Film Study Guides
FOR EDUCATORS
The Solstice Project’s two films are excellent teaching tools for grades 7-12, as well as for college and adult audiences.
Study Guides are available for both films; they can be downloaded from the links below:
Reviews of The Mystery of Chaco Canyon Teacher’s Study Guide
“A film and study guide that will stimulate your students’ understandings about the southwest and its first inhabitants. Place your students’ experiences in the shadow of a civilization that knew and understood much or more about the world, the heavens, and its cosmology long before modern scientists came along.”
Dr. Christine Sims, Acoma Pueblo, Professor, University of New Mexico, Director, Linguistic Institute for Native Americans
“The Chaco Canyon civilization is remarkable! It is so full of math and science that it can be daunting not only to the student but to the teacher as well. When viewing the film I inform my students, ‘you won’t get it all at once. The science is too awesome!’ The Study Guide puts ‘awesome’ into new perspective. It provides activities that lend themselves beautifully to an integrated approach to teaching.”
Pat Sandoval, Director of Alternative Learning Programs at the Santa Fe Indian School, New Mexico
“Modern science is just discovering the understandings and teachings of the ancestors, and that it is an affirmation of the great knowledge long held by the native people of this land. The interconnections and multidimensional concepts of time and space found in Chaco further evidence the complexity and sophistication of the Pueblo world.”
Penny Bird, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Assistant Secretary of Indian Education for New Mexico
“The Mystery of Chaco Canyon is an exciting addition to middle and high school curriculum. The easy-to-use Guide (addressing national standards in social studies, science, language arts, and geography) provides teachers with the knowledge and tools they need to open the amazing world of the ancient Pueblo people to their students. The complexity of these people’s scientific knowledge revealed in Anna Sofaer’s film will astound teachers and students alike.”
Lois Hirst, Coordinator and Professor, Educational Administration Programs, Northern Michigan University