The MarcoPolo Search Engine provides access to all of the educational resources created by the MarcoPolo Partners plus Partner reviewed materials.

High quality lesson plans, curriculum units and other education resources on the Internet, found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites.  GEM is sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education.

Mesoweb is an exploration of Mesoamerican cultures and research. The site is by Joel Skidmore of Fleet Gazelle, with Jorge Pérez de Lara and Mark Van Stone.  Mesoweb is proud to host the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute.  One section by Joel Skidmore, Life and Death in Ancient Mexico explains the role of sacrifice harking back to a gift repaid by the god Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, who went to this land of Mictlan. He journeyed in the Fifth Sun in order to restore humankind to life from the bones of those who had lived in the previous four eras. Since the death of vegetation always preceded its regeneration death must be the cause of life.

Find websites that have been evaluated by professional librarians.  Search terms such as "Indians of South America", "Latin America", "Indigenous peoples", "Incas", "Mayas", and names of specific South American countries.

Website of FAMSI, an organization that "promotes increased understanding of the cultures of "Mesoamerica", the name given to the geographical area where several ancient cultures were united by shared religious beliefs, architecture, science, and technology for three thousand years; from about 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1519, the time of European contact."

This bibliography provides an introduction to the current English language literature on the prehistory of Mesoamerica, South America, and the Caribbean Culture Area (the Caribbean Islands and Central America east of the Maya). Leads for further research can be found in Section I and in the bibliographies of the books in this reading list.

Available only in Delaware public secondary schools or through a University of Delaware direct connection, UDLib/SEARCH is a University of Delaware Library/State of Delaware partnership to provide access to online magazines, journals, encyclopedias.  Start with Expanded Academic ASAP, Student Resource Center, or SIRS Renaissance for journal articles.  Search terms such as "mesoamerica", "inca", "maya" "quetzalcoatl", etc. will return many results.

A PBS Web site with illustrations supporting Nova's Lost Empire series. 

CNN Online announces the discovery of Juanita, the 500-year-old ice mummy of a sacrificed girl; illustrated with photographs and Quicktime video.

Walk through National Geographic's beautifully-designed interactive expedition with Johan Reinhard, who recounts his discoveries with text, audio and pictures.  See also the virtual autopsy of the Ice Maiden.

Images of Inca art, including the TUMI knife, used as an instrument for sacrifices.  See photographs of Machu Picchu on the same website.

"Unraveling the Mysteries of Machu Picchu", Smithsonian, by Fergus Bordewich, March 2003

Burlands, C. A., The Gods of Mexico, Putnamâs and Son, 1967

Coe, Michael D. The Maya. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 1993. 5th revised edition.  This is an excellent summary of the rise of Mayan civilization from its early roots. Emphasizing the classic aspects of Mayan life and philosophy. Well illustrated.

Schele, Linda, and Mary Miller, The Blood of Kings. New York, NY: Braziller, George, Inc., 1992.  This book intensively explores eight themes in Maya art, among them being royalty, bloodletting, and other aspects of religion, includes sections on the Maya calendar and hieroglyphics. It is well-illustrated with many photographs, and a list of  suggested books for further reading.
 

Engel, Lieselotte. Twilight of Ancient Peru: the Glory and Decline of the Inca Empire, McGraw Hill, 1969.
 

· a list of assets of a good teacher;
· information pertaining to Integrating curriculum;  (search for "Integrated curriculum: what benefit")
· information pertaining to Integrating Arts in the curriculum
· information pertaining to Constructivism;
· information pertaining to the Socratic method; 
· information pertaining to Posing open-ended questions; (Click on "TA teaching tips" and select "effective questioning enhances student learning" and "wait-time"
· information pertaining to Multiple intelligences;
· information pertaining to Differentiated curriculum.
 

• Arts Education Partnership and the Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities Champions of Change (aep-arts.org/Champions.html).
• Ackerman, David and and D.N. Perkins, Integrating Thinking and Learning Skills Across the Curriculum, Chapter 7. of, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Design and Implementation. 
The Practical Side of Skills-Content Integration  In this section, we take a closer look at what is meant by "integrating" skills with content.  The simplicity of the notion of skills-content integration masks numerous questions about how curriculum and instruction would actually be organized. Even if there is agreement about which skills should be taught, decisions must be made as to who (teachers of which subjects and grade levels) will teach which of the skills and, more significantly, how the skill teaching will relate to the content that students are to learn. 
• Erickson, Lynn, Education Update,  ãNot Just the Facts,ä January 2002 | Volume 44 | Number 1
Rather than focusing on topics and facts, teachers should "teach to the level of the enduring understandings, and start to think about topics as a tool to help kids get deeper understanding of concepts and those big ideas that transfer," Erickson urged.
• Jacobs, Heidi Hayes, editor Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Design and Implementation,

Chapter 1. The Growing Need for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Content by Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Having examined various models and approaches to interdisciplinary design for the past 15 years, Jacobs points out challenges and suggests approaches. 
• Tomlinson, C.A., The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, 1999, Alexandria, VA, published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
• ãNot Just the Factsä

January 2002 | Volume 44 | Number 1 Not Just the Facts Teachers spend about 80 percent of
 instructional time focusing at "the topic- and fact-based level," said Lynn Erickson...
 http://www.ascd.org/
• Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Design and Implementation

 Edited by Heidi Hayes Jacobs Foreword Chapter 1. The Growing Need for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Content ÷Author Heidi Hayes Jacobs is Professor, Teachers College, Columbia ...
Chapter 2. Design Options ...
Chapter 5. The Interdisciplinary Concept Model: A
         Step-by-Step Approach for Developing Integrated
         Units of Study÷ by Heidi Hayes Jacobs
Chapter 7. Integrating Thinking and Learning Skills Across the Curriculum
 http://www.ascd.org/