Pre History unit

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. 

Ancient Africa Unit

Ancient Africa Unit 
This unit is designed for independent readers and workers grades 3-6.  It can be altered for any child's interest or level. See post on why I made this.
See my Africa in the Middle Ages unit.

Spines:
Only one of these are needed and they are equal. 
Usborne Encyclopedia of World History
OR
The Complete Book of World History (grades 4-8)
OR
Kingfisher Encyclopedia of World History
OR
*DK Eyewitness Africa (most comprehensive)

Atlas:
Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World is nice because it has maps of the Ancient World, but you can look them up on line too. Good for History.
*Kingfisher Young People's Atlas of the World (modern view of Africa and the regions) good for Geography

General:
*A True Book, Africa
*Africa is not a country by Knight and Melnicove

Ancient:
Story of the World book 1
*A Glorious Age In Africa by Chu and Skinner
*Africa for Kids
*African Beginnings by Haskins and Benson
*African Kingdoms of the Past Egypt, Kush, Aksum by Kenny Mann
 *Life in Ancient Africa by Hazel Richardson

Other complimentary books we used: 
Archeology for Kids
Great African Kingdoms by Sean Sheehan
National Geographic Ancient Africa by Victoria Sherrow
*The Ancient Kushites by Liz Sonnenborn
Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Timbuktu by Larry Brook

Web sites:
http://autocww.colorado.edu/~blackmon/E64ContentFiles/AfricanHistory/SlaveryInAfrica.html
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/activities.php
http://wysinger.homestead.com/ancientafrica.html
http://africankingdoms.com/
http://africa.mrdonn.org/index.html
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/africa/

Work books and activity books we used: 
Primary Africa (teacher created sources)
Hands on Heritage (Africa)
(Thematic Unit from Teacher Created Materials) Multicultural Folk Tales
Africa For Kids
Step Back in Time to Ancient Kush activity book (this book is printed and sold only in the UK and could be pricy here in the US).

Literature:
Anansi the Spider books
Rabbit tales (like Anansi but a rabbit)
At your library web site type in every name of every African country you can think of one at a time and select children's book. You will find a plethora of titles of folk talkes, fables and fun stories, and fictional stories taking place in Africa. I did this and have about 50 books for the kids to read from picture books all the way up to upper elementary level chapter books. 
African Reading Comprehension Cards

Ethiopia Specific Unit:
If you are not doing a specific unit include these in the above sections
*The Ethiopians by Richard Pankhurst (not for kids but for adult resource)
*Explore Ethiopia a coloring book
E is for Ethiopia
Ethiopia in Pictures by Jeffrey Zuehlke
Enchantment of the World, Ethiopia by Dennis Fradin
*You need at least one comprehensive kids book on Ethiopia, the library has many.

*Literature:
Fire on the Mountain by Courlander and Leslau
The Lion's Whiskers by Ashabranner and Davis
Tsion's Life by Stacy Bellward
King Solomon and The Queen of Sheba by Greenberg and Tarry
Journey to Ethiopia by Selamawit Gizaw
CooCooLoo stories for children by Writers for Ethiopian Children
The Perfect Orange by Frank P Araujo
Trouble by Jane Kurtz and other books by her (there are many)
The Best Beekeepers of Lalibela by Christina Kessler

Web sites:
Time Lines of History in Ethiopia
http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/ethiopia/history-timeline
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13351397
http://wn.com/timeline_of_ethiopian_history
http://africanhistory.about.com/od/ethiopia/
Videos about Ethiopia
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVrdzZcFU4C4AvAQnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTB0dmRibmhwBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1lIUzAwMV8x?p=ethiopia+for+kids&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001
A Day in the Life of:
http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/ethiopia/day-in-life
Facts about Ethiopia
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/ethiopia-facts/
http://www.factmonster.com/country/ethiopia.html
History and Geography
http://www.ducksters.com/geography/country.php?country=Ethiopia

Amharic:
http://www.ethiotube.net/video/15912/Amharic-for-Kids

* notes a highly recommended book (or section of books) in the above lists.

