Pre History

We are using Story of the World for History. Because History starts MUCH further back in time than the book starts we started with a Pre History unit.

*****{To determine if this unit is of interest to you: This is from an OLD earth creationist perspective. We also acknowledge that MICRO evolution (within species) is a fact, but not MACRO (between species)}.*****

I could not really find a great unit out there for this. Most everything is either strictly secular evolutionary process or young earth. Neither of which we adhere to. So I put together my own from various sources. We did a fly over without a lot of detail. This is elementary after all. If you are also a homeschooling family who is Old Earth Creationist then this section is for you! Let's share, send me your thoughts and ideas. I am sure we will be doing this again and will need better stuff!

For this we are using a modified Note booking concept in which we keep everything in a three ring binder. Each activity is recorded in a picture or writing or both and placed in the binder.  This is organized for elementary age.

Here is what I did:

Pre Historic Life and Early Man and Ice Age Unit:

Use with notebook pages from here.  http://awakeningwonder.wordpress.com/tag/old-earth-notebooking-pages/
We also used the timeline for pre history from Pandia Press. 

And this page for many of the ideas following: http://littlecitykids.com/perspective/index.php

1.   Earth/Creation:

Basic Concepts to teach:

The earth is old

God made the earth and all that is in it

Layers of the earth tell its age

Dinosaurs

Pangea

Primary text:

Usborne encyclopedia of  World History, 

Usborne Rocks & Fossils, 
Bible 

Library:

Fossils tell of long ago,

My visit to the dinosaurs,

Digging up dinosaurs,

DK fossils,

Fossils- clues to ancient life,

Who Was Charles Darwin? By Deborah Hopkinson

Usborne dinosaur dictionary 

Internet

Pangea separates animation

Pangea images

Nat Geo Interactive Prehistoric Timeline

Activities:

Egg, layers jar of brownies, edible earth and fossil cookies

http://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/cookbook.htm

A.  Earth:            

o   Our earth is made of rocks and minerals. Inside the earth there is a liquid core of molten rock and on the outside there is a hard crust. The earth is like an egg, and the shell on an egg is like the crust on the earth.

o   Read how earth was created in the Bible, and also in Usborne encyclopedia of World History.

o   Read a few creation stories from around the world. 

   Create several Ven diagrams of how they are similar and different. Looking for how things are  
   similar and different to the Bible. 

o   Egg activity

Our Earth is Like an Egg Activity:

    Boil eggs and decorate the eggs to look like our planet earth. You can use food dye painted on or  
    crayon or marker or any combination.
A fun idea is to use crayons to color the continents first, then dip the eggs in the blue dye.

As you eat the egg talk about the parts of the earth. Have them draw a diagram and label it. Put it in the Notebook. 

Our earth is made of rocks and minerals. Inside the earth there is a liquid core of molten rock and on the outside there is a hard crust. The earth is like an egg, and the shell on an egg is like the crust on the earth.

• The earth's crust is made up of rocks and minerals.
• The earth's mantle is made out of silicon, aluminum, oxygen, and iron. The mantle is like the egg white.
• The earth's core is made up of iron and nickel. It is like the egg's yoke.

B. The Earth's Layers:

This is a good place to read Story of the World chapter 1
Read about the layers of the crust of the Earth in a Science book or an archeology book for kids. The library has several good ones. Sediment collects on the ground, and then another layer, and then another layer. Over millions of years, the layers get very deep and very compacted, or pressed together. Scientists can tell when certain animals lived based on which layer their fossils are found  in. The surface of our Earth has changed through the years, but its layers have stayed the same. 

This activity helps kids visualize the layers of the crust where we find bones, fossils and other archeological evidence. 

Layers of the Earth activity: Brownies in a jar gift.

Measure out each of the ingredients one at a time and pour them into their jars. The ingredients should be poured in one at a time alternating between light and dark ingredients so that each layer is visible. Remember to talk about how the Earth and its dirt and rocks all have layers too. The M&Ms are like fossils hidden between all the dirt and rocks. Close up the jars once all the ingredients have been added.

Attach a small note saying

To:

From:

Instructions: Empty mix into large bowl. Use your hands to mix thoroughly. Add 3/4 cup of butter or margarine and 4 slightly beaten eggs. Mix until completely blended. Spread batter into a lightly greased or sprayed 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pan. Cut into 2 inch squares. Enjoy!

Supplies you will need for each jar:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup M&Ms
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• mason jar for each brownie jar made

 This image was very useful for us in understanding time and layers of fossils and creation.

C. Pangea: 

What is it?

How did it break apart?

