Excavate! MesoAmerica

## Description

Learn History in a new way with Excavate! Mesoamerica, an immersive social studies game for middle school students! Use Archaeological thinking to apply C3 skills of Inquiry and Evaluation of Evidence to aspects of Mayan, Aztec, and Incan daily life not covered in textbooks. By excavating and analyzing three significant locations, players will:

* Explore the significance of jade and obsidian for the Maya
* Gain a new perspective on Aztec engineering accomplishments
* Describe the role of gods in Incan society
* Distinguish the roles of women and men in Mesoamerican societies
* Compare and contrast the lifestyles of the Maya, Aztec and Inca
* Piece together daily life
* Explain architectural innovations that were used to build temples and palaces
* Enrich yourself in Central and Latin American heritage

"The quality of information and the methodology behind the questions is stronger than any educational game I've ever played." K-12 Director of Technology, MD

Players can explore the sites in any order; progress is recorded in journals that log collected artifacts, field notes and achievements. Throughout the game, players use C3 skills to analyze and make connections. They carefully deduce the facts about each area, stratum by stratum and artifact by artifact. At each location, players make meaning of how artifacts were used through a series of analysis questions and reports that require players to make connections, read closely and consider the historical context of the primary source artifacts. Finally, players see each site come alive as artifacts populate historically accurate images of Mayan, Aztec or Incan life.

The game can be played in English or Spanish languages.

Features:
• Engage with objects of daily life textbooks never include
• Use archaeological thinking to piece together historical understanding
• See artifacts in context in the ancient world
• Design input from Social Studies teachers
• Historically Accurate, C3 Skills-Based learning
• Free Teacher Guides, Lesson Plans, and Extension Activities
• Track Student Progress
• Bundle with other Excavate! games for a complete curriculum solution

What people are saying about Excavate!

"Excellent illustrations and collection of source material. I could see using this as a resource for a project. Good Collections of terms and other historical objects." 7th Grade Social Studies, MD

"I LOVED the analysis questions because it assisted the kids in seeing the "big" picture and making connections." - 5th Grade Social Studies, OH

Excavate! Series:
Built in consultation with social studies teachers, Excavate! uses overarching questions to focus student inquiry as they dig, analyze, report and learn through object-based evaluation. Highly detailed, historically accurate illustrations and artifacts help students make connections and see the "big picture" of ancient history. Interaction with artifacts, including detailed 3D models, allows students to understand what life was really like for people of different social roles. Extensive in-game resources such as comprehensive location and artifact information and an interactive glossary make it easy to extend the learning off the screen. Supporting educator materials, standards information and extension activities help educators seamlessly include Excavate! in any ancient history curriculum. Track student performance using the new GBLxAPI learning data format, which reports student progress against C3 and ELA standards in an easy to read format.

Excavate! is a multi-game world history series that includes old and new world civilizations such as Rome, Greece, Egypt, Maya, Inca and more. All Excavate social studies games have accompanying lesson plan materials and additional activities available from our website for free.