On March 14, sixth grade students from West View Elementary held the annual Aztec Market, where each student sells a variety of different handmade wares and food.

West View Elementary has held this event for several years and its goal is to help the students learn about Aztec culture in a creative and exciting way. The Aztecs are part of the early civilizations of the Americas unit the students are currently learning about.

The Aztec Market sells a variety of things. These things include food, jewelry, headdresses, musical instruments, shields, dream catchers, and several other items. The people who shopped at the market used chocolate chips to represent cacao beans.

Each 6^th grade student was responsible for making the product they sold at the market, and this product had to be related to the Aztecs in some way.  Some students made things like jewelry, which was a sign of beauty and wealth in Aztec culture. Some other students made shields, which the Aztecs used to protect themselves during battles.

However, making products were not the only things the students were assigned to do. The students also created ponchos, which included designs and symbols representing the Aztecs. Students were also responsible for writing a paper about the product they were selling and explain what it had to do with Aztec culture.

This event has been going on for many years. It is really encouraging to see the creativity and knowledge the students at West View are displaying. Doing activities like this really gives the students first hand experience at what it was like to live in those times.