Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries
Educators, Welcome to Humanities Texas!
As schools move ever closer to the use of online curricula, Humanities Texas works to place its humanities resources in the hands of teachers and librarians. On this page you will find suggestions for using the Humanities-Interactive website in your classroom. Please make yourself at home and enjoy our resources.
The Collections
There are presently seven thematic collections of exhibits on this website, each containing from four to sixteen separate exhibits. We provide a pithy summary of each collection on the home page. Read these over; then simply click on the icon or title that best meets your needs or interests.
Once you’re on a collection page, you will find a link to a collection essay that deals specifically with the humanities implications of that collection. Depending on the number of relevant exhibits, there may be from one to three pages of exhibits for that collection. You may use the dropdown button, “Exhibits In This Collection†to see how many exhibits there are in a collection, and you may also navigate to the collection’s different exhibits using the drop-down button. Also, for collections with more than one page of exhibits, look for the flashing 1/2/3 More Exhibits links at the top and bottom of each collection page.
The Exhibits
Each exhibit has a title, a short description of the exhibit, and several links to related materials: View Exhibit, Essay, Game, and More. If one of the links—say, Game—appears faded, that means that the exhibit does not have that resource. Clicking on any of these linking words will take you directly to that resource. Clicking on the exhibit icon or title or the “View Exhibit†button takes you straight to the corresponding exhibit. Here is a short summary of what you will find with each exhibit link.
* View Exhibit
Once inside an exhibit, you will see a central image and two frames on either side of it. To the left is the exhibit Gallery, with thumbnail images and captions that link to the content of the exhibit. On the right-hand side, you will find links to essays, games, and more resources that relate to the specific exhibit. Simply use the scroll bars on each side to view the image and text you select. All images have a “larger image†feature which can be used to enlarge the image onscreen. Images and text in each exhibit may be downloaded and used as research material, free of charge. Please see and adhere to our “Fair Use†policy (click on “Permissions†link).
* Essay
Each exhibit has one or more essays that relate specifically to that exhibit. These essays can be used to teach critical reading and writing skills, such as: Determining point of view, Vocabulary development, Drawing conclusions, Making generalizations, and Determining cause and effect. The essays may also be used to create differentiation exercises for special needs students, such as gifted and talented or learning disabled.
* Game
While Humanities Texas is working to create interactive learning games for each of its online exhibits, we are not there yet. Therefore, not every exhibit has a live “Game†link. In such cases, go to that exhibit’s “More†link for further learning activities.
To play the interactive games successfully, students must have a working knowledge of the exhibit material. Students viewing the exhibit will need to read critically for information and perhaps take notes, as the information in each exhibit corresponds directly with that exhibit’s learning activities, teacher’s guides and games.
Each game uses a multiple-choice question and answer format and has a score-keeping function that teachers may use as an assessment tool. As different grade levels and different learning abilities must be considered, it may be useful for the teacher to play the game beforehand and note the questions and correct answers. Using that information, it is possible to create a guided learning worksheet for students to use as they go through the exhibit. Some of the newer games include the game questions and answers in the teacher’s guide.
Many of the newer games require a Flash plug-in. Campus technology facilitators may be needed to install required plug-ins on school computers.
* More
This link takes you to a variety of exhibit-related activities and teacher’s guides, which may include one or more of the following:
Directions for relating each exhibit to its game or learning activity
Additional classroom extension activities, some of which can be downloaded and used as worksheets
Timelines
Vocabulary and definitions
National and Texas curriculum standards
Additional Essays
Quizzes
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