1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Patrice Berry earned a B. A. in Political Science at Swarthmore College, an M.S.Ed at the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently study college access and completion as a doctoral student at Temple University.  Patrice is currently the Academic Affairs Director at College Track (East Palo Alto), where she manages academic support initiatives designed to promote college access and college completion among first-generation, low-income students.  Ninety-percent of College Track students are accepted to college, and the college graduation rate is 2.5 times higher than the national average.  Prior to joining College Track, Patrice worked for the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, for whom she designed and implemented college access and career readiness curricula.   Patrice recently married and now lives in Oakland, where she sings at local jam sessions in her free time.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: History/Social Studies.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

2. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?
© Florian Kopp/Alamy
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?
Built in the 16th century, the cloister of the Convento de San Gabriel is still home to a dozen or more Franciscan monks. A wall separates the complex from the rest of the city of Cholula in Puebla, Mexico. Within those walls are the numerous ornate buildings that once housed a larger population of Franciscan clerics who founded the monastery in 1529 with a goal of evangelizing to the indigenous population.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?1
Web Search
How was Christianity introduced to Mexico? 2
How is Christianity practiced in Mexico today? 3
Video Search
Find a video that portrays early practices of religion before Christianity was introduced. What are some differences between those practices, and those of Christian religions? 4
Thinking
How do you think Christianity has influenced the lifestyle and culture in Mexico?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?1
Web Search
How was Christianity introduced to Mexico? 2
How is Christianity practiced in Mexico today? 3
Video Search
Find a video that portrays early practices of religion before Christianity was introduced. What are some differences between those practices, and those of Christian religions? 4
Thinking
How do you think Christianity has influenced the lifestyle and culture in Mexico?
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?1
Web Search
How was Christianity introduced to Mexico?
(Possible queries: “Christianity introduced to Mexico”, “Christianity, history of Mexico”)
Sources:
From The Franciscan Experience:
From Wikipedia (Timeline of Christian Missions):
From Britannica:
Christianity was introduced to Mexico as part of European exploration, and particularly as a part of Spanish expeditions. When Spanish explorers visited Mexico, they sometimes brought missionaries with them. Both of the sources listed above cite the expeditions of Hernan Cortes as including missionary visits. In May of 1524, a group of Franciscan missionaries, called the Twelve Apostles of Mexico, were sent to what is now considered Mexico to help convert natives of Mexico.

8. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?2
Web Search
How is Christianity practiced in Mexico today?
(Possible query: “Christianity in modern Mexico”)
Sources:
Wikipedia (Religion in Mexico):
From the Global Post:
From Britannica:
Christianity is the dominant religion in Mexico, with Catholicism being the leading practice. While some people practice other religions, including the Baha’I Faith and Jehovah’s Witness, most people practice some form of Christianity. Some Mexicans practice what is called sycretism, which is a marriage of traditional beliefs and practices with the practice of Roman Catholicism.
Although at one point in Mexico’s history the government influenced religious practices, restrictions were lifted in Today there is separation of religion and government, although recently the Roman Catholic church has been increasingly public about its disapproval of violence in Mexico, particularly violence against Christians.

9. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?3
Video Search
Find a video that portrays early practices of religion before Christianity was introduced. What are some differences between Christianity and earlier beliefs and practices?
(Possible queries: “ancient religious practices, Mexico” or “religion in Mexico, pre-Christianity”)
Sources:
YouTube Video (Christianity A History “Dark Continents”):
From Wikipedia (Aztec Religion):
Aztec religious practices existed before Christianity and before that, Mayan religions. Aztec religion involved pluralistic gods, unlike the monotheism of Christianity, and spiritual rituals including sacrifices and celebrations. Cosmology was also an important part of Aztec religious practice.

10. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?4
Thinking
How do you think Christianity has influenced the lifestyle and culture in Mexico?
Once Christianity was introduced to Latin America, including Mexico, it seemed to become the dominant religion. Although others have been able to retain earlier beliefs and practices, Roman Catholicism continues to be a salient part of the everyday lifestyle and culture in Mexico. The introduction of Christianity could have facilitated Spanish conquests, which have influenced parts of Mexican culture from the Spanish language to the practice of sycretism. The legacy of Christianity in Mexico also unites the country with other countries or regions of the world where the same religion is practiced.

11. What do you think was the impact of the introduction of Christianity to Mexico?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question.