HUMANITIES CONNECTIONS

Ancient Civilizations

 

 

Anubis

 

 

 

 

 

Egyptian Pyramids

 

 

 

 

 

Video Options:
Excerpts from Humanities through the Arts. Tapes may be purchased after the broadcast date by phoning Office Manager, (Deborah Harris) at 800.333.9764.

  • Broadcast 1
    • Intro to Gilgamesh (time 4:45) -- This segment introduces the first epic hero, Gilgamesh, legendary king of Uruk.
    • Gilgamesh (time: 11:00) -- An illustrated reading. Gilgamesh separates himself from the security of his homeland, he is initiated by the battles he fights, and he returns as a more heroic individual.
    • Daily life in Ancient Egypt (time 10:00) -- An overview of ancient Egyptian culture, through the window of painting, sculpture, and tomb art.
    • Giza Pyramids (time 10:00) -- represent the height and power of the pharaohs. This segment explores the development of the first true, straight-sided pyramids, as well as other features of the Giza Complex.
    • I.M. Pei: The Modern Pyramid (time 9:30) -- Architect I.M. Pei uses the archetypal figure of the pyramid in his controversial modern designs, such as the entrance to the Louvre and Cleveland's Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.
  • Broadcast 2
    • American Indian Culture (time 43:00) -- The Art of Southwest, Plains, and Woodland Indians

Projects

Calling all Teachers -- We'd like to have as many teacher-generated projects on this page as possible. If you would like to submit a project for this unit, please email us with the details, scanned photos, etc. or mail a hard copy to: KET Humanities, 600 Cooper Drive, Lexington, Ky. 40502

We asked three humanities teachers to share projects that their students enjoyed while studying Ancient Civilizations. Sarah Spradlin, Elizabeth Johnson, and Christy Spurlock contributed lesson plans, lecture notes, and bibliographies. Use them as is or as a springboard for your own lessons.

Do Tell! TELL ASMAR figures come to Paris High.

Sarah Spradlin, Paris High School humanities instructor, states that:

"At Paris High School the humanities class becomes the humanities experience. Students get a hands-on viewpoint of history, as they are actively involved in the arts of different time periods studied. Recently, the class studied ancient Mesopotamia and learned about the purpose of votive figures used in Mesopotamian temples. Students learned that these figures are easily recognizable by their enlarged eyes, kilt, and pose. Students really got 'into' the lesson as they dressed as the Tell Asmar figures and created different sizes to show hierarchy of the figures."

Teacher Tool
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation
820 k | Download time approximately: 2-5 minutes with a modem.
-- Introduces the students to MESOPOTAMIA: THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION. (This is a link to a .ppt file; it will prompt you to download it. It can only be opened with Microsoft PowerPoint.)

Activity Sheet -- How to turn your students into Tell Asmar figures.

 

Transcript of the Mesopotamia and Sumer Broadcast -- Liz's broadcast notes with web sites.

Cuneiform Writing -- Teachers, click here for the history of the world's first written language and classroom projects that help your students write their own monogram in cuneiform on clay tablets.

Ancient Mesopotamia Website-This site has a vocabulary list, study guide, quiz, and hands-on activities.

Pharaoh's Obelisk: Lever Lift Activity. This activity was adapted from the Nova Project -- Secrets of Lost Empires -- and contributed by Elizabeth Johnson, Humanities instructor, Nicholas County High School, Carlisle, KY.

This lever lift activity has been a successful part of Elizabeth Johnson's Ancient Civilizations unit. Elizabeth teaches humanities and visual arts at Nicholas County High School. Her students have been a part of KET'S distance learning class since the spring of 1997. Every year she has a large number of humanities students of various ages and varying ability levels.

Egyptian Coffin: Students in Christy Spurlock's humanities classes enjoy this project. Christy's directions for this activity as well as an annotated bibliography of sources she uses when teaching Egyptian arts and culture are included here. Christy teaches at Logan County High School in Russellville.

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