1a. What does the priest say about a ball of fire that appeared in the sky and burned throughout the night?
2a. How did the bearded invaders travel on sea and on land? Describe their clothing and weapons.
3a. What does Itauqui, the young keeper of the temple of Xochipilli, do when the bearded invaders tie his hands and place his feet in the burning embers of a fire?
1b. What do you think this ball of fire may have been?
2b. What do Moctezuma and his people think of the invaders' way of travel, their clothing, and their weapons?
3b. Why does Itauqui die with a peaceful smile on his face?
4a. In what ways does Moctezuma and the Aztec people prepare for the return of Quetzalcóatl? In what ways do they indicate their feelings about the coming of Quetzalcóatl?
4b. Identify the place in the story where people's feelings begin to change. What do they realize about the "bearded god"? How does this affect what people think and do? What does the ending of the story indicate about the Aztec people?
5a. To what degree has the prophecy in the legend caused the people to change their ways? Support your answer with specific references from the text.
5b. In your opinion, what causes people to believe—or disbelieve—prophecies? What might be happening in their lives or in their own belief systems that influence them one way or another?
Legend. Much of "The Legend of the Feathered Serpent" is based on history that many scholars believe to be factual. Which parts of the story do you think are factual? What in the story could be considered mythological?
Irony. How does irony affect this reading? Do the examples of irony help you understand more about the people and their motivations or beliefs? In your opinion, would this legend be as compelling without irony?
1. Write a metaphor that compares Moctezuma's palace and courtyards (described early in the story) to something else.
2. Imagine you are a musician and poet who just heard that the statue of Xochipilli was stolen. Write a short rhyming lyric poem for devoted followers of Xochipilli, praising the god of flowers and the arts.
3. Write an epitaph of Itauqui for the public to see on his grave in the temple of Xochipilli.
Spelling. Look at the following list of words. If the word is spelled correctly, write correct. If it is spelled incorrectly, write the correct spelling in the space provided.
1. influential
2. transparent
3. suvenier
4. persistant
5. paralel
6. proove
7. withold
8. temprature
9. sponser
10. manuever
Avoiding Double Negatives. Double negatives occur when a sentence includes more than one negative word. Make sure you use only one negative word in each sentence. Review the Language Arts Survey 3.29, "Working with Negatives." Then rewrite the following sentences to eliminate any double negatives.
1. I can't never pronounce that word correctly.
2. Didn't Wyatt never give you a birthday gift?
3. My brother didn't want none of the pie.
4. I can't barely imagine what it's like to be famous.
5. There wasn't nothing we could do to help her.
6. We didn't know nobody at the party.
7. My dog hardly never barks.
8. I don't want no pepperoni on my pizza.
9. Tyrone and Steve won't never agree on a movie.
10. There was hardly no icing on my piece of cake.
Researching Ancient Mexico: Research Log. Use this log to keep track of the sources you use, the information you find, and your reactions to what you learn.
Internet sources:
Books and other print sources:
Notes:
