, resources, within calculus, which allows to dialectically conform knowledge in its different phases and to test the results. For the purpose of this study, the motivation in calculus, the characteristic of motivation, correlation between theory and practice, the concrete and abstract, creativity, and the systematization in the teaching of calculus are presented. (Author)

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which brought an official end to the Mexican American War (1846-1848) was signed on February 2, 1848. Nicholas Trist, chief clerk of the U.S. Statement Department at the time, negotiated the peace treaty in defiance of 1845-1849 President James K. Polk. Trist believed that Mexico must surrender fully, including surrendering territory. Polk forwarded the Treaty to the Senate, which reluctantly ratified it. This lesson on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo examines the power granted to the President and the Senate to make and approve treaties with foreign nations. The lesson correlates with the National History Standards and with the National Standards for Civics and Government. It furnishes three primary sources: (1) the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; (2) Lincoln's Spot Resolutions; and (3) a photograph of a border marker being rebuilt in the 1890s. The lesson provides historical background on the circumstances of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Trist's actions, and the surveying of new U.S. territories ceded from Mexico. The unit contains eight diverse teaching activities, including locating and distributing prepared map sets to help students identify the boundary changes after the treaty. Students are asked to write a position paper supporting or opposing the following thesis: "Considering the events that led to the Mexican American War, the terms negotiated in the Treaty were a just conclusion to the crisis." (Contains a written document analysis worksheet and a photograph analysis worksheet.) (BT)

The lessons in this 3-part series are intended to provide students with a basic understanding of the relationship between the United States and Mexico, with emphasis on multiple perspectives, conflict and cooperation, and interdependence. This curriculum unit, Part 3, examines the economic interdependence of the United States and Mexico to learn how events and changes in Mexico affect and continue to impact the economy, society, and politics of the United States. The introduction presents a rationale, state and national history standards, series goals, matrix of lessons, materials needed, time and suggested sequence of activities, and small-group roles. This unit contains four lessons: (1) "Setting the Context for U.S.-Mexico Relations" (contains handouts and maps); (2)"Categories of Trade: The U.S.-Mexico Case" (contains a fact sheet); (3) "Interdependence and Devaluation: A Case Study" (contains handouts and teacher material); and (4) "Twin Cities Working Together: A Case Study" (contains 7 position papers, teacher material, and a transparency). (BT)

This presentation features materials for teaching about the Mexican Revolution: 1910-1940. The presentation is divided into four broad sections. The first section, "Why Teach the Mexican Revolution?" furnishes a rationale for teaching a course about a revolution that took place much closer to home than the Russian or Chinese Revolutions. The second section, "How Can the Mexican Revolution Lend Itself to Cross-Curricular Enrichment?" contains examples of curriculum enhancement using selections from literature, journalism, drama, art, music and dance, Spanish, technology, science, and mathematics. The third section, "Sample Unit with Connections to State and District Standards," outlines a 3-week unit of study that constitutes a major focus for a U.S. history course. The fourth section, "Resources," details historical references, historical fiction, videos (in both English and Spanish), and Internet sites. Attached are three Washington State Essential Learning Standards with performance indicators, components, and benchmarks for grade 10. (Contains 38 references.) (BT)

This paper takes G.K. Chesterton's short story, "The Three Horsemen of Apocalypse," as a motivating introduction to the study of linear equations systems, as well as a review of the concept of linear function. The guide has three objectives: (1) to illustrate how to use non-mathematical sources to create math problems; (2) to use the graphing calculator (TI-92) to go from one representation of the problem to another; and (3) to suggest an activity which reviews the linear function and systems of linear equations. (Author/ASK)

This paper outlines a unit of study on Mexico for students in grades 5-10 but can be adapted to other grade levels. Background information on significant events in Mexican history is presented. Activities are suggested along with recommendations for continuing study of Mexican history and an examination of Mexico today. Suggestions for discussion and activities focus on the concept of cultural universals as basic components that all cultures have. (EH)

The MEXUS program, a transnational, undergraduate, dual-degree program in the United States and Mexico, addresses the problem of how universities can better prepare students to manage business in an interdependent global marketplace. The program was initiated as a consortium of four institutions (San Diego State University and Southwestern College (California); and in Mexico, Centro de Ensenanza Technica y Superior and the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California). Students spend a minimum of two years studying in the United States and a minimum of two years studying in Mexico, receiving undergraduate degrees from both countries: a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and the Licenciatura en Negocios Internacionales. As of mid-1997, 120 students were enrolled, and five had already graduated. Report sections include a project overview, purpose, background and origins, project descriptions, evaluation of project results, and a summary. Extensive appended materials include publicity documents, student presentations, applications, curricula, advising guide, two evaluation reports, a curriculum design paper, minutes of an advisory council meeting on effective publicity, tests of ethnocentrism and oral proficiency, program agreements, and Chapter 12 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. (BF)

The curriculum presented here contains three units designed to help Mexican-American migrant students understand and value the richness of their culture, experiences, and family. Unit 1, "My Roots," examines the different components of a culture, and presents aspects of the Aztec civilization and culture. Activities include hearing a poem in Nahuatl, the original Aztec language, art activities involving pre-Columbian designs, reading and acting out Aztec myths, learning about Aztec religion and its role in Aztec culture, and reading and writing activities concerning Cortes and the Spanish conquest of Mexico. This unit contains many drawings suitable for coloring or tracing. Unit 2, "My Family," covers the roles and responsibilities of family members, traditional versus modern family, and immigration and the migrant experience. Activities include diagramming families; writing about a favorite relative, family traditions and values, and student's own or family's migration experiences; interviewing a family member; and painting family scenes. In Unit 3, "Myself," the student examines his/her own name, appearance, feelings, and room or favorite place. Activities include group discussion, journal writing, making "me" paper dolls and personal-history mobiles, exploring feelings, and drawing self and favorite place. A resource section lists 54 recommended books, summarizes the process of leading a group circle session, provides teacher and parent evaluation forms, and describes slide shows available for use with lessons. Some student materials are provided in both Spanish and English. (SV)

This essay presents background information and suggests teaching stragegies to aid community and junior college classroom teachers of history and civilization as they develop and implement educational programs on Latin American music. It is based on the premise that Latin American music can best be understood as a reflection of other historical and cultural themes. Emphasis is placed on the music of Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia. The document is presented in six chapters. Chapter one introduces the document, identifies objectives, and presents information on major influences of Latin America's musical heritage, including indigenous, Iberian, and African. Chapters two, three, and four focus on the music of Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, respectively. For each country, information is organized around six themes--(1) ethnic variety and fusion, (2) regionalism, (3) cultural imperialism and imitativeness, (4) nationalism, (5) protest and revolution, and (6) urbanization and cultural standardization. Titles and themes of various types of music are interwoven throughout the narrative. A brief introductory section for each of these three chapters relates the folk, popular, and art music traditions of each country to Latin American music at various times throughout history. Chapter five offers additional suggestions on relating music to nationalistic and social action themes in other Latin American nations. Chapter six suggests teaching methods, including playing musical selections in class, asking students to identify various rhythmic and stylistic differences, and directing students to identify traditional motifs while listening to nationalistic music. The document concludes with a bibliography and a discography. (DB)