Read in _________________________________

Draw Pangaea

Plate Tectonics (we got a kids book on this from the library, there are many).

http://geography.howstuffworks.com/pangaea-videos-playlist.htm

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/441211/Pangea

D. Dinosaurs:

245 million years ago, dinosaurs walked the earth. Our world was very different back then. Talk about how the earth was different and climate was different.

o   Read books about dinosaurs

o   Great resources for a Field Trip for this section are: Morrison dinosaur print cliffs and museum. Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park. Denver Museum of Nature and History Pre History/Dinosaur exhibit. There are dinosaur prints in Eastern Colorado. Dinosaur National Park in North-Western Colorado. 
Do a report on one particular dinosaur. 

VIDEO***http://geography.howstuffworks.com/6737-the-real-lost-world-video.htm

We also discussed how the dinosaurs went extinct. We combined the logical ideas of  a Meteor hitting the earth potentially causing the already shifting plates to shift and create volcanoes and a climate change causing the earth to become inhospitable to dinosaurs over time. 

E. Fossilization

Dinosaurs are part of the earth's history. Scientists study fossil remains to learn not only about dinosaurs, but also about the earth itself.

Paleontologists are the scientists that specialize in discovering fossils. They spend a lot of their time carefully digging to find fossils. If they are not careful they will miss or destroy fossils

o   Read books on Fossils, Usborn Rocks and Fossils and library books. Books on actual digs are really neat too.

o   Internet: how fossils are formed
Burying Bodies (game to show what conditions are needed to form fossils)
Finding Fossils (tools used to find fossils)
Dinosaur Dig (game at funschool.kaboose)

http://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/earth#features/stufftodo_earth/edible_main.php?TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=770

http://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/cookbook.htm

o   Activity:

Fossil dig for actual fossils. I bought one on Amazon it was great! Discover with Dr. Cool. 

Jello Layers of the Earth with fossils

Serve the layered Jell-O that we made on Monday. Point out the "fossils" embedded in the layers. Discuss with the children how the earth sets up at different rates, and how earthquakes can mess up the even layering of sediments. Encourage the children to examine their layers and to count their woolly mammoths!
This morning (and throughout the day, we are going to make layered jello, to help us visualize what the layers of the earth are like. We will eat this treat at "Food for Thought" on Wednesday.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Whipped topping
• One box of each Jello color: Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple
• crumbled vanilla wafers, oreos
• raisins
• chopped fruit

1. Clear a spot in your refrigerator large enough to accommodate the a large jello pan.
2. Start with red (or purple) Jello. Prepare the Jello according to the directions on the packet. See warnings. If there is a "quick chill" method involving ice cubes, use that method. Use the jigglers recipe / use half the water for a firm finger jello.
3. Fill the bottom of the pan with half of the jello and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to set.
4. Take the leftover Jello of the color you just poured and mix in a couple of tablespoons of whipped topping.
5. Pour the "opaque" jello over the first layer.
6. Before the layers have time to completely set up, sprinkled the crumbs on one of the layers. The crumbs will stick on some layers, and sink to the bottom in other places. Discuss with the children how the earth sets up at different rates, and how earthquakes can mess up the even layering of sediments. Shake the bowl to see what happens!
7. Repeat the steps above for each color, allowing approximately 15 minutes of refrigerator time between every layer.
8. Add raisins to the last layer, to be woolly mammoths.

F.  Finding Fossils
Dinosaur fossils are found in embedded in rock. Often, the whole rock is carried to a museum, where scientists can work on it using special tools. Paleontologists have to be very careful and patient when they look for fossils, or they could accidentally break the fragile bones. Today the kids will practice their paleontology skills. Give each child a chocolate chip cookie, ( or layered bar with various treats hidden in it), some toothpicks and a napkin, IN a bowl. Show the kids how to use the toothpick to get the chocolate chips out of the cookies without breaking the chips. What are the difficulties the kids faced while digging for the chips.

• chocolate chip cookies
• toothpicks
• napkins

also put in things they have to find in the cookie bars as a surprise.

2.    Ice age:

Basic Concepts to teach:

Beringia

Ice age animals

Why did the ice melt?

Primary text:

Usborne History of the World, Kingfisher, timeline books,

Library:

Frozen Man by David Getz, Maroo of the winter caves, you wouldn’t want to be a mammoth hunter, boy of the painted cave, In the Ice Age,  Four Seasons,  Eye Know: Water DK, Snomastadon, also look up other kids books about the Ice Age, Ice Age Animals, Bering Straight Land Bridge, Etc.

Activities:

make cave paint and use it, paint a paper bag animal hide vest, make a spear, make and eat Paleo cookies, stew. Have jerky, nuts, berries for snack. Hide them around and the kids can "hunt" for them. 

