So you’re teaching ancient civilizations this year.
And maybe, like me 15 years ago, you have little to no ancient civilization content knowledge.
I’d heard of Egypt and the pyramids. Yup, built by Hebrew slaves just like in the movies. Nope! The pyramids were almost 1000 years old when the Hebrews landed in Egypt fleeing from famine in the not so Fertile Crescent.
So where do you learn the what and how of teaching the characteristics of Ancient Civilizations? If you have a textbook and generous predecessor, you’re off and running. But chances are good that you have no text and a disorganized file cabinet!
Enter GRAPES – a teacher favorite structure for how to Teach the Characteristics of Ancient Civilizations!
What are GRAPES?
Middle School ancient civilization study focuses on the characteristics of ancient civilizations rather than chronology. Dates help make sense of the progression of the history, but only in broad terms.
For example, knowing that the pyramids were built around 2600 BC and the Hebrews moved to Egypt around 1800 BC helps debunk the myth of Hebrew slaves building pyramids.
So, then, how do you teach about civilization, ancient or modern? Well, that’s where the GRAPES structure becomes your best planning friend. Sigh of Relief!!
GRAPES – Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics/government, Economy, and Social Structure/everyday life. These 6 characteristics define any civilization, ancient or modern. This wonderful classroom chart is available from Teacher’s Discovery.
It’s easy to plan and structure your materials around each of the 6 GRAPES characteristics and teach them one at a time for each civilization.
I am a big fan of structure. When you’re researching lesson materials, it’s much easier to focus on one topic at a time rather than all known knowledge. While you’ll still jump down some rabbit holes, what you ultimately plan and present has a narrow, deep focus. Working through a Google search for “Mesopotamia Religion” is sooo much more productive than searching for “Mesopotamia.”
My students liked the structure as well. They knew what to expect from each ancient civilization we studied. They learned what each GRAPES characteristic of civilization was and how the GRAPES characteristics worked together to create a whole civilization.
How to Teach using GRAPES
I loved the flexibility of teaching the characteristics of ancient civilizations using GRAPES. You don’t have to teach each characteristic in order. If you’ve got two days before Spring Break, it’s probably easier to fit in lessons on a civilization’s Social Structure rather than starting – but not finishing – more involved lessons on Politics and Government.
When it comes to the Achievement characteristic of GRAPES, I integrate major achievements in with the other characteristics. Learning how to build irrigation canals and shadufs is best taught during Geography and Agriculture rather than two weeks later when it’s time to teach Achievements.
That being said, I always taught Geography first as it determines all other characteristics of a civilization. The geography and climate of a place determine what residents grow and eat, what they wear, what they build their houses from, what they trade, and what they pray for.
In our supermarket world, students are sometimes amazed that Florida oranges don’t grow well in my NE Ohio locale, but that apples do. This basic lesson of history leads to the whole notion of why foods of different cultures, say Mexican, Italian, and Chinese, focus on different ingredients.
Where to Find GRAPES Content
Where, you ask, does all this content come from? If you’re starting from scratch, I’d start with a middle school textbook. If you don’t have a textbook, do a Google search for “Ancient History Textbook PDF.” You’ll be amazed at the free textbooks you can download in their entirety. These tend to be older textbooks which I prefer to newer texts. I generally find older textbooks to have more rigor and information than current texts.
Once you familiarize with the basics, you’re ready to dive deeper down the content knowledge rabbit hole.
What’s Next?
My next several Blogs will explore each aspect of GRAPES in more depth. We’ll start with G for Geography.
I’ll talk about essential questions and quality sources I’ve found most helpful in my own ancient history knowledge journey. Websites, books, online courses, YouTube channels, you name it! A curated list just for you.
Bookmark Timesavingteachertools.com for Timesaving Tips and Templates. Take back your Nights and Weekends!
Sign up for my Timesaving Teacher Tools Newsletter. You’ll instantly receive my Ancient Egypt HEX Game Activity to print out and play tomorrow! Twice each month I’ll make your teacher life easier with even more Timesaving ideas.
So enjoy this journey. I have come to love ancient history. It has helped me make sense of our own world. And isn’t that truly the lesson of history?
Thanks for being here. See you soon!
Mary
Leave a Reply