Basic Curriculum Lay out:
You will need a binder with tabs for History, Science, Geography, Literature, Writing, (Ethiopia) 
We followed the pattern of these two books. African Beginnings for Ancient History and Africa For Kids for Geography and Science as well as Modern Africa.  The other books play into the line up.

Week 1- Basic Africa Introduction: 

• Africa is Not a Country
• Reading cards: Facts, clothing, sculpture, masks

     Use Facts card for writing practice. Copy or IEW method. 
     answer questions on cards in Geography Tab, use complete sentences. 

• Africa For Kids Intro and part 1 p 2-4 a
• Language: experiment with Swahili, Click, Bantu (included in activity books mentioned) Add  Amharic if desired. https://www.dropbox.com/s/teikenebrlhvq6o/african%20languages.pdf?dl=0
• map of how big Africa is in relation to other countries fitting inside it. Africa Primary teacher created materials. Or you can find one on line. 
• African Music

                To Be a Drum
                The First Music 
                listen to African music on Pandora or Spotify 

• Africa DK eyewitness, read each section and reflect or just read it. 
• Take a general look at Africa today. Note how some groups of people live the same way they have lived for thousands of years. Example the Bushmen. You can find clips and videos on You Tube that show modern day Bushmen, etc. 
• Talk about the continent and how the land forms break apart the people and separate them from the world. Note ancient trade routs and items. Observe that it was common for the tribes to trade and steal people for slaves, so selling their enemies to foreigners was not an unusual idea to them. This was the same all over the world at that time.
• Talk about how the continent in general did not advance as quickly into the modern era as other nations and parts of the world and this discrepancy and desire for the goods traded caused them to be vulnerable and to be taken advantage of in the area of the slave trade.
• Because of the geographical isolation of the majority of Africa the Western/Northern world did not understand the ways of the African nations nor did they acknowledge the amazing culture. Because of this lack of understanding and knowledge they did not consider them to be equal trading partners, therefore they took advantage of them. We are fortunate to have this knowledge today, but it will take years for the awesomeness of Ancient Africa to come to equal play in the history of the world so dominated by European history. And hence the treatment and respect of the peoples and nations of the African Continent. 
• We can do our part by respectfully and humbly teaching our children about Africa, then and now. 

Literature: start with myth, story, folktale. Read African Mythology by Jim Ollhoff. If you can get it at a library, this is a great overview of myth and stories. But, does not contain actual stories. 
Use this book for vocabulary and understanding of the four types of stories. The kids can identify the type of story that they are reading and reflect on it as they read books during this unit. Folk Tale Reflection Sheet. Practice with a few stories. Sundiata, Why Mosquitoes buzz in people's ears, The Monster Who Grew Small, etc. Read one story each day and identify. Do this for the entire unit. Some kids may want to read more than one each day. Use your library as noted above in the book selections.
Another option is to use a book of multiple African myths or folk tales such as African Mythology by Linda Jacobs Altman, this is a wonderful book of stories with questions to ask for each one.

Week 2- Geography of the African Continent

• Use maps in the resources given

                Rivers, regions and features, countries. Label the maps after reading about these.

• Reading Cards: Camel Caravan, Kalahari Desert, Nile River, Drought, Hoba Meteorite. Answer questions in Geography tab. Use complete sentences.
  Choose one card to use for writing. Copy or IEW style. In writing tab.

• Africa (True Book) p 7-13
• Kingfisher Atlas: Africa, write one sentence on why each geographical area of Africa is unique. 
• Africa for Kids. Do each section separately.  Rock and Dirt, climate, wind, East African Rift, rivers and lakes, volcanoes and mountains and minerals. Do soil investigation on page 5 & 6. 

