Includes corrected version of timeline sheet
KHE viii-ix
Review Questions, What is History?
What do we call someone who reads letters and journals and monuments
to find out about the past? A historian.
What do we call the story that historians write about the past? History.
Narration Exercise, What is History?
Ask the child to tell you in his own words about two ways that historians
learn about the past. Acceptable narrations might include, “Historians
read letters and look at monuments,” or “People wrote letters and kings
told people to write down stories. Historians can read them.”
Review Questions, What is Archaeology?
What do archaologists do? Dig objects out of the ground and
learn about them.
What kinds of things did people leave behind them, in the story that
we read? Dishes, tools, toys.
Narration Exercise, What is Archaeology?
Ask the child to tell you in his own words about the kinds of things
that archaeologists dig out of the ground. An acceptable narrations
might be, “Archaeologists dig things like dishes and toys out of the ground.”
If necessary, prompt the child to add, “They find out about the past from
these things.”
Additional Reading
intensive book that explains a family tree in very simple terms.
I Can Be an Archaeologist, by Robert Pickering (Children’s Press, 1987). Explains
archaeological work using simple text and real pictures.
Archaeologists Dig for Clues, by Kate Duke (HarperCollins, 1997). Explains archaeological
work using a cartoon format.
The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells: A Book About Archaeology, by Jackie Posner
(Scholastic, 1997). The Magic School Bus goes on a dig; also available in video format.
Writing Down the Days: 365 Creative Journaling Ideas for Young People, by Lorraine M.
Dahlstrom (Free Spirit Publishing, 2000). For children who enjoy writing.
Projects
Materials List:
History of My Family cover (provided)
Crayons, pencils and pens
Family History page (provided)
Photographs of family members
Double stick tape or glue, hole punch, brass plated fasteners
Tape recorder (optional)
1. Color the cover page for your History of My Family book and write
your name where it says “taken by”.
2. Make a copy of the Family History page for each member of your family.
3. Interview family members to answer the questions on each person’s
History page. Use a tape recorder if one is available.
4. Paste or tape their picture on the page.
5. Punch holes and fasten book together with brass fasteners.
History of My Family cover:
Family History page:
Make a This is My Life Timeline
Materials List:
Timeline sheet (provided)
Photographs
Double stick tape or glue
Use the timeline sheet to record the important dates in your history.
Each number on the timeline represents a year of your life so this timeline
will last you until your tenth birthday. You can leave the timeline
in one piece or cut it on the dotted line and connect it end to end.
The timeline can be copied onto cardstock and laminated or covered with
clear contact paper for durability.
1. Start at zero and write in your birthday and paste your first picture
close to the date. You can draw a line or glue a piece of string
from the date to your picture.
2. Add as many dates and pictures as you can. You can even draw
pictures and glue souvenirs like theater tickets on your timeline.
Some ideas for things to include on your timeline are when you got
your first tooth, when you first sat up, crawled, or ate with a spoon,
your birthdays and when your brothers and sisters were born.
Down and Dirty Dig! (a simulation of an archaeological dig)
Materials List:
Items from your household that represent our civilization
Place to bury the above items
Small shovel or garden trowel
Small brushes
Bucket and containers
Screen or sieve for sifting dirt
Plastic bags, string, paper, pencil
1. Assemble items to bury. Try to find things that
would answer these kinds of questions: What did these people eat?
What kind of transportation did they have? What kind of houses did
they live in? What did they do for entertainment? Did
they read and write? Think of some questions of your own.
2. Make a list of the things then bury them in a sandbox or some
dirt. If you can, spray the site with water and let it sit for a
few days.
3. You will pretend you are an archaeologist digging up the ruins
of an ancient civilization.
a. Use the string to mark off sections of
the dig area.
b. Excavate one section at a time using the
small shovel. Work carefully so the artifacts don’t get damaged.
c. Use the small brushes to gently brush dirt
from the artifacts.
d. Sift the dirt you remove from the hole
so the smaller artifacts aren’t missed.
e. As you remove the artifacts write down
what you found and it’s location in the dig.
f. Use plastic bags and containers to hold
the artifacts.
g. Tell what you learned about this ancient
civilization.
Go back to the Activity
Book index page
Buy
this book!
Read the corresponding chapter in The
Story of the World
Go to the
Story of the World index page
Go to the Peace
Hill Press home page
Go to the Well-Trained
Mind home page