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Mystery
Lesson Plan
Social Studies
6
60-90 Minutes (1- 1 class periods)
Kristin Evans

Instructional Unit Content

Standard(s)/Element(s)
Content Area Standard
SS6H3 The student will analyze important 20th century issues in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
b. Explain the impact and political outcomes of the Zapatista guerrilla movement in
Mexico.
SS6E2 The student will give examples of how voluntary trade benefits buyers and sellers in
Latin America and the Caribbean and Canada. .
c. Explain the functions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

TAG Standard
Advanced Communication Skills
10. The student supports and defends his/her own opinions while respecting the opinions of others.
Advanced Research Skills
5. The student gathers, organizes, analyzes, and synthesizes data from multiple sources to support or
disprove a hypothesis.
Higher Order Critical Thinking Skills
11. The student draws conclusions based upon relevant information while discarding irrelevant
information.

Summary/Overview
The focus of this lesson is to solve a mystery to determine why the citizens of Chiapas,
Mexico oppose NAFTA so vehemently, to the point that they have started a revolutionary
group to fight its reach.

Enduring Understanding(s)
At the end of this lesson the student will understand
a. The effects of NAFTA in rural Mexico
b. The dangers of free trade when two countries arent economically equal
Essential Question(s)
What happens when economically unequal countries agree to trade equally?
Evidence of Learning
What students should KNOW:
a. The Zapatistas are largely concentrated around the area of Chiapas, Mexico located in
southeastern Mexico in a largely agricultural area
b. The Zapatista rebellion is a reaction to the poverty that many rural residents of
Mexico believes stems from NAFTA
c. The Zapatistas continue to operate with sovereignty in Chiapas and surrounding areas
and demand the repeal of NAFTA by the Mexican government
What students should be UNDERSTAND:
a. NAFTA originally attracted many international corporations to Mexico, but those
corporations have kept wages low to keep profits for themselves
b. Mexico and Mexican citizens have failed to see a trickle down of profits from
international corporations
What students should be able to DO:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Identify causes of the Zapatista rebellion

Describe how NAFTA has hurt Mexicos indigenous population
Describe ways that the Mexican government could meet the demands of its citizens.
Supports and defends his/her opinions while respecting the opinions of others.
Gather, organize, analyze, and synthesize data from multiple sources to support or disprove a
hypothesis.
Draw conclusions based upon relevant information while discarding irrelevant information.

Suggested Vocabulary

Zapatista
EZLN
Sovereignty
NAFTA
Trade barriers (tariffs, quotas, embargos)

Free trade

Procedure(s)
Phase 1: Hook
1. Poll the class on who would like to become a doctor or lawyer. What do these two professions
have in common? How are both professionals like detectives? What common skills do both need
to develop to solve mysteries within their profession? What other professions solve mysteries?

Phase 2: Examine the Content

1.

Share the Mystery. Distribute Harvest Time to students. After reading about Emilianos
dangerous encounter, students will work individually to develop a list of tentative hypotheses.

2.

Knowing that International Coffee Delight wouldnt allow for this type of vandalism to go on
without consequences, they have called together a taskforce to solve the mysterywhy are the
farmers of Chiapas so angry? The taskforce is to be broken down into teams, with each team
lending their own analysis to the current situation. Each team will develop a team hypothesis
for the mystery.

3.

Present the Clues.

a. Distribute Clue #1. Students will review a graph depicting trade across NAFTA countries as
well as the globalization that has taken place in Mexico. Students will record clues
provided.
b. Distribute Clue #2. Students will read Letter from Marcos, the Zapatista manifesto, and
record the clues provided.
Distribute Clue #3. Students will read the fable Old Antonio Dreams and record the clues
provided. REMEDIATION: Teacher should be present when students are interpreting the
fable so that students understand the symbolism and theme. Teacher can take a small group
to work with reading through the fable if necessary.
c. Distribute Clue #4. Students will read the article NAFTA- A Death Sentence for the
Indigenous People of Mexico" and record the clues provided.

4.

Each team will categorize its clues and determine cause and effect relationships.

5.

Based upon patterns/data found within the clues, each team will refine its hypothesis and
propose a solution to the mystery.

Phase 3: Synthesis Activity

6.

Each taskforce team will create a picture or flow chart to share its solution with International
Coffee Delight. DIFFERENTIATION: This assignment is flexible and students can choose a
different product. Alternatives can include a skit or song.

7.

Each student will then write a letter to the Mexican government explaining the mystery and will
describe solutions that the government could implement to ease tensions and meet the demands of
the local people in Chiapas. EXTENSION: Students should research the most recent updates to

the North American Free Trade Agreement and create a Venn Diagram comparing the most recent
terms to the original 1994 version. Students can decide whether or not the Zapatistas still have
legitimate reasons to be upset with the agreement.
8.

Class Discussion: What happens when economically unequal countries agree to trade

equally? How did the terms of NAFTA unequally impact Mexico as opposed to the U.S.
or Canada? Do the Zapatistas have a legitimate reason to exist, and if so, do they need to
be violent to get their demands met?
Summarizing Activity
Table Discussions
With a face-partner (student across from them) or a shoulder-partner (student next to them),
each student will discuss

Something I will use from what I learned today

Something I will remember from today
A significant AHA from today

Resource(s):
Handouts:
Handout 1: Harvest Time
Handout 2: Clue #1: pg. 1 from
http://inside.sfuhs.org/dept/history/Mexicoreader/Chapter6/naftabackground.pdf
Handout 3: Clue #2: Letter from Marcos
Handout 4: Clue #3: Old Antonio Dreams
Handout 5: Clue #4: NAFTA- A Death Sentence for the Indigenous People of Mexico"
http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/NAFTA-A-Death-Sentencefor-the-Indigenous-People-of-Mexico.pdf
Handout 6: Solution