Throughout the year, students kept adding this information to their little notebooks.

Give examples of the art your people began to produce.Īnd, of course, I’d answer these questions myself before letting them start.

Describe some of the new roles that emerged in your civilization.

Explain the tools your civilization used that led to successful farming.

Students learned how a surplus of food led to new types of jobs, increased populations, and time for the arts, sports, and hobbies. The next unit showed the development of cities and the importance of farming. I can’t emphasize enough how much this modeling improved students’ work. Plus, you’ll catch those pesky errors and confusing directions when you do your own project! This step is vital to ensure understanding of the task, to communicate expectations of quality, and for getting kids excited about the project. Only then could the students get started. I’d answer my own questions, use the same resources as my students, share my thinking, and take suggestions from the class. Always Modelīefore turning them loose, I always modeled using my own civilization, often called Byrdlandia. We’re slowly building up to a grand end-of-year project.

What sorts of tools would they develop, given their resources?Īt this point, students would simply jot ideas into a notebook I gave them.

What plants and animals would be available to their people in this environment?.

What biome would your people settle in (note the natural connection to science)?.

We also covered the domestication of plants and animals and the introduction of clothing and shelter.Īfter we finished the unit, I asked students to consider: Unit one was about the many environments humans settled in and their development of tools. Example: Unit OneĪfter each social studies unit, students took their new understandings and applied it to their own civilizations. If your curriculum covers Native Americans, students could create their own realistic tribe. If you’re teaching American History, you might have students develop their own rebellious set of colonies. This will work with a variety of social studies topics, so give it a try even if you don’t teach ancient civilizations. Primarily a social studies project, it also bridges easily into our science curriculum, language arts, and beyond. Here’s the final instructions from one year’s project.

It culminated in an always incredible Open House display. They developed their own civilization to match what we were learning about Egypt, Rome, and China. Each year, my students engaged in a year-long Create A Civilization activity.

Make your own civilization