Central America in a Las Vegas World History Classroom

Christopher Wang teaches high school world history at Ed W. Clark High School, a Title I school  where many students have roots in Central America. Some students have parents or ancestors from the region, while others are newcomers, immigrants, and refugees. 

His classes cover Central American civilizations at several points throughout the year. For example, AP World History students learn about ancient Olmec, Toltec, and Mayan civilizations in their introductory reading. In World History, students cover the history of the Aztecs and Mayans. 

During the "Age of Revolutions," students research a Latin American revolutionary. Many Central American students choose to research Francisco Morazán. Unfortunately, the number of English language sources written about Morazán and the Federal Republic of Central America is lacking, but students have done a good job with their research.

The class also covers Latin America when they study the Cold War. Last year students completed a research project on one of the proxy wars during the Cold War. Students could choose Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua from Central America or a number of other countries involved in the Cold War in the Global South. Students used a variety of sources for their research. Wang found the "Interactive Map: Understanding the Cold War in Latin America" by RetroReport and the lesson by New Visions “How did Cold War proxy wars help to achieve, maintain, and/or threaten world peace?" especially useful.