A.    Glaciers and Melting Ice

o    During the Ice Age much of the Earth was covered in thick sheets of ice called glaciers. During an Ice Age land and water forms are not as clearly defined as they are now during an "interglacial" period. The Ice Age was a time of drastic change for our planet. The land and water forms changed along with the inhabitants on the Earth. Much of the vegetation and life on the planet became extinct during this time of environmental change. During the Ice Age our Earth changed drastically. The land and water forms changed along with the inhabitants on the Earth. The Ice Age helped determine what our world today would be like.

Ice Age: Some of the characteristics of an Ice Age are the same as a typical winter. As the environment cools down many plants and insects die. In some ways an Ice Age is an extreme extended winter.

o    Activity:  Ice Age Pops
Fill the popsicle molds with lemonade, add some gummy dinosaurs and then freeze. The kids will now have a pre-historic treat and will have fun discovering the dinosaurs when they get to the middle.

• Gummy Dinosaurs/ worms
• Lemonade
• Ice pop Molds

B.  Beringia·        

 Prepared for the Yukon Heritage Branch, Department of Tourism.

 These sections are provided in Adobe PDF format.

 Section 1: Background Information and Teacher Activities - 99KB
Section 2: Pre-Visit Activities - 722KB
Section 3: Visit Activities - 957KB
Section 4: Post Visit Activities - 926KB

Printed pages

C.       The People

o   Early people were hunter-gatherers. All their food came from what they could hunt and find growing naturally around them. Most cavemen were nomads, moving around all the time, following food sources. When cavemen ate animals, they ate every bit of the animal except the bones. They even ate the inside of the bones, which is called marrow. Some scientists believe that eating the high-density fat helped human brains grow larger, making us smarter.

o   Read about early people and how they lived in one of the books.

o   Activity: Making Broth
Ingredients

• soup bones
• water
• carrots
• onions
• celery
• peppercorns
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 
  Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Put the soup bones in a large, shallow roasting pan.
3. Bake bones about 30 minutes, turning at the 15-minute mark.
4. Put soup bones in a large pot. Pour 1/2 c. water into the roasting pan and scrape up any crusty browned bits. Add water mixture to pot.
5. Add carrots, onions, celery, black peppercorns, and 1 1/2 tsp. salt to pot.
6. Add 10 c. water to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 3 1/2 hours. Remove soup bones.

Did cavemen eat soup? No one knows for sure, but we know that they ate bone marrow. We know this because we have found the remains of bones that have been smashed to get the marrow out. This marrow was very nutritious and full of healthy fats that gave the cavemen calories that they needed to survive the ice age.

Serve the soup that we made early in the day. But also serve the bones. Work with the children to extract the marrow, and have the children taste small pieces of it. Do they like the flavor? How does it feel in their mouths? If they were cavemen, would they eat lots of marrow?

D.    Cave art and clothing

•  Read about cave art and look at photos
• You can get several books about cave art from the library. Including several children's books. 
• Using Animal Skins

When early man hunted an animal; he used every part of that animal for something. Mostly animals were used for food. But their bones made good tools, and their skins made warm clothes. They may even have used skins to "write" on.

Have the children each take a grocery bag and cut it open so it is large and flat. Show them how to scoop-trim the edges so it has the shape of an animal skin. Then give the children an opportunity to paint with the "prehistoric paint" that they made.
Long ago people painted pictures to remember important things. Discuss why this animal is important to them. Why do you think the bulls in Hall of Bulls at the Lascaux Cave are important? Encourage the children to paint the most important animal in their life.

Supplies you will need:

• brown paper grocery bags
• scissors
• prehistoric paint made yesterday
• paintbrushes/ yucca stems
• smocks

For Paint:

•  vegetable shortening
• dirt in as many colors and textures as you can find
• charcol from a fire
• small zip-lock bags

Place a Tablespoon of shortening in each bag along with 1-2 Tablespoons of one type of dirt. Massage the bag with your fingers until mixed. The kids can do this, it is fun. Use the paint on the vests or on outdoor rocks on private property where you have permission to paint. Or the sidewalk or driveway. It might leave a grease stain, so be sure it's somewhere that is ok.

Wear the vests with painted prints to do more cave art or hunt for snacks.

E.    Ice Age Animals and Extinction

o   Supplies you will need:

• pictures of ice age animals
• Printable Ice Age Animals cards

o   What animals were there? What are they like that we have now?

o   Why did they go extinct?

o   Read books about the animals and extinction
o   Watch a show on the Ice Age animals. There are actually a few out there that are NOT the Ice Age movie series. 
Do a report on one Ice Age animal.

F.   Stone age:

Basic Concepts to teach:

There were people everywhere

They were intelligent

How they lived

Where they lived

What they may have believed

How does this fit with the Bible?

Otzi Ice Man

Primary text: Bible references for people everywhere, Usborne, Kingfisher, timeline books.

