Learning Ancient History in the Early Grades
Kristen Howell Gregory, a second-grade teacher, created a history lesson called “Walk Like an Egyptian” on the topic of ancient Egypt. The students had already spent two weeks learning about ancient Egypt and had acquired knowledge about hieroglyphics, laws, calendars, monuments, and daily life. To close the unit, Ms. Gregory worked with a friend who teaches in Egypt to set up a pen-pal exchange. Ms. Gregory’s students wrote friendly letters via e-mail to their pen pals, in which they asked at least three questions about Egypt. The students selected their own questions, remembering that they needed to use the responses in their project. Ms. Gregory helped them to edit their letters before they e-mailed them. When replies were received, each child created a list of words about Egypt that they wanted to research.