Middle school students are studying world history this year, starting with ancient civilizations. On Friday, classes enjoyed games of charades to practice communicating without words and images; there was much laughter and productive frustration in the process!
This week, classes are studying the factors involved in creating early human civilizations. We’ll be making great use of maps and thinking deeply about geography in this process. Our study begins with Mesopotamia and the “Cradle of Civilization,” and students will begin to see the ways civilizations developed on the ground level. We’ll study the results of agricultural surplus, the evolution of hierarchies, creation stories that accompanied these early cultures, and the creation of legal codes. Students are even considering their own “laws” for a civilization, working in small groups to brainstorm the necessities.
