Summary
At its height, the Aztec Empire was a sight to behold! Its capital city of Tenochtitlan was bigger than Paris—and built on an island in the middle of a lake. The Empire ruled around 30 million people in the central valley of Mexico. In the same period, only around 50 million people lived in all of Europe. In this BrainPOP movie, Tim and Moby give you an up-close look at this powerful Mesoamerican civilization. See how separate city-states in the valley of Mexico came together to build a massive empire. Learn about all sorts of Aztec customs, from the fun (a ballgame called tlachtli) to the frightening (human sacrifice!). And witness how an epidemic left the empire vulnerable to take-over by a Spanish conquistador named Hernán Cortés.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
A few questions to talk through after watching Aztec Civilization:
- What is one new thing you learned about aztec civilization?
- Can you explain it to a partner in your own words?
- Where might you see this in the real world?
- What is one question you still have?
Quick work-a-long
Try it:
- Write one sentence explaining aztec civilization.
- Draw or give one example of your own.