Peru+-+Activities

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=** Early Elementary **=

These are the ABC's of Peru. You may learn these together as a class and adapt them for your grade level. After students have learned what each letter stands for you can assign a letter to each student and they must research their letter and create poster about it.
 * Geography ABC's - Peru**

A is for Andes, the worlds longest mountain range where many of the peaks remain snow covered all year around. B is for balsas, boats made from bundles of totora reeds. C is for charango, a small guitar, typically made from an amadillo’s shell. D is for deposits of gold, silver, and copper. Peru is ranked 16th in the world for jewelry export. E is for El Misti, an inactive volcano used by Inca’s. F is for flag. Peru’s flag is red and white with an center emblem of a vicuna, cinchon tree, and a horn filled with gold coins. G is for gold mask once worn by the Inca’s in different ceremonies. H is for the Huascaran. Peru’s highest mountain peak and named after a Inca chief. I is for Inca, a war-like tribe known for their powerful army, good engineers, and builders. J is for Jaguar, the forest of Peru is one of the few places jaguars are still found in the wild. K is for Kullawada, a folklore dance where the dancers wear colorful, elaborately decorated costumes for the dance. L is for Lima, the ‘city of kings,’ is the capital of Peru. M is for Machu Picchu also known as the lost Inca city because it was a mere rumor until it was rediscovered in 1911. N is for Nazca desert which is famous for the ancient drawings of birds, whales, and pumas. O is for Ollucos Con Charqui. This dish is a stew of finely diced ollucos with charqui pieces (traditionally alpaca), served with white rice. P is for Paracas an ancient culture known for their weaving. Q is for Quechua the native language spoken in Peru. R is for red howler monkey, their echoes can be heard through out the Peru jungles. S is for Selva the rain forest of Peru which can get up to 80 inches of rain a year T is for tribal languages. Peru has more than 60 different spoken tribal languages. U is for Ucayali, Peru’s longest river that provides a highway into the jungle. V is for Vilcanota Valley called the sacred valley by the Inca’s. W is for wayno the most popular dance in the highlands. X marks the spot. Y is for yellow spotted river turtle, a favorite food of many of the local tribes. Z is for zampona, a wind instrument, played in all the festivities in southern Peru. (Bright Hub)

=** Upper Elementary **=

How do you think messages were passed across this great mountain empire—in a time before automobiles and planes and telephones and email? The Inca didn't even have horses or the wheel or a written language. Yes, they had llamas, but these animals didn't like to be ridden and were only used to carry supplies. All traveling was done on foot. How did the Inca pass messages? They used couriers. Explain that the Inca built a 10,000-mile network of trails, some as wide as 24 feet, to knit together the parts of their empire. Show the students a section of one of the [|trails] at [|the Virtual Inca Trail], and at the[|Conquistadors] site (click on the road icon in the right-hand margin). The Inca used couriers throughout the empire, all along the well-made trails. The couriers worked as a kind of relay team. Stationed every few miles, they could carry messages at a speed of 150 miles a day. (They were so fast that the Inca emperor used them for more than just messages; sometimes he had them deliver to his kitchen fresh fish from the Pacific Ocean.) How do you think the couriers passed on their messages? Remember, they had no written language. They had to pass on memorized messages. So they not only had to have good legs, they had to have good memories, too. Have the students write two to three sentences answering the question, "How did the Inca get their messages across the mountains?" (EDSITEment)
 * Getting Your Message Across the Mountains **

=** Arts **=

Make some fun sun ornaments to honor Inti, Sun God of the Incan people. Activity 1: Make some fun sun ornaments to honor Inti, Sun God of the Incan people.To make miniature suns that can be hung in windows or used to decorate a festive table, dry ¼” slices of oranges in an oven at the lowest setting. Turn occasionally and cook until dried, but not brown. To hang these ornaments, use a needle to pull a thread through. Tie and hang in windows or from potted plants. Alternatively, they can be scattered on tabletops as giant sun-shaped confetti.

Activity 2: Make “stained glass” effect suns to attach to windows with wax paper and yellow crayon shavings. Layer 2 pieces of newspaper, one sun-shaped piece of wax paper, yellow crayon shavings, an identical sun-shaped piece of wax paper (lined up with the bottom piece so that the rays match up), and top with 2 more pieces of newspaper. Iron at a low setting until the suns have stuck together to create one piece of very pretty art. Use clear tape to attach to windows. (Earthy Family)



__Objectives:__ Students will Show an understanding and awareness of Inca culture and religion Show an appreciation for art of the Inca - discuss artifacts Create a mask showing design concepts of the Inca - pattern, repetition - adornment Demonstrate craftsmanship in tooling and cutting foul __Materials:__ Newsprint Pencils Handouts of Inca art/Inca gods chart Tooling foil (gold, copper, aluminum) Newspaper pads Modeling Tools (rounded and pointed) Masking tape Ballpoint pens India ink Brushes Black posterboard or Mat board
 * Foiled Tooled Masks**

__Motivation:__ 1. Present background information on the Inca and Inca gods. Optional:[|Present the Sun in Art]- give a short overview of cultures and worship of Sun God. Make connections to science. 2. Show examples of Inca gold - and metal tooling. Discuss the Inca gold masks 3. Demonstrate foil tooling techniques - working both sides of the metal __Procedures:__ 1. Design a mask on newsprint showing characteristics of Incan art combined with original ideas. Design mask to meet the needs of the Inca or personal need. 2. Transfer mask drawing to tooling foil - Tape drawing to foil. Place on newspaper pad and trace over all lines making an impression. Remove drawing and save for reference as needed. 3. Tool mask. Place on newspaper pad. Press down some shapes while making other come out in relief. Go back over lines as needed to make shapes show up. 4. Cut out mask - - Antique with India ink if desired. Mount on black poster board or mat board. 5. Write about mask. What need does your mask fulfill? (Incredible Art Department)