Literature: Anansi Stories and the silly rabbit stories such as Silly Rabbits Big Mistake, Who's in Rabbit's House and Zomo the Rabbit.
Another option is to use a book of multiple African myths or folk tales such as African Mythology by Linda Jacobs Altman, this is a wonderful book of stories with questions to ask for each one. 
Folk Tale reflection Sheet 

Week 3- Ancient Africa (Nubia, Kush, Meroe {this combines with the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and into the New Kingdom of Egypt as well})

•  Story of the World book 1,  Chapters 12 & 13 Egypt, Kush, Nubia
• African Beginings Egypt and Kush/Nubia and Meroe. 
• Ancient Egypt and Their Neighbors, read the chapter on Nubia. There are great activites here as well if you want to incorporate them instead of doing an Africa Day. 
• African Kingdoms of the Past,( Egypt, Kush, Nubia)
• For Ancient History of Africa general overview use *your choice of Encyclopedia. Kingfisher or Usborne Encyclopedia of World History or The Complete Book of World History or Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World.  
• Life in Ancient Africa
• Step Back in Time to Ancient Kush activity book
• Locate on the Map of Kingdoms of Ancient Africa

 Literature: Use page 129 in Ancient Egypt and their Neighbors to write your own African myth. His Majesty Queen Hatshepsut, Tales of Ancient Egypt, Use the African myths in the teacher created material Africa Primary. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters and use the pages related to this in teacher created materials, unit studies, Multicultural Folk Tales.
Another option is to use a book of multiple African myths or folk tales such as African Mythology by Linda Jacobs Altman, this is a wonderful book of stories with questions to ask for each one.There is also one on Egyptian Mythology by the same publisher Enslow Publishers, that is also quite good.

Week 4 and 5- Kingdoms of Ancient Africa

• Story of the World book 1, chapter 11 do writing and map activites. 

For the following books. Read the selections pertaining to the people group. Choose a reflection question or copy book writing and picture that represents the uniqueness of this African Kingdom and culture. Be sure to highlight the achievements and wonder of the era and people represented. Find each on the map of the Kingdoms of Ancient Africa.

• Nok people- read in Usborne Encyclopedia of World History, Complete book of World History. 
• Jenne-Jeno - African Beginnings, Life in Ancient Africa
• Ghana- African Beginnings, A Glorious Age in Africa, Great African Kingdoms, Kids Discover
• Mali- African Beginnings, Great African Kingdoms, Kids Discover, A Glorious age in Africa, Life in Ancient Africa, 
• Songhay- Kids Discover, African Beginnings, A Glorious Age in Africa. 
• Timbuktu and Ife- African Beginnings, Great African Kingdoms
• Benin- African Beginnings, Great African Kingdoms, Kids Discover, Life in Ancient Africa.
• Zimbabwe- African Beginnings, Great African Kingdoms, Life in Ancient Africa, Ancient Africa, Usborn, Book on South Africa (if you can find one). 
• Kongo- African Beginnings  
• Select one Ancient African Kingdom to do a Kingdom Report on.

 Literature: Use books for Maasai, Bantu, Mali, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ghana folk tales and myths from your library and other African Folk Tales (as noted in the book selections above). Monkey Business by Shirley Climo. Use the folk tale reflection page.
Another option is to use a book of multiple African myths or folk tales such as African Mythology by Linda Jacobs Altman, this is a wonderful book of stories with questions to ask for each one.

Week 6- Aksum/Ethiopia

• Read applicable sections in books: African Beginnings, Usborne, African Kingdoms of the Past, Life in Ancient Africa, Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Pictures, E is for Ethiopia, King Solomon and The Queen of Sheba, On Safari in East Africa, use The Ethiopians or another adult history book to direct your history lessons. 
• Locate on the map of Ancient African Kingdoms 
• Choose a reflection question or copy book writing and picture that represents the uniqueness of this African Kingdom and culture. Be sure to highlight the achievements and wonder of the era and people represented.
• use the activity book, Explore Ethiopia a coloring book.

 Literature: 

• Fire on the Mountain by Courlander and Leslau (collection of stories)
• The Lion's Whiskers by Ashabranner and Davis (collection of stories)
• CooCooLoo stories for children by Writers for Ethiopian Children (collection of stories)
• The Perfect Orange by Frank P Araujo
• Trouble by Jane Kurtz and other books by her (there are many)
• The Best Beekeepers of Lalibela by Christina Kessler 
• folk tale reflection sheet

Ancient Africa Day:
End your unit with a fun day of activites to solidify your unit. This is fun to do with other families who have chosen to do a specific Ancient Africa unit also.
Use ideas in the activity books above and Africa for Kids.

