Quebec History Unit 9 - Incas and the Iroquoians Around 1500

Quebec Curriculum History Mystery 9

Comparing the Iroquoians and the Incas Around 1500

It's time for another history mystery!

Want to see all the other units for cycle 2 elementary? See the history page here!

This unit is a little bit different from the others - but with good reason!

In this unit your learners will put their research skills into use to compare the lives of the Iroquoians in North America and the Incas in South America around 1500. They'll learn how the two societies were so different and get to see that even though these two ancient civilizations did not have as much technology as we do today - they were still organized, coherent, and important societies.

Just like all the other History Mysteries I've made this one uses simple QR codes to do research. In this unit, the first code will lead kids to the very helpful Learn QC website where they will get to compare the Iroquoians and Incas using the links on that page. 

The second link will take them to a youtube video from Freeschool channel that they will use to do a project later on in the unit all about Machu Picchu. However, even if you choose not to do the project, I highly recommend watching the video - it's just a fascinating world wonder to learn about!

Instead of comprehension questions in this unit, I thought it would be great for kids to come up with their own conclusions about the two societies. So I included a graph that is similar to the one on the Learn QC website with the same topics. Their job will be to pick a category within the topic (say, housing in Daily Life) and come up with a way that the two societies were different. I have given an example for them to follow or use in the explanation of the unit. Thanks to the Learn QC website this is super simple task, o it should not take too long to cover the differences - especially if they have been using all of the other units about Iroquoia in the 1500s.

I did write that they should come up with one difference - I know that in third grade that's plenty for most kids. But if you or they feel that they can do more, then, by all means, go ahead! You could write them down or just discuss them.

Finally, I have included a fun project in this unit that kids could choose to do in Minecraft - building a part or complete part of Machu Picchu! I have given an example video on youtube where someone has built their own version in Minecraft (the video has no spoken words - so no worries!) and have provided quite a few free stock photos of Machu Picchu for them to reference as well. Here they can see the types of materials that were used and the shapes of the buildings and homes.

I have also included another map that kids can look at to see where the two societies were located - the Iroquoians and Algonquians in Quebec around the St. Lawrence and the Incas in South America near the Pacific Coast and Andes mountains.

You can download this free unit by clicking on the link under the image below.

**All I ask is that when sharing this unit to please share the link to this blog or webpage, not the Google link! Thank you!**

Download History Mystery 9 Here