Time Traveling through the Ages: Teaching Ancient World Civilizations in Middle School

More than just a list of historical dates and battles, the Ancient World is filled with stories, experiences, and ways of living that all play a part into the tapestry of what it means to be a human throughout time. By exploring these time periods and cultures as an adventurer, students become more curious and engaged in their learning, and this, therefore, fosters deeper understanding of these periods in our world’s history. It also creates a deeper empathy towards others with different backgrounds and histories, as students understand the varied ways of life of these ancient peoples and connect this awareness to their own life today. In this course, we will explore ways in which to keep Ancient World curriculum engaging and fun through experiential adaptable lessons. Intended for Middle School ELA/Humanities/History Teachers (Upper Elementary teachers may be interested as well.)

Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of the different ways in which Ancient World curriculum can be structured and implemented to adapt to your classroom’s needs.
• Gain awareness as to how Ancient World lessons can open the door to powerful and engaging classroom discussions on a variety of modern-day civics, philosophical, and sociological topics, as well as greater empathy towards others with different backgrounds and worldviews.
• Explore several literature and hands-on activities and projects for each time period covered that can be developed and adapted for their own classrooms.
• Understand the potential for cross-curricular connections from Ancient World curriculum to other subjects and brainstorm integrated lesson units with partner teachers.