West African Biography Griot Mask Project

As a our project assessment for our study on Medieval West African Empires, I have students conduct research on a Medieval West African leader. 

Griot masks were an important part of West African culture. They were used to tell stories of ancestors and to keep their legacies alive. Playing off this cultural tradition, I have students create a unique griot mask of their West African leader using elements from their biography to create unique designs, symbols, or colors on the mask. 

Some Great West African Leaders: Mansa Musa, Queen Amina, Queen Nzinga, Shaka Zulu, Shamba Bolongongo, King Sonni Ali, King Mwana Ngana Ndumba Tembo, Queen Asantewa, King Oba Oduduwa, King Bahanzin Hossu Bowelle – aka. The Shark King, and more! 

NOTE: I am aware that some of these leaders were after the "Medieval" period, but the goal was exposure to West African leadership, so I allowed any leader up through colonization. 

I feel my students did a fantastic job of blending their biographical knowledge along with the creation of unique Griot Mask! 

If you are interested in this WEST AFRICAN BIOGRAPHY GRIOT ACTIVITY, it is available on my TPT. 

      

Islamic Art: Calligraphy and Nature

Islamic Art does not incorporate human imagery. This is because of their belief that the human image, projected in art as a form, would be idolatry. However, that does not mean that art did not flourish during the Medieval Islamic Empire. 

The most widespread, and arguably beautiful style of Islamic art is their calligraphy. 

Students researched Islamic calligraphy lettering and designs to create a drawing of their first name. 

To learn more about the fundamental beliefs of Islam, students also read and created beautiful 5 pillars of Islam sheets. These can be found HERE for purchase on TPT. I find that this activity really helps students understand the major factors of the Islamic faith in a concrete way. 

Murder of Julius Caesar: INVESTIGATION

Among the events that occurred throughout the history of Ancient Rome, the assassination of Julius Caesar continues to stand out as both controversial and fascinating. As my students discovered and debated, there are many different theories for the reasoning behind the his murder by fellow senators the fateful day of March 15, 44 BC.  

This activity is NOT mine alone, it is a hybrid of two different activities that are FREE on the internet. I am sharing this as a resource to provide a further option for teachers and students to utilize in learning about the death of Julius Caesar.

I have combined the following accessible resources to make it more conducive to my classroom and students:

“Teach Like Magic” Cold Case: Rome: https://www.mrroughton.com/history-mystery-labs/cold-case-rome

I actually got the original idea to do this from the blog “To Engage Them All” as she did a similar adaptation of “Teach Like Magic’s” Boston Massacre case. I did that one in my American history class and students LOVED it. I then decided to adapt this one and the Disappearance of the Maya for my world history class.

“To Engage Them All” Blog: http://toengagethemall.blogspot.com/search?q=boston+massacre

Her Boston Massacre Files: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1v8mW2UpNVk22wHIYyemEe6T MfPXwhQVIXdtmOpyN0Q4/edit#slide=id.gcc7a552da_6_23

Through an investigation simulation, my students explored both primary and secondary sources that supported the different historical theories.

My FREE Investigation Packet.

If you liked this activity, check out my FREE Mayan Files Investigation HERE!

Project Assessment: Empire of Islam

One of my favorite project assessments is the creation of board games! These allow students to not only review the content information, but they also have to develop problem solving strategies, critical thinking skills, and creativity. 

For our unit on the Medieval Empire of Islam, we utilized a board game as our project assessment. As always, I was VERY impressed with the students understanding of the unit content and in their creative board games. 

The students worked together in partners to create fantastic looking board games. HERE is the TPT resource I utilized for this great project! I would highly recommend it for a fun and informational project assessment on the Islamic Empire. 

This game had the "rules" written in a booklet entitled "The Holy Quran" :) 

This one was in the style of a survival style game where you received and lost food tokens, etc. But could purchase new items along the way. SUPER creative and lots of fun to play. 

Once created, students rotated in pairs and played the games for review before our written unit test. We were even able to involve our online Zoom students in the fun! 

What are your thoughts on project assessment use in the classroom? 

Roman Empire Autopsy

To analyze the fall of the Roman Empire, I have my students participate in an exploratory surgery and autopsy of their patient "Ancient Rome". This idea is NOT my own. For this activity I utilize two amazing resources, both available for purchase on TPT: 

Autopsy on Ancient Rome

Fall of Rome Stations

In my classroom, I merged elements and used worksheets from both of these resources to create my own rendition based on my student's needs. Below I have attached my adapted worksheets, which are available for free, however, I have NOT included the autopsy sheet or directions since those should be purchased from the above sources. If you would like to utilize this activity, please support the teacher's who created these amazing resources on TPT by clicking on the links above and purchasing these great products! 

My Additional Resources for the Roman Autopsy

In addition to the printed resources, I added boxes filled with cooked speghetti and red dye so that their "surgery" was hands-on and fun! I utilized our school's direction tools from the science classroom to "perform" our surgery. Providing students with gloves and a mask can add to the overall "hospital" environment (although, with COVID, the masks were already taken care of - ha!). 

Life as an Ancient Roman

COVID Friendly Option - Perform these outside! 

The daily lives of ancient Romans varied greatly depending on a person's level of status, citizenship, occupation, or gender. In order to explore the different aspects of Roman lives, students participated in a live-action character activity. 

In the year prior, my 6th graders participate in a historical Wax Museum where they choose a character, research and write biographical speeches, dress up, and perform these at the end of our year. This is a familiar project across elementary and middle school curriculums where students "freeze" and "come to life" when a person pushes a button or says a clue word. 

Taking from this idea, I have my 7th graders act out a "speed" wax museum where the biography speech is provided to them, the costumes are quickly created from a random costume box with sheets and scarves, and they "present" their character. Meanwhile, the other half of students are walking around, "waking" the characters up, and taking notes on what they are learning about life in ancient Rome.

If acting or time is an issue, these cards could also be used as task cards, set up around the classroom, and students could simply read them and follow the sheet. 

To access the Roman character cards and a student handout for learning, you can visit my TPT site.