Unit 3, Lesson 7: Elements and Civilization
Learning Target: I can make inferences about how elements affect a civilization
Class Activities:
1. Students came in- and picked up the Elements and Civilization handout. They got to work on the do now, which asks them to name valuable elements and explain why they're valuable. Common reasons for why elements are valuable are: they're essential for life (oxygen, carbon), they're useful (tin, iron), and they're rare (silver, gold).
2. We got really in-depth yesterday about how one element can be used in everyday life--- very "zoomed in". We discussed for a moment how our lessons on the elements relate to Big History, and then we discussed how elements can affect a whole civilization.
3. Students did part 1 of the worksheet, which was map analysis. Basically, looking at a map of West African resources, we predicted that the West African Empires would be centered around the salt, gold, and copper deposits.
4. We watched two really short video clips-- one on salt, the other on gold, and wrote down why they were valuable. (Salt-- useful in preserving food, which in turn prevents rotting food and sickness; and gold, which was considered the metal of the gods because of its shine and also was really useful as a currency)
5. Students worked on Part 3, which is a couple excerpts about how the presence of valuable elements can positively and negatively affect a civilization.
Papers handed in today:
Importance of the Elements handout (from the previous lesson)
Homework:
Finish the Elements and Civilization handout, and the Exit Slip.
Class Activities:
1. Students came in- and picked up the Elements and Civilization handout. They got to work on the do now, which asks them to name valuable elements and explain why they're valuable. Common reasons for why elements are valuable are: they're essential for life (oxygen, carbon), they're useful (tin, iron), and they're rare (silver, gold).
2. We got really in-depth yesterday about how one element can be used in everyday life--- very "zoomed in". We discussed for a moment how our lessons on the elements relate to Big History, and then we discussed how elements can affect a whole civilization.
3. Students did part 1 of the worksheet, which was map analysis. Basically, looking at a map of West African resources, we predicted that the West African Empires would be centered around the salt, gold, and copper deposits.
4. We watched two really short video clips-- one on salt, the other on gold, and wrote down why they were valuable. (Salt-- useful in preserving food, which in turn prevents rotting food and sickness; and gold, which was considered the metal of the gods because of its shine and also was really useful as a currency)
5. Students worked on Part 3, which is a couple excerpts about how the presence of valuable elements can positively and negatively affect a civilization.
Papers handed in today:
Importance of the Elements handout (from the previous lesson)
Homework:
Finish the Elements and Civilization handout, and the Exit Slip.
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Gold Clip: We watched 5:57-8:33