• Make an African house
• Make an African Mask
• Listen to African music, make a drum and shakers
• Make and eat African food or go to an African restaurant
• Make a spear, shield, mask, head dress and robe
• Re-tell folk tales or read the one your wrote. 
• Share your Kingdom Report

Side note on Egypt:
Egypt is in general very well covered by ordinary history books while the rest of Africa is glossed over and the greatness of it missed.  However, I want to note that we found a two great series of fiction that really enhanced our unit.
Theodosia series by Yoko Tanka
Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
and 
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Science Component: 
We did African Geography for one week. There are great workbooks and maps out there.
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/africa-physical-geography/?ar_a=4
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/index_flash.html
http://africa.mrdonn.org/saharadesert.html
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/africa/environment/
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/desert.html
http://www.ducksters.com/geography/africa.php
http://atozkidsstuff.com/africa.html
http://kids.britannica.com/search?query=Africa&ct=ebi&searchSubmit.x=10&searchSubmit.y=12

We learned about and wrote a page on African animals and plants. One each per week.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/geographygames/crittercamafrica/
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/search-results/?q=african%2520animals
http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html
http://www.gardenguides.com/93817-native-plants-africa.html
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/african_savanna.htm
http://www.edenproject.com/visit-us/whats-here/plant-a-z/continent/africa
http://www.mbendi.com/indy/agff/coco/af/p0005.htm

Look up how bananas grow and are harvested on You Tube, etc.
You can do the same for Cacao, Coffee, Mango, Papaya, Pineapple, Sugar Cane and Cotton. All are grown in Africa.

Coffee originated in Africa:
 http://www.ncausa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=68
http://www.africa-ata.org/coffee.htm


Bananas in Archeology:
http://archive.archaeology.org/0609/abstracts/bananas.html
 

Biographies to look for on Scientists and Explorers of the African continent:

Mary Kingsley (1862-1900) The greatest of all women explorers.

Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890)
Dr. David Livingstone
(1813-1873) Explored the interior of Africa.
John Speke (1827 - 1864)
Discovered Lake Victoria the largest source of the Nile River.
Isabelle Eberhardt
(1877-1904) was an explorer who lived and traveled extensively in North Africa.

Field Trips: 

1. http://cuartmuseum.colorado.edu/collection/african-art/
2. http://www.denverartmuseum.org/collections/african-art
3. There is a 3D Imax show called Kenya that is great to see on African Animals. 
4. Your local museum may have African history exhibits or animal exhibits. 
5. A zoo is a good place to see African Animals and identify what geographical area they would naturally live in.

Africa In the Middle Ages

Africa in the Middle Ages is something that most curriculum either skip or gloss over. There are some reasons for that, none of which I find convincing or acceptable.
Since I was not able to find a previously written curriculum that adequately covered Africa in the Middle Ages, I put one together on my own.

Some resources I used:
African Studies at Boston University
Africa Success (reading and teaching resources)
Book list 1
Book list 2
Book list 3
PBS Africa- first people
History Chanel- Mankind the Story of All of us

Here I am outlining my unit only on Middle Ages in Africa. I did a previous unit on Ancient Africa not using these books, however if these books have sections pertaining to Ancient or Early Modern/Modern I have noted it in parentheses. The previous Ancient Africa unit does go some into the Middle Ages, but it is an overview, so this is more in depth. You can find the Ancient Africa unit  here.

Books:
African Kingdoms of the Past. This book series is my spine. The historical accuracy and scope is fantastic and on the level of a kid in grades 4-8 (and even older kids can use this).
I bought them all used on Amazon. You can buy them new as well. You might consider library or hard back bindings. My soft cover ones have the pages falling out after one read here, though they were used and in fine shape when received.
This series will cover Africa in the Middle Ages well. You will need more to cover Ancients or Early Modern/ Modern.

