New Mexico

Summary
A lesson on the state of New Mexico. The reading is accompanied by true/false questions.

Objectives
• To introduce students to salient features about the state of New Mexico and its history.

Suggested Grades
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade

Excerpt
New Mexico is located in the American Southwest, surrounded by the states of Colorado to the north; the tip of the Oklahoma Panhandle and Texas to the east; Texas and the country of Mexico to the south; and Arizona to the west. The northwest tip of New Mexico also touches the southeast corner of Utah in an area called the Four Corners region.

Early History
This Four Corners region was once the home of the Anasazi people. Around 850 CE, the Anasazi built pueblos at Chaco Canyon located in this area. Pueblos are villages of homes made from stone and adobe; adobe bricks were fashioned by the Anasazi from a mix of sand and clay. By 1100 CE, historians estimate that there were 5,000 Anasazi living in Chaco Canyon.

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