About This Lesson
This lesson plan is based on National Park Service documentation from Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. Materials are designed to be used on the computer or printed out and duplicated for students. Gran Quivira was written by Waynette Burnett, Seasonal Park Ranger at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. The lesson was edited by Fay Metcalf, education consultant, and the Teaching with Historic Places staff. TwHP is sponsored, in part, by the Cultural Resources Training Initiative and Parks as Classrooms programs of the National Park Service. This lesson is one in a series that brings the important stories of historic places into the classrooms across the country.
Where it fits into the curriculum
Topics: The lesson could be used in U.S. history, social studies, and geography courses in units on early American Indian culture or the colonial presence of the Spanish in the Southwest. Students will be able to make sense of past events and issues as they affected people at different time periods, and they will develop historical empathy toward diverse cultures.
Time period: 7th century to 17th century
Relevant United States History Standards for Grades 5-12
Relevant Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
Find your state's social studies and history standards for grades Pre-K-12
Objectives for students
1) To understand the daily life of the Pueblo Indians of Gran Quivira over several centuries.
2) To describe how the village of Gran Quivira changed with the influence of the Anasazi, the Plains Indians, and other Pueblo Indians.
3) To explain the influence of Spanish missionaries on the lives and culture of the people of Gran Quivira.
4) To compare the life ways of the people who lived at Gran Quivira at different time periods with the experiences of early American Indian groups of their own region.
Materials for students
The materials listed below either can be used directly on the computer or can be printed out, photocopied, and distributed to students. The maps and images appear twice: in a low-resolution version with associated questions and alone in a larger, high-quality version.
1) two maps of early Puebloan communities and the Salinas basin;
2) two readings about village life and the coming of the Spaniards;
3) three photos of Gran Quivira Unit, a kiva, and an aerial view of Gran Quivira;
4) three drawings of a typical kiva, a plan and artist's conception of Gran Quivira.
Visiting the site
Gran Quivira, administered by the National Park Service, may be reached by taking 1-25 south from Albuquerque, New Mexico to US 60. Drive east on US 60 to Mountainair where the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument museum and headquarters are located. From
there you will drive south on NM 55 to Gran Quivira (Las Humanas). The monument is open daily except January 1, Thanksgiving Day, and December 25. For more information, contact the Superintendent, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, P.O. Box 517, Mountainair, NM 87036, or visit the park's Web page.