Egypt, Kush, Axum/ Northeast: pp 77-95 Middle Ages -Ethiopia- (pp 1-76 Ancient Egypt, Kush and Axum); (Modern day Ethiopia is begun in the Epilogue section p 96).


Zenj, Buganda/ East: pp 1-58 Middle Ages -Zenj, Suaheli states. pp 69-81 Middle Ages- Buganda (Ancient: not in this book); (Early Modern and Modern: pp 58-68 and pp 81-97).

Monomotapa, Zulu, Basuto/ Southern: pp 1-23 Middle Ages- Monomotapa; pp 24-34 Middle Ages- Great Zimbabwe; pp 35-40 Middle Ages- Bantu; pp 50-56 Middle Ages- Zulu. ( Early Modern and Modern pp 40-49, 56-99); (Ancient: not in this book).

Kongo, Ndongo/ West Central: pp 1-64 Ndongo and Kongo Middle Ages; (Early Modern and Modern pp 65-97); (Ancient: not in this book).

Oyo, Benin, Ashanti/ Guinea Coast: pp 1-33 - Oyo Middle Ages (Early Modern, Modern pp 33-36);  pp 36-48 -Guinea Middle Ages ( Early Modern, Modern pp 49-59); pp 60-69 - Benin Middle Ages (Early Modern, Modern pp 69-92); (Ancient: not in this book).

Ghana, Mali, Songhay/The Western Sudan: pp 1-57 -Ghana Middle Ages; pp 58-79 - Mali Middle Ages; pp 80-89 Songhay Middle Ages. (early Modern, Modern pp 90-96 Epilogue); (Ancient: not in this book).

The notebook pages I created to use with this specific book series can be found here. 

This is also a good book for younger kids or a shorter unit: 
African Beginnings by James Haskins

Just for Fun:

• Trouble in Timbuktu by Cristina Kessler  
• Ashanti to Zulu; African Traditions by Margaret Musgrove 
• Africa Is Not A Country by Margy Burns Knight
• Moja Means One by Muriel Feelings   
• Jambo Means Hello: Swahilil Alphabet Book by Muriel Feelings
• Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana (Travels With Gannon & Wyatt) by Patti Wheeler

Folk Tales:

• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (several versions available)
• Aesop's Fables by Beverley Naidoo and Piet Grobler (African Version)
• The Rat-Catcher's Son, and other stories by Carolyn London
• The Lion's Whiskers and other Ethiopian Tales by Brent Ashabranner and Russell Davis
• The Girl Who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton
• The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Rachel Isadora
•  The Princess and the Pea by Rachel Isadora 
• Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema
• There are SO many great folk tales. Check out Amazon and your local library and don't forget the funny Anansi the spider stories which are sure to entertain. 

Biographies:

• Sundiata by DT Niane  (several versions available)
• Nzinga by Patricia McKissak (The Royal Diaries series)
• Mansa Musa: the Lion of Mali by Khephra Burns and Leo & Diane Dillon  (several versions available)
• Traveling Man; The Journey of Ibn Battuta by James Rumford  (several versions available)

I would suggest one of these books with biographical sketches in it:

• Africa's Great Kings & Queens (Just for You Productions)
• Great Queens and Kings of Africa (real African Writers series, vol 1,2) by Pusch Commey
• 100 Great African Kings and Queens by Pusch Commey
• The Glory of African Kings and  Queens by Pusch Commey
• Biographies of the Great Kings and Queens of Africa and Notable Black Men and Women by Lee John Smith O. and DeAnna Williams
• African Princess: The Amazing Lives of Africa's Royal Women by Joyce Hansen 

OR this entire series:

Kings and Queens of Central Africa (Watts Library)

Sylviane A. Diouf

Kings and Queens of Southern Africa (Watts Library)

Sylviane A. Diouf

Kings and Queens of West Africa (Watts Library)

Sylviane A. Diouf

Kings and Queens of East Africa (Watts Library)

Sylviane A. Diouf

Protestant Reformation Study unit

The Protestant Reformation Study Unit:

Religion component studies:

