This article outlines geographic contributions to Borderlands studies in terms of 1) their general, regional and topical contributions; 2) specific studies and institutions dealing directly with the border; and 3) an evaluation of current research and a reference to future needs. For journal availability see SO 504 297. (Author/DE)

The Americas conventionally are divided into two continents, North and South America, with the place of demarcation at the border between Panama and Colombia. Yet a generation of students is growing up with the broad but imprecise term Latin America, referring to all of those countries south of the United States, while North America has come to…

This curriculum project offers ways to teach students about Mexico to make the country come alive for them. The curriculum is designed to create avenues for third-year Spanish students to practice the following language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The lessons included can be adapted for other-level students. There are four…

This mini-unit focuses on the lives and accomplishments of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood and their contacts with the Maya. This project deals specifically with how Stephens' published accounts and Catherwood's drawings became the basis from which all further Mayan research developed. These two explorers were the first to describe…

This packet provides an overview of historical and contemporary Mexico. The interdisciplinary lessons for grades 7-12 include history, geography, art, cooperative learning activities, and map work. Worksheets are included. (EH)

These curriculum units were developed in a National Endowment for the Humanities 1994 summer seminar "Mexico in Transition." The 23 lessons are written in Spanish. Lessons are entitled: (1) "La Migracion Mexicana Vista a Traves del Cuento 'Paso del Norte' de Juan Rulfo" (Jose Jorge Armendariz); (2) "Los Grupos Indigenas de…

This project shares the information that an elementary school media specialist gleaned from a summer seminar in Mexico. The document consists almost entirely of pictures of Macintosh video screens. The author used still frame video slide pictures and computerized notes to prepare a "hypercard stack" that readers could access using…

This curriculum unit, intended to be used with students in grades 2 and 3, focuses on the Mexican state of Michoacan. Lesson 1 first gives students an overview of Mexico. Lesson 2 provides an introduction to a Michoacan archeological dig, while lesson 3 focuses on the geography of Michoacan. Lesson 4 discusses Purepecha weaving. Lesson 5 presents…

This project includes an assortment of artifacts designed to inform high school students about the variety of geographical and cultural regions of Mexico. The artifacts, derived from seven different geographical/cultural regions of Mexico, include maps, posters, objects that symbolize the regional culture, and typical regional costumes, music, and…

This unit for high school social studies and Spanish language students deals with Mexico's transition toward democracy. Lesson activities include: (1) "What Is An Early Democratic Family Incident That You Remember?"; (2) "What is Democracy?"; (3) "Locating the Five Nations of Mexico"; (4) "Scenes from the Five…

This one semester course syllabus entitled, "The Integration of Mexico and the United States: Societies in Transition," is interdisciplinary and taught by the Departments of Geography, Management, Foreign Language/Spanish, and Sociology/Archaeology at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse Institute for Latin American Studies. The course…

The unit is intended as part of a world cultures curriculum taught at the 10th grade level. The lessons include: (1) "Mexico in Brief"; (2) "The Mexican American War 1846-1848"; and (3) "History and Educational Status of Americans of Mexican Descent (Chicanos) in the Southwest." Additional resources and a 32-item…

This interdisciplinary unit is designed for secondary level history students but can be adapted for other levels. The focus of the unit is on Diego Rivera's mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda." Students use the mural to examine three major phases of Mexican history and to provide a basis of research of Mexican history and…

This packet shares general impressions and interpretations of Mexico offered by a participant in a 5-week Fulbright-Hays Seminar. Included are suggestions on how to use this information to open up communication between the school and Mexican students and their parents. In addition to the background information and statistics, the material also has…

These lessons on Mexico have been taught in an integrated fashion within a sixth grade language arts and social studies classroom. Lessons are intended to be easy to pick up and use by any teacher. The material includes: (1) Rationale; (2) "Lesson 1 - I'll Bet You Can Map the Western Hemisphere in a Minute!"; (3) "Lesson 2 -…