What Did the Ancients Give Us?

Thanks for sharing this, Laura Massa ! I haven’t tried this activity out yet, but really love the question at the end of the lesson/activity that asks “How did these ancient societies impact our world today?”  I find that when we cover Ancient Civilizations it is sometimes hard for students to see the relevance. Framing it in a way where students have to make connections to today is really cool- I wonder if that can even be a lesson in and of itself !

 Adriane Musacchio this was one of the questions I asked my students to respond to in their Museum Project activity. One group covered ancient Rome, and as part of their project, they had to create a video related to their civilization. I only gave them two class periods and their ad hoc homework days to prepare.

One of the project components was to create a video, and this group connected the architecture of our chapel with Roman architecture and the diffusion of Christianity, along with other aspects such as food and culture. 

It makes great sense to use this as a precursor for the Museum Project - dipping a toe in the water, so to speak.  Now I'm wondering...what would happen if the students heard/read/viewed each other's final products answering this question and then voted on which society or which advancement had the greatest impact?  Having to rank items is one of those great learning techniques and would give students an added incentive to pay careful attention to each of their classmates' projects.  I don't know if you teach more than on section, but it might then be fun to share results with other sections of the course and discover similarities or differences in final results.

Yes Denise Ford I teach three sections of Big History, so comparing results is a great way to keep students engaged. I'll need to figure out a plan because this year my students went to the Everglades and the groups were split over two weeks, meaning not everyone was present when they presented their civilization in a Museum Project format. Maybe I can use it as a review before the unit test when everyone is back in school. That might work! Thank you for the suggestion—it will be a great way to close the unit.

I haven't used it yet (because I'm not at that unit yet) but really excited to hear you recommend it Laura Massa ! I agree that extending to think about how the past has impacted us is a fantastic way to make learning about the past relevant.