National Museum of the American Indian: Mayan Bingo Game

Details

Activity Description

November is National American Indian Heritage Month. The National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution has several exhibits and collections that are currently on display and links to exhibits from the past.

To learn more about the Maya, select Living Maya Time . There are videos and other activities the students/class can watch allowing students to prepare reports on what they learn or as a summarizing activity and/or play the game at the Example Web Site (above). By playing this Lotería, a bingo-like game popular in México, students will become familiar with Maya cultural symbols such as calendar glyphs and other iconography found in the Living Maya Time Web site.

Preparation

1. You will need to print (and laminate if you will reuse) enough of the game boards so that each student has one.
2. Also print the game cards (do not laminate) (pages 20-27 of the PDF file) and cut them to make a stack.
3. Using a bag of dried beans and small paper cups (one for each student), place at least 12-15 beans in each cup.
4. Familarize yourself with the Living Maya Time Web site and the game rules.
5. If you decide to have the students draw the Maya numbers, you will also need drawing or art supplies of some kind. (optional)

How-To

1. Discuss Native American Cultures with a focus on Maya Culture using the Living Maya Time Web site .
2. Use various video clips from the site.
3. Assign student pairs/groups to research different aspects of videos and (optionally) prepare a PowerPoint presentation on what they learned.
4. Gather class to participate in presentations.
5. Play Mayan Bingo game called Loteria.

Teacher Tips

• This is a great site focusing on Mayan culture. It has many related activities to enrich the student experience. To have all students participate successfully, mix groups to include lower reading levels. This allows these students to take on group tasks such as recorder, letting others be the 'reader.'

More Ways

• The National Museum of the American Indian site has more teacher resources for teaching about American Indians. Explore these if you are looking for other related resources.

Program Areas

• ABE: Adult Basic Education

Levels

• Low
• Intermediate
• High
• All Levels

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