An island city
Turn on Cities and open the map in 1500 over the Valley of Mexico. Find Tenochtitlan. It stood on an island in Lake Texcoco, which is now almost gone under Mexico City. Why build a capital on an island?
Open this view on the mapAztec (Mexica) · 1325-1519
Tenochtitlan: a city built on a lake
The Mexica founded Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325. Two centuries later it was one of the largest cities in the world, linked to the shore by causeways and fed by fields built in the lake. Students explore how a city on a lake worked.
- Length
- 45 minutes
- Ages
- 10–13
- On the map
- 3 steps, AD 1500 to AD 1450
- Live lesson
- 7 rounds, 3 on the map
- Worksheet
- Two A4 pages, with Classroom
- You need
- A projector; phones for live
Live lesson · new in Classroom
Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.
Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.
€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.
- 7 rounds
- 3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
- About 15 minutes
- Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
- A report
- Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
Introduction
5 minRead aloud
The Mexica founded Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325. Two centuries later it was one of the largest cities in the world, linked to the shore by causeways and fed by fields built in the lake. Students explore how a city on a lake worked.
By the end of the lesson, students can
- Locate Tenochtitlan and Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico.
- Explain how causeways, an aqueduct and chinampa fields made life on a lake possible.
- Compare the size of Tenochtitlan with cities elsewhere in the world around 1500.
Explore the map
12 minProject the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.
A city of the world
Keep Cities on and zoom out to see the whole world in 1500. Compare the dot of Tenochtitlan with Paris, London and Constantinople. Which were larger, and which smaller?
Open this view on the mapWar, tribute and ritual
Open Stories (top left), play Empires of the Americas and stop at the step on the Aztec Triple Alliance. It says Tenochtitlan dominated central Mexico through war, tribute and ritual. What does each of those words mean?
Open this view on the mapClass discussion
14 minPick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.
- The founding legend says the Mexica built their city where they saw an eagle on a cactus eating a snake. Where can you see this image today?
- Three causeways linked the island to the shore. Why were they both useful and a weakness?
- Chinampas were fields built up from lake mud and held in place by trees. Why were they so productive?
- The Templo Mayor honoured Huitzilopochtli, god of sun and war, and Tlaloc, god of rain. What do these two gods tell us about Mexica priorities?
- Mexico City is built on top of Tenochtitlan and is slowly sinking. What problems come from building on an old lake?
Game round
9 minPlay one round of Rule History as Moctezuma II, who ruled Tenochtitlan from 1502. Let students take turns making his decisions. Afterwards, discuss: how did the city's position on a lake shape what a ruler could and could not do?
Open Rule HistoryWorksheet
5 minThis worksheet comes with Classroom
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