Cuneiform Lesson Plan

Name: Ashley Aquino-Furgione

Image courtesy of schoolofmonkeys.blogspot.com

Unit Description Academic Subject: Grade Level: Topic/Concept/Skill:

Mesopotamia & Sumer orl! "istory #th $ra!e %A!aptable for lo&er an! higher gra!e le'els( )he topic is the !e'elopment of &riting %cuneiform( in early ci'ili*ations %Mesopotamia(- more importantly+ !el'ing into the use of+ replication an! application of such &riting. Skills to be taught are un!erstan!ing an! application through use of non-linguistic representations along &ith change in perspecti'es throughout history. )he goal of the lesson is for stu!ents to be able to obser'e+ un!erstan! an! replicate cuneiform an! un!erstan! &hy &riting &as, is an important part of ci'ili*ation. )he purpose of the lesson &ill be to !eepen an! enrich the unit &e are closing on Mesopotamia using non-linguistic representations to further e-plore the !e'elopment of ci'ili*ation %&hich &riting &as a large part of( &hile !eepening application an! analysis skills. Stu!ents &ill learn ho& to obser'e+ analy*e an! apply kno&le!ge of pro'i!e! sources through !e'eloping their o&n clay tablets. )his &ill pro'i!e insight into the min!sets,li'es of people !uring this time in history. .y the en! of this acti'ity,!iscussion+ stu!ents &ill be able to &rite their initials in cuneiform on their o&n tablet an! reali*e ho& &riting &as use! in Mesopotamia+ through successfully &riting a their name or initials phrase in cuneiform+ !eciphering another group/s cuneiform &riting an! physically car'ing cuneiform into their clay tablets. Informal inquiry &ill also ai! in scaffol!ing un!erstan!ing of the larger concepts. Stu!ents &ill be able to: 0oint to specific artifacts to !emonstrate the &ay the &riting system in Mesopotamia &as transforme!. Analy*e the purposes &riting ser'e! in Mesopotamia &ith an emphasis on ho& those purposes e'ol'e! as the ci'ili*ation

Goal:

Purpose of Lesson%intro!ucing content+ practicing+ or !eepening,enriching(:

Lesson bjective!s": %specific+ obser'able an! measurable(

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change!. $ain a basic un!erstan!ing of the &ays in &hich the !e'elopment of systems of &riting an! the !e'elopment of ci'ili*ation are linke!. SS.#. .2.7 : Summari*e the important achie'ements of Mesopotamian ci'ili*ation.

Standards: SSS,N$SS,11S

SS.#. .4.8: Interpret primary an! secon!ary sources. SS.#.$.4.2: 9n!erstan! ho& to use maps an! other geographic representations+ tools an! technology to report information. #aterials$ %esources$ and &'uipment needed: %inclu!e technology nee!s if appropriate( 1lay 0rinte! 1uneiform Alphabet 1harts )e-tbooks Markers An imagination an! your brain: 0ro;ector 0o&er0oint sli!e Assure enough clay for all stu!ents 0o&er0oint Sli!e 0repare scaffol!ing questions <Intro,"ook= & <1lass 1loser=

Teac(er Preparation:

Amount of time for t(e entire lesson!s" )ntroduction * Anticipatory set+ hook+ attention grabber+ etc.

>ne 0erio! %?@ minutes(- post assessment may also be !one after at beginning of ne-t class

Stu!ents &ill &alk into a clay tablet picture pro;ecte! in the me!ia center. )hey &ill be aske! to &rite about &hat they think they are 'ie&ing %it is a receipt from Mesopotamia culture:(. e &ill !iscuss as a class an! re'eal &hat the tablet picture is+ &hat cuneiform is. Stu!ents &ill be tol! they &ill learn a ne& form of &riting to!ay an! ho& !i! the cuneiform &riting system affect Mesopotamian ci'ili*ationA

Literac+ Strate,ies )nstructional Strate,ies !,rap(ic or,ani-ers$ ,roupin,:

