National Endowment for the Humanities
The Victor's Virtue: A Cultural History of Sport
Pupils explore the meaning of the ancient Greek word aretê and the place of virtue in historical athletic competition and modern sports. They begin by reading an informational text on the goal of sports in education, and then evaluate...
Curated OER
Ancient River Valley Civilizations
Ziggurats, cuneiform writing, the Tower of Babel, hieroglyphics, pyramids, the Great Wall. Launch a unit on ancient cultures, with a presentation that introduces viewers to ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Sumer, Egypt, Indus, and China....
University of Chicago
Comparing Modern and Ancient Ideas of Ethnicity and Identity
Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...
Global Oneness Project
The Value of Ancient Traditions
Imagine having to give up cell phones, computers, and TV? What would be lost? What gained? An examination of the Drokpa, a nomadic people who live in the grasslands of Tibet, provides class members an opportunity to consider how access...
Curated OER
Western Civilizations, Chapter 2: Gods and Empires in the Ancient Near East
Ancient Hebrew history comes to life through this online western civilizations tool, which follows history in detail from ancient origins to modern-day. Chapter two covers ancient eastern cultures, including beginnings of Hebrew...
Curated OER
Live from Ancient Olympia!
Young scholars study online resources to examine the ancient Olympic Games and athletes. They investigate the qualities of ancient Olympic athletes and role interviews with the athletes.
Curated OER
Origin of the Modern Summer Games
Where did the Olympic Summer Games originate? The class takes a look at ancient origins of modern Olympic games. They research the Olympics and write a compare and contrast essay that describes how the Olympic Games have changed since...
Curated OER
Understanding Mayan Culture
Students study an ancient culture in Mexico whose people were called the Mayans. They compare certain aspects of Mayan culture with Ancient Egypt. They discuss why some other ancient cultures (Egypt and China) were able to survive for...
Curated OER
The Ancient Maya
Students explore the culture of the Mayans through a variety of activities. In this instructional activity about Maya, students analyze pictures in books and on websites, produce scale models of Maya architecture, and create Maya...
Curated OER
Hanal Pixan
Students research the culture of Mexico. In this Mexican culture lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation about the culture of Mexico and the students take notes. Students write an essay about what they have learned.
Curated OER
Writing Exercise: Ancient Sumer
When summer is over, it's time to get started on Sumer! Get your scholars writing about Ancient Sumer civilizations in this exercise, which features five short-answer prompts. Writers will describe Fertile Crescent Geography, compare and...
TED-Ed
The Silk Road: Connecting the Ancient World Through Trade
Introduce learners to The Silk Road, the first world-wide web. The narrator of this short, animated video traces the pioneers of globalization and the impact they had on culture and economy. The Scythians, Darius the First, and Alexander...
Curated OER
Roman Contributions
A basic overview of one of the most powerful civilizations of all time, these slides don't quite do justice to the mighty Roman Empire. Slides featuring Roman contributions to modern society, such as the aqueduct and distinctive Roman...
Curated OER
Aqueduct Architecture: Moving Water to the Masses in Ancient Rome
Ninth graders compare ancient and modern technology in water transporting. In this lesson on the evolution of the aqueduct, 9th graders build a working aqueduct model and examine its components. They explain the importance and use of the...
Curated OER
Deep Roots of Ancient Greece
Students investigate Greek contributions to modern America. In this ancient Greek influence lesson, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding ancient Greek ideals in order to analyze and trace Greek...
Curated OER
The Impact of Islamic Culture on the Arts of the Renaissance
Eighth graders examine the linguistic and cultural impact of the Arabic language and Islamic culture on the Spanish language. They analyze and label maps, listen to and differentiate between Spanish and Arabic music, and compare and...
Curated OER
Ancient Egypt
Students discover details about ancient Egyptian funerals. In this ancient Egypt instructional activity, students compare and contrast modern funeral rites to those practiced by ancient Egyptians. Teachers may also access the suggested...
Curated OER
Japanese Culture
Seventh graders make connections with the history of Japanese art with the modern use of ancient warriors in the popular Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards. They journal and reflect upon the research and comparison of the ancient to modern art.
Curated OER
The Far Reaches of Greek Culture
Ninth graders study the culture of Greece. In this World History instructional activity, 9th graders research specific data in relation to Greece. Students create a presentation of their findings for their class.
Curated OER
Dry-Land Kalo-Growing New Plants from Stems
Students explore Hawaiian plants. For this Hawaii culture and botany lesson, students plant the haha(stem) of a taro plant. Students listen to Hawaiian myths about the taro plant and chorally speak a Hawaiian chant of protection....
Edgate
Learning From the Past: Origin of the Modern Summer Games
Where did our beloved Summer Games originate? Kids look for the origins of the Summer Olympics in our ancient past. They research how the Games came to be and how they have changed. They'll complete Venn diagrams to compare and contrast...
Curated OER
What a Wonder-Full World
Students investigate the historical and cultural significance of various 'wonders of the world,' both of ancient and modern times, and develop travel posters and guides exploring them.
Curated OER
What Death Brings to Life (Teen Living Component)
Learners research and discuss many common characteristics of modern cultures and examine ancient cultures for comparison. They study the components of anthropology and ethnocentrism.
Curated OER
Inventions Over Time
Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...