For this last unit, students are looking in depth at ancient civilisations through our the lens of our Where We Are In Place And Time theme.
The Central Idea is "The structure of a society reflects people's needs and what they value." It has been quite a challenge to unpack and explore but our students are enjoying their research into their chosen society. We are learning furiously and feeding our curiosity with information about the Egyptians, Maori/Polynesians, Macedonian Empire, Ancient India and the Mongols. Our class is busy, it's buzzing, it's full of books and conversations that are rich and reflect a deep level of thinking and making connections.
We started the unit by looking closely at the Fundamental Human Needs and the Timeline of Civilisations.
We watched video of the history of the world through time which the students found mesmerizing. Many of us watched it more than a few times just fascinated by the changes that were happening.
As part of this unit, we also visited the Auckland Museum. Our class enjoyed exploring, asking questions and making connections during a rich session with our lovely educator. We learned about gods, artefacts and tools used by different cultures throughout history. Our biggest surprise was learning that we use the same kind of tools today to do similar jobs but in different ways.
To further our understanding of ancient civilisations and develop an appreciation for their contribution to history and how we, in our current time, still use some of the tools and technologies they developed, our students will be making bread. We have chosen recipes that closely resemble the methods used long ago.
Here is a quick video explaining briefly about the history of bread and how it was made in Pompeii.
We will wrap up this unit with a group project where children will invent their own civilisation complete with food, clothing, shelter, art, religion, transportation, defense and government.
Enjoy the rest of the term and the wonderful weather.
Elean
