Author: John Hunt

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Michoacán and the Purépecha: Native Memory Beyond the Aztec

11th or 12th Grade Social Studies

This lesson would be well situated inside of a larger Imperialism unit. It may be used as either an illustrative case study or an in-depth exploration of the Americas at the time of the conquest.

Requisite Knowledge:

  • Introductory knowledge of Spanish conquest of Central America under Cortéz
  • Introductory knowledge of Aztec history and culture
  • Introductory knowledge of Purépecha history and culture

Learning Targets:

  • Sourcing
  • Contextualization

Learning Segment Goal:

Students will apply their knowledge of the current cultural diffusion of Aztec values in modern societies to the historical record. In doing so, they will ask the question, how did the Aztec’s come to be remembered whereas another great society – the Purépecha of Michoacán – did not? Furthermore, are there any clues in primary sources created at the time of the conquest that suggest a possible reason?

Suggested Instructional strategies and learning tasks:

  • We might begin with an image similar to this and a similar subsequent slide:

 

Slide 1

Slide 2

  • After students have discussed this opener, perhaps in small groups, they will move on to reading and analyzing two sources:
    • Bernal Diaz: The True History of the Account of New Spain (Excerpt)
      • http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/sources/conquestofnewspain.html
      • While reading this source – or some shortened excerpt – students should be actively highlighting details and commentary. This can be done in a group setting or as a homework assignment. After reading this, they will answer the following questions:
        • What were the main details of the Aztecs recorded by Bernal Díaz?
        • Why do you think he chose to emphasize these things?
        • Who do you think he was writing for? Do you believe he meant for someone else to read this account?
    •  Relación de Michoacán – Franciscan friar Jerónimo de Alcalá
      • http://mansioniturbe.blogspot.com/2011/08/la-relacion-de-michoacan-or-chronicle.html
      • While reading this article, students should be actively highlighting details and commentary. This can be done in a group setting or as a homework assignment. After reading this, they will answer the following questions:
        • Who is thought to have written the Relación de Michoacán? Compared to the previous source, how is it important that a friar (priest) wrote it instead of a soldier?
        • There is a short excerpt from the larger work in the article. Although the book is far too long to read, you can assume that the rest is similar, with an emphasis on the details of history. How is this different from the account of Bernal Diaz?
        • How might the author’s intention signal a difference in the perceived importance of the Purepecha culture and people?
      • After reading both sources, we will end the lesson with a group project. Students will break into groups of 3-4. In these groups, they will create a graphic representation of the two sources and how they fit into the context of the conquest and colonialism. They should answer the following questions:
        • How did the context of the conquest influence different people to write and record different things? The students should give specific examples for each source.
        • What are some possible motivations from each historical actor – the friar and the soldier? How are they both similar and different?
        • Finally, students should add in a summary that addresses the Essential Question and ties it into specifics of the given examples.

Conclusion:

Although students may come to a variety of conclusions, here is one particularly relevant example. Because the Purépecha were less developed in terms of material culture, the main emphasis of the Spanish conquest on their lands was slave labor in their lucrative mines. There were caches of treasure hidden away for the Cazonci’s son. These were found and looted in due course. However, they did not have the cultural factors of the Aztecs. They did not have the cultural factors that affirmed the Conquistador’s fantasies about the new world. Therefore, there was less of an emphasis recording the culture of Purépecha and more on exploiting their natural resources.

Reflection:

I have a personal connection to this project. An undergraduate professor for whom I was completing an internship was heavily involved in researching the Purépecha. When she passed away from cancer, I was unable to complete the project, for which I had done a lot of research and preparation. That is why I chose to focus on these two cultures. Even so, this is a format that might work for a variety of colonial situations. I would strongly suggest that you bastardize this plan for whatever time period and cultural context you are teaching. The question itself is also applicable to a wider variety of lesson formats.

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Bias, Perspective, Context

As a master’s candidate, this is my first time teaching, and also my cooperating teacher’s first time taking on a student teacher. My thanks to him. As one of the first lesson plans, this is almost all him. It is part of a series the PLC has developed to give students an understanding of historical methodology. What basic concepts do they need to understand before jumping into actual analysis of historical events and documents? By comprehending and applying the ideas of context, perspective, and bias, students understand the basic thrust of historical research. They are detectives, actively analyzing and interpreting sources. They will simply be handed the “truth”.

Unit Learning Targets:
Analyze in writing the central ideas and supporting information of a primary and a secondary source.
Describe how historians write accounts of the past.
Explain how geographers examine the connection between place and societies.

Content:
To define and understand the application of context, perspective and bias in relation to historical documents. Also, we hope to make personal connections between these terms and the way in which they manifest in real life. These three terms are central to historical analysis. They allow the reader to interrogate sources, getting specific background information that will help them dialogue with the text. If they can ask the question, what was the perspective of the author, they already have a means by which to qualify the text.

Process:
We will begin the class with a short PowerPoint that both define and ask for examples of context, perspective, and bias. The most important part of this is providing examples that correlate with student’s lives and contextualizing the

After completing the PowerPoint, the students will watch a video titled “Happiness Balloons.” The point of this video is to emphasize how, even though the people of Butan have much less than the average American, they are much happier. It is just a matter of perspective.

If there is time, the students will complete a LSA (Left Side Activity). This activity is meant to help the students make connections with the notes they took on the lesson. They will complete a Fraer model style of definitions.

Product:
Left Side Assignment: In the left hand side of their notebooks, the students will create a Fraer style diagram. Although I do not know the specifics my CT will use, a general model asks the students to define, provide examples, and make connections with the vocabulary words. He provides specific LSA activities for the first few weeks as a model for the students. After enough practice, they will choose their own.

Evaluation:
The Left Side Assignment also functions as an evaluation. When Ben collects and grades the notebooks, he will see the note taking on the right side and the connections on the left side. This way, the students create a product directly after the lesson as well as creating an evaluation the teacher will read to check for comprehension.

The students do not have much choice over the lesson, product, or evaluation. Because it is still early in the semester, I believe my CT wants to focus on modeling. I will address the question of allowing students to choose the way the model once they successfully practice the skill of making connections.

As a reflection, I would like to comment on is what I have learned from my CT thus far. It is only my second week and I find myself critiquing my own words and actions, as well as recognizing good strategies that he has used. I am learning to slow down and provide students with time to respond. I am learning to moderate my own ideas, and value their thoughts instead. I am looking forward to the following school year and am very glad with the opportunity I have with him and my cohort at University of Portland.