Library:
Otzi the Ice Man
other books about Ice Age animals 

Activities:

G.    Tool, homes, food, animals

The Stone Age is part of our history, before we could write. During this time, people used stone tools and moved to live all over the world.
We call it The Stone Age because people primarily used stone for tools. Rocks were sharpened into knives and weapons. Other stones were used for grinding tools. People also made tools from wood, bone, shell, and antler.

 Animals were very important to people during the stone age. People began to have dogs as pets and helpers. Dogs were the first domesticated animals. Read Jan Brett, The First Dog

In the stone age, people didn't have refrigeration. In fact, they had very little ability to save food for later. One way that they could preserve food was by drying it. Offer the children several types of jerky, such as beef jerky and turkey jerky. Dried gathered –type fruits.

The Stone Age, man began changing the earth to suit his needs. He began to build homes where he wanted, rather than living in the caves that already existed. Lean to, etc.

H.    Art/storytelling

People who lived during the Stone Age did not know how to write. Instead, they painted pictures and told stories to help them to remember the important events in their lives.
Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura

• Why do we write things down?
• Have people always written things down?
• How can we remember things without writing?
• Look at a picture of cave art. Have them write what they think was going on.

Storytelling
Sit in a circle with the children. Tell a story (simple) and have each child improve on the story. That’s how they did. One person would tell their story and the next would improve on it to give more detail, feeling or meaning. Each telling would enlarge or change the story from the original. **That’s how myths work too. Tall Tales

3.   Agricultural age:

Basic Concepts to teach:

People learned to farm.

This changed them for the better

Primary text:

Usborne Encyclopedia of World History

Story of the World chapters 1,2

Library: Skara Brae

Activities: bake corn bread on a griddle over a camp fire. Baked potatoes in a fire pit. Mancala. Make a early hut.

1.      Civilization began when people started farming. When people started growing their own food instead of searching for it daily, important changes happened in their lives. They could settle down and create a home. They built villages, towns and even cities.

Play a Game:

Mancala, the game board consists of two rows of 6 small pits (or "houses"), with a large storage pit at each end. Picture an egg carton with a bowl at each end. At the beginning of the game, you and your opponent sit on opposite sides of the game board. The row in front of you is your row. The storage pit to your right is your storage pit. Four seeds are placed in each of the 12 houses. And then play begins:

7. The first player takes all the seeds from one of his houses. He sows the seeds, moving counter-clockwise. If he gets as far as his own storage pit, he drops a seed there, too. If the last seed in his hand goes in his storage pit, he gets another turn. Otherwise, his turn ends.
8. The second player repeats the ""sowing" maneuver described in #1.
9. Players don't drop seeds in each other's storage pits
10. If, during a turn, a player's last seed lands in one of his empty pits, and there are seeds in the pit immediately opposite it, the player gets to capture both his last seed and the seeds opposite.
11. The game ends when a player runs out of seeds on his side of the board. The opponent gets to capture any seeds remaining on his side, and the player with the most captured seeds wins.

Supplies you will need:

• mancala board, or egg cartons
• seeds or beans for sowing

2.      Having a home changed people's lives. They no longer had to carry everything they owned with them. Which meant that they could collect more stuff and save for the future, but they could collect things that weren't absolutely necessary to survive. They started to create arts and crafts that enhanced their lives.

FOOD Look at several types of grain. Make corn cakes and have for lunch.

Bake bread with wheat and make lentil stew for dinner. Things that are grown in a garden.

Eat oatmeal at breakfast to show grains we now have thanks to early farmers who discovered what could be eaten.

As man learned to farm better, they started having extra food. This food could be stored and traded for other things. This meant that not everyone needed to be a farmer. So some people could become teachers or potters or other tradesmen.

People began to keep animals, so that they always had milk, leather, wool, and even fertilizer for their crops. They kept sheep, goats, cows, and pigs. The animals could also help with work, like ploughing fields.

Having enough food made it possible for people to create a lot of other things. Now that they lived in one place, they needed to build homes and markets and public areas. They created cities and societies.

4. Archeology 

Primary Text:
Archeology For Kids

Really all you need is to go through this book and pick what you want to highlight and what activities you want to do. It is complete and has everything you could want. It is too much so you have to narrow it down. But, it is very cool!

Library:
Archeologists Dig for Clues
 Look for a book that talks about an actual dig and has photos. These are very interesting to look at the pictures and read the captions if not other parts of the book as well. 

Some of our fun times:

Denver Museum of Nature and Science









Cave Art

Fossil Dig indoors with Dr Cool fossil dig kit

The impromptu imaginary fossil dig out side turned into a mud pit.  Boys was that fun!

The earth is like an egg activity.