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Introduction
This lesson will involve the making of a three-dimensional model of the original Hispanic settlements along the Río Grande. Students will
learn about the history of the settlement of the Río
Grande by creating an environment in clay, sand or
other alternative material. This model will represent
how traditional Hispanic people made a living on
the land they settled.
Through this lesson students will learn the values
of human resourcefulness and living within the
limits of their physical environments. This project is
most successfully completed in small groups of fifteen or
less. Two to three groups could work simultaneously.
Children building a clay model of the environment of the Río Grande of New Mexico.
Niños creando un modelo del medio ambiente del Río Grande de
Nuevo México en barro.
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Objectives
1. Students will learn how the Spanish
explorers settled the land in New Mexico along the
Río Grande (historical and cultural understanding).
2. Students will be able to identify how the
Hispanic people of New Mexico use the natural resources
in their environment to maintain and develop their folk traditions
(perceiving, analyzing and responding).
3. Students will build a model environment
that illustrates the settlement of New Mexico in
the Río Grande Valley (creating and performing).
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Vocabulario / Vocabulary
las acequias - ditches for water transport
from highlands to lowland fields
el arroyo - streams that normally are
dry for one half of the year except in the rainy season
la costumbre - cultural traditions shared among Hispanic people
el llano - plain/flat area of land
la mesa - plateau or mountain tabletop formation
las placitas - Hispanic settlements around plazas
la plaza - central area in a town or villa where people gather
los pueblos - Native American villages around the Río Grande
los ranchos - farms and ranches of Hispanic people
Río Grande - the principal river running through New Mexico
las sierras - mountain ranges
el valle - valley
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Materials
- clay, sand, wood, rock, salt dough, other
natural materials
- flat working area
- plastic cover if working indoors
- straw, twigs, bark, sprouts, grasses, etc.
- If working with clay:
- rolling pin for clay slabs
- spray bottle to keep clay moist
- clay working tools if available
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Río Grande River at full flow in the spring near Pilar, New Mexico.
Un caudaloso Río Grande en primavera cerca de pilar, Nuevo México.
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Motivation
Locate New Mexico on the map of the world and
the United States. Examine a map of New Mexico and find the Río Grande. Locate Pueblo communities
and then identify neighboring Hispanic villages.
Discuss what traditions and survival arts
existed before the arrival of the Spanish. Discuss how
the Hispanic people settled the region and what
traditions they brought with them from Spain and
Mexico (ranching, raising cattle, sheep, and goats;
weaving; woodwork; metalwork, etc.). Trace their path on
the world map from Spain to Mexico and then to
New Mexico along the Camino Real.
Describe the natural landforms found in the
Río Grande Valley (i.e. rivers, mountains, forests,
canyons, mesas and foothills). Look at drawings
and photographs of the region.
Topographical map of New Mexico looking south along the corridor of the Río Grande bounded by mountains on both sides.
Mapa topográfico de Nuevo México viendo hacia el sur a través del corredor del Río Grande protejido por montañas por ambos lados.
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Discuss the following with your students:
- What do people need in order to survive in any environment?
- Where would people living along the Río
Grande get their water?
- What food sources would be available to
people living along the Río Grande?
- What materials would people use to build
their homes and communities?
- What animals did people raise?
- What materials did people use to create
their clothing?
- What beliefs do you think the people had
who lived along the Río Grande?
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Preparation
Set up a frame for the model environment on a
flat surface such as a table, floor, pieces of plywood,
and/or sandbox. Roll out slabs of clay and lay on top
of plastic sheet or use sand or salt dough as an
alternative material. Collect natural materials from
the surrounding environment.
A close-up view of student's model of the city of Santa Fe.
Un detalle de un modelo de la ciudad de Santa
Fe hecha por alumnos.
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Procedure
- Place clay slabs side by side and pinch together
to create the lay of the land. Use moist sand or
salt dough as an option.
- Begin to create landforms found along the
Río Grande (i.e. mountains, rivers, canyons,
plains, mesas and foothills. Volcanic craters, etc. can
be defined through gauging and modeling).
- Add structures that look like adobe
communities, i.e. pueblos and
placitas. This could be done in stages to mirror the sequence of
settlement beginning with the Native Americans, the
Spanish and then Anglo Americans.
- Create farmlands, acequias, forested areas,
and plains in the models.
- Add roads and pathways.
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An elderly Hispanic gentleman from Taos raised in
the Hispanic ways of self sufficiency as well as a keeper
of Hispanic knowledge and traditions.
Un anciano hispano de Taos enseñado en las
costumbres hispanas de autosuficiencia y guardián del conocimiento
y tradiciones hispanos
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Evaluation
- Discuss with students how people would live
in the environment that they just created, i.e.
the water sources, food sources, clothing sources, shelter, protection from enemies, creation
of spiritual objects and buildings, etc.
- Discuss how we use the environment today
in building our communities.
- Have students project what New Mexico may
look like in the future. Will it retain some of its
essential features such as the openness of land?
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