With the new school year beginning, it's a great way to start a discussion on why we study HISTORY? Encourage students to give responses.
"Why do we have to learn this stuff" is a common question my students would ask me while learning about Julius Caesar and the fall of the Roman Republic or other topics in social studies. Of course, I would explain that the past is important to learn because past events are the building blocks that create our present.
I like to remind students of when they were little and played the game of "Telephone." Remember, sitting in a circle and someone would whisper something in your ear and you would pass along the information to the person sitting next to you? History of the world is kind of like that game. People through the ages have passed down ideas which are still used today.
EVERYTHING has a history, from the potato chip we eat, to the tissues we use to blow our noses, to the shoes we are wearing, to the pencil we use to jot down a note. Everything was once an idea that someone developed, passed along, and in some ways was improved upon by those that learned of the idea.
We are very connected to the past as it has shaped the present that we have today!
Here are some examples of "World-History Telephone":
I have a reading, which I have developed, sharing many things in our world that came to us from other past cultures. It includes comprehension questions and a couple of extension activities. It would be a great beginning of the school year activity to show kids that "history is all around us." Click here to see a preview.
Gail Hennessey
My website for teachers and kids has lots of free resources including geography activities, career surveys, news, bell ringers, factoids, and more.
Note: The illustrations are from Phoencia.org and wpclipart.com.
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