WCS Eighth Grade
Ancient History Units of Study
Prehistory
- Time period before written records-
How do we know what we think we know?
ARCHAEOLOGY
(Group activities with individual components)
MESOPOTAMIA
The Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys
EGYPT
The Nile
The Indus Valley or Harappean Civilization
Hinduism and Buddhism
Early Eastern Mediterranean Civilizations:
Phoenicians and Hebrews
Early Eastern Mediterranean Civilizations:
Minoans and Mycenaeans
Classical Greece:
The Persian Wars
The Peloponnesian War
Mock Trial of Socrates and Mediterranean Feast
Ancient Rome:
Etruscans
Monarchy
Republic
Empire
Decline/Division/Destruction
Overview
This is my 33nd year at WCS,
and my 43nd year of teaching. I am passionate about my students' learning, and
include lessons and activities designed to span a wide range of learning styles
and interests. The class is skills-based, and learning to evaluate what we
think we know about history is key, including evaluating point of view and
limitations of sources. Students are guided in developing a growth mindset and
building on their strengths while learning from mistakes or difficulties.
Collaboration is key. We paint, research, create civilizations, dig, document,
build, act, sing, write papers, create posts, debate, build interactive timelines, create videos, take field trips,
and question experts. You can follow our progress at this WCS Ancient History
blog, as well as explore each student's viewpoint on their individual Ancient
History e-Text blogs.
This course begins with prehistory and an introduction to anthropology and archaeology. Units of study include the civilizations of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley peoples, ancient Hebrews, the Aegean civilizations, Bronze Age and Classical Greece, the Etruscans, and ancient Rome. Several other civilizations will be introduced, such as ancient China, but will not be studied in depth. Emphasis is placed on the influence of geography on history, the examination of timelines across cultures, and the interaction and transfer of ideas among peoples. The presentation combines the study of social, cultural, and political structures, including the evolution of government, art, literature, economics, and religion. The resolution of conflict and struggles for power which lead to warfare and dominance are primary topics.
The important skills of critically reading, researching, writing, interpreting, summarizing, and comparing will be practiced. Students will make multi-media presentations, cooperate on group projects, debate historical issues, and relate their learning to the present world situation. Samples of activities which may be included: a simulated archaeological dig, recreating Paleolithic cave art, evaluating primary sources concerning the advent of writing in Sumer, as well as skits illustrating Hammurabi's law code. Students utilize their primary source research to recreate the trial of Socrates, and produce short films explaining Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism for the comparative religions unit. They write a traditional research paper using standard documentation practices, after several small research projects to practice each component of the research process. This class emphasizes ties in the curriculum between ancient history and the eighth grade Latin and English literature curriculum.