I used this study for kids on the 5 Solas of the Reformation.
http://catechismforkids.com/faith_first.html
(But this one is free and is also a very good option.  http://transformingkidsministry.com/2012/07/26/big-group-lesson-plans-on-the-five-solas-bible-faith-grace-jesus-god/   ).
Sola Scriptura
Sola Christus
Sola Fide
Sola Gratia
Soli Deo Gloria
I used this study for a study on the five points of Calvinism.
http://www.northsidepcaonline.com/tulip.pdf
T- total depravity
U- unconditional election
L- limited atonement
I- irresistible grace
P- perseverance of the saints

Historical and literature based component of the study:

I used parts of this notebooking page set.
http://notebookingfairy.com/2012/10/protestant-reformers-notebooking-pages/

You could also use these:
NotebookingPages.com You will have to sort out which ones you want.  http://notebookingpages.com/search-results?wpfb_s=Reformation
http://homeschoolnotebooking.com/membership/join/
This one is a lap book  http://www.homeschoolshare.com/reformation.php

I added these pages of my own.
set one. 
set two.

Main history books used:
Famous Men of the Rennaisance and Reformation (Greenleaf Press)
Story of the World book 2 with activity pages, maps and tests.

Literature books we read:
Morning Star of the Reformation (Wycliff)
The Man Who Laid the Egg (Erasmus)
Thunderstorm in Church (Luther)
Fine Print (Gutenberg) OR Ink on His Fingers
The Queen's Smuggler (Tyndale)
After Darkness, Light (Calvin)
The Sharpened Sword (John Walch)

Heroes of the Faith is a good series that has several books on reformers, though not as interesting as the above books, which may fall into the category of historical fiction, they add fictionalized scenarios along with the known information. 

For older readers I would suggest (Calvin) The Betrayal by Douglas Bond, it was an excellent read and gave a great picture of the times, though it is Historical FICTION. He also has one on Luther, though I have not read it. The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day (Tyndale) by Scott O'Dell is good for older readers also.

For younger kids I would suggest the following books, (that we have read in earlier years):
Gutenberg's Gift (pop up book)
Martin Luther, A man who changed the world by Paul L. Maier
The Adventures of Martin Luther by Carolyn Bergt
John Calvin by Simonetta Carr

Torchlighters has a series of cartoon videos for kids on various reformers as well.

This page had some fun activities. I adapted some for older kids.

World focused history and literature

When we study history and literature (including scientific discovery) we give attention to every people group and continent. I try hard to find materials that are NOT from a Western perspective. This is hard. It is the hardest when it comes to Africa. We study Africa every year.
This page on Ancient Africa Unit Study is our first Africa unit. It was a flyover which we will go back to in depth for each era. It was great for Ancients in the four year history cycle.
I am currently working on Africa in the Middle Ages. I am currently very frustrated in that there are very few historical fiction books written for kids reading chapter books in grades 4-8. There are lots of picture books and a fair number of books for the older audience. So, I have decided to make a post for each era that we study with books we found that are actually good on Africa.
See the Africa in the Middle Ages unit.

Colorado Boy visits the 50 States

You know Flat Stanely? Well, my kids are too old for those books so we invented a new "through the mail game". Colorado Boy visits the 50 states.

We found 12 friends in different states who would be Colorado Boy's first visit. We hope he will make it to all 50 states and back to us!

Here are our directions:

Colorado Boy travels the

50 US States

Thank you for participating in our study of the 50 States! We are excited to see how many states Colorado Boy can travel through.

Please help us learn something about your state by taking a picture of Colorado Boy at a      landmark or point of interest where you live and send it to us in an email telling us a bit about the land mark and your state.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

— OR —

Help us learn about your state by sending us a post card from Colorado Boy telling about his visit to your state at:

(address)

Important detail:

Then send Colorado Boy on to someone you know in another state who would be likely to send us news about their state and send Colorado Boy on his way again.

If Colorado Boy reaches you on or after October 1, 2015 please return Colorado Boy to us at the above address, with a post card or note about the final state he traveled to.

Thank you so much!

The Khaliqi Family