Non-6inguistic 5epresentations $ui!ing Buestions Cerbally Stu!ents &ill &ork in groups on kinesthetic acti'ities Non-linguistic 5epresentations+ 1ooperati'e 6earning+ Small $roup+ Direct Instruction hole $roup+

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Lesson Procedures: %Sequence for teaching the lesson inclu!ing acti'ities an! appro-imate times for each part.(

4- Stu!ents &ill &alk into the classroom an! pro;ecte! to the front of the room &ill be a picture of a clay tablet &ith &riting &ith the question < hat is this E ho& can you tell+ ha'e you seen something like this beforeA If you cannot recogni*e the &rite !o&n &hat it remin!s you of.= Stu!ents &ill complete this on a blanch sheet of paper. )his is the .ell 5inger an! &ill take @ minutes(. 2- Stu!ent/s &ill ha'e a short @-43 minute gui!ing refresher on the !e'elopment of &riting in Mesopotamia 8- Stu!ents &ill then use the clay pro'i!e! to &rite their initials or name an! take home as a token an! <piece of history=. Accuracy of the completion of the cuneiform tab &ill be assessment of their un!erstan!ing %4@-23 minutes(. ?e &ill re'ie& again as a class &hat cuneiform is+ &hy it is important to the !e'elopment of Mesopotamian 1i'ili*ations an! ho& it &as use!. @- )hey &ill &rite a brief <Dear Mom= note e-plaining &hat &e learne! to!ay or &rite cuneiform phrases to each other if time permits as some classes &ill ha'e more time than others. As a closing &e &ill ha'e them complete their clay tablets an! return back to the cuneiform receipt sho&n at the beginning of class to !iscuss use of cuneiform in relation to ci'ili*ation %possible Dear Mom letter also(. Stu!ents &ill also ha'e the opportunity to !el'e !eeper into the use an! creating of &riting by teacher an! parent appro'e! Fou)ube 'i!eos+ online !istance learning courses %free through coursera( an! !e'elopment of a!!itional cuneiform messages. )hey may also seek to e-plore the !e'elopment of &riting throughout history. In class stu!ents &ith G66 %high functioning( an! GSG &ill ha'e assistance catching up on concepts. )hey both &ork &ell in group settings &ith repetition of !irections if nee!e! in clear concise tone. For $ifte! Stu!ents : %see abo'e enrichment acti'ity(

Closure:

&.tension/&nric(ment Activities:

Adaptations:

Assessment %preassessment,formati'e or summati'e assessment(:

Stu!ent ability to &rite an! !ecipher the cuneiform alphabet as &ell as !e'elop their o&n tablet &ill be the main source of assessment. 1lass !iscussion &ill ser'e as a!!itional informal assessment along &ith <Dear Mom= letter for classes &here time permits. $eneral praise &ill be use! &hen stu!ent meet the ob;ecti'es of the lesson. If they are not meeting the ob;ecti'es I &ill use further inquiry an! lea!ing questions to gui!e them to&ar! the ob;ecti'es in Alternati'e 1ertification 0rogram 2342 56A 8

class an! offer assistance !uring homeroom+ before school an! afterschool &hen arrange!. Stu!ents &ill gain a <check plus= for the !ay for class participation if full effort is pro'i!e!+ phrases are !eciphere! an! clay tablets are generate!. If a stu!ent is !isrupti'e or uncooperati'e &ith their group they may recei'e a <check= or <check minus= lo&ering their o'erall class participation a'erage. Input into their group+ an! beha'ioral obser'ation &ill be use! to !o so. %eflection on t(e lesson: )he stu!ents met all ob;ecti'es an! successfully &rote using cuneiform. )hey &ent on to &rite <Dear Mom,Sister, Mrs. F.= letters e-plaining &hat they ha! &ritten+ &hy cuneiform &as in'ente! an! use!+ &ho it &as use! by an some stu!ents e'en inclu!e! an e-ample of the &riting. )hey &ere transporte! back in time to Mesopotamia- the lesson truly came to life for them an! all left the classroom &ith a sou'enir to !iscuss &ith family an! frien!s at home.

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