Planning More Than Just the Facts
The Fertile Crescent
With my brain not so fertile as the "Fertile Crescent" when it comes to history, making a homeschool lesson plan about such a rich, historic area and period in history, well, intimidated me. For reasons I haven't been able to understand, my brain is wired to find history fascinating and intriguing, but the moment the information is away from sight, it goes lost. So, in order to teach this ancient civilization, I had to dust off the history file in my brain, and retrieve the long lost knowledge of this amazing time in history.
The Land Between Two Rivers
As it was, my knowledge and details about such time held as big a gap as the "Land Between Two Rivers", but I wasn't going to let that discourage me. With some brushing up and careful research, I was encouraged that I would not only be able to teach about it, but bring it to life in our studies.
What I prepared, was not only an engaging and enlightening lesson plan for my kids, but one history lesson that may just finally stick with me!
So pack your bag, and let's start on a journey into making a lesson plan that can go down in history. Here's some ideas to take along on the trip.
Get the complete Ancient Mesopotamia Lesson Plan HERE!
Begin Your Trip
When planning a trip like this one, it is always a great idea to include helpful facts and information about the area you're headed to. Be sure to add this educational guide through the many empires that inhabited the ancient area over time. Ancient Mesopotamia for Kids is also instrumental in allowing young learners to easily gather facts for informative writing or research writing for the week.
Travel Further
Travel further into Ancient Mesopotamia by planning a visit to an anthropology museum near you. Get as close as you can to the rich history surrounding these ancient civilizations, and to explore the pieces of them you had just read about in books. Experiencing the history in such a vivid way will be sure to make a lasting impact in your child's learning.
To further our travels, we visited the Museum of Us, where we were able to examine Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets along with other ancient civilizations' contributions.
Enjoy The Journey
Continue the journey into Ancient Mesopotamia by recreating some of the artifacts they are known for, all while infusing them into the weekly learning topics.
In this activity called, "Ancient Tablets", your scribes can practice their spelling words using a DIY tablet and wooden stylus. My kids really enjoyed puncturing tiny holes into their tablets to form the shapes of the missing spelling letters.
Of course, tablets weren't the only invention the Mesopotamians created. The wheel is a big deal, along with the system of measuring by base 60, which developed time. Use both these magnificent inventions while practicing elapsed time telling skills. Spin the wheel to land on an hour, then answer the game card question to further understanding of elapsed time. This activity was engaging, fun, and a purposeful way of including ancient inventions we still use today!
What would Ancient Mesopotamia be without their beloved ziggurats? After reviewing the sacred buildings in their history, carry over the structure into the language activity. If your kids are anything like mine, they wait for the times I incorporate a game like "Ziggur-What?" This mad lib style game will get them practicing the eight parts of speech and laughing all the while through. With some brown craft paper and some simple prep, your young learner will be eagerly shouting out parts of speech in order to hear the new version of the paragraph read aloud.
Don't Forget Souvenirs!
These types of souvenirs aren't the ones sold
in stores, well at least not yet!
I mean the souvenirs that your kids can have
the joy of creating themselves. Being that Ancient Mesopotamians used clay in pottery, buildings, and
tablets- all formed from their very own hands- it is fitting to include this craft in the lesson. Get hands on by sculpting and baking clay pots. No need to stop at just pots though, your learners can also get the feel for creating ziggurats and clay impressions too, in order to relate to the works of Ancient Mesopotamians.
Be sure to have plenty of clay on hand for this unit study, as the variety of items that can be sculpted and created are limitless.
When preparing this lesson plan, be sure to have plenty of clay on hand, as the variety of items that can be sculpted and created to mimic the Ancient Mesopotamian techniques are limitless.
There was so much inspiration that I rediscovered about Ancient Mesopotamia that made way for an inviting and immersive learning adventure we won't soon forget!
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