Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
Ancient Civilizations Unit:
Context:
 Social Studies
 Ancient Greece, Roman Empire, and the Inca
 Sixth Grade
 Whole group/small group/individual
Mini-lesson:
 Whole Group
 I started by asking my students what they thought the following vocabulary words
meant: civilized, civilization, technology, culture, custom, and tradition. I asked
students to write their definitions in their Social Studies Notebook.
 I then had students work in small groups to come to a consensus about what they
thought the words meant.
 Following small group discussions, we then discussed as a class what we thought
the definition for the vocabulary words was and came to a consensus as a class.
 I then had students to follow along as we read the first three pages of the article
“Body Rituals Among the Nacirema”. I asked them to determine whether this
culture was civilized based on our class’s definitions.
 Following the reading, we then discussed the characteristics of this culture and
then the class determined that the civilization was not civilized.
 I then began to ask the students to compare certain descriptions of different types
of people in that culture to those in ours. Once we began this discussion students
began to realize that the article was about Americans.
 I asked students what areas they felt were the most important to the development
of a civilization. Students (with some guidance) decided that these areas were
architecture, agriculture, government, religion, and technology.
 From this point I introduced the essential questions of the unit:
o What is a civilization?
o What are the characteristics of civilizations that flourish?
o What are the characteristics of civilizations that collapse?
I explained to students that we would be researching Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire,
and the Incan Empire looking for commonalities.
Student Research




I began class by reviewing concepts previously introduced including vocabulary
and essential questions.
Next I gave student their graphic organizers to research each civilization.
I explained that over the course of the next few weeks, we would be using a
variety of sources to research each civilization (Roman, Greek, Incan).
I decide for the research on Ancient Greece, to divide students into five small
groups to correspond with the five areas we identified as important to the
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
development of a civilization. (architecture, agriculture, government, religion, and
technology) Each group would rotate through a center that dealt with each area.
The description of the centers is as follows:
o Architecture: Students logged into their student email accounts to access
the homework drop box for this assignment. In this assignment, students
accessed a link to a web site that explained the different types of
architecture present in Ancient Greece. I asked them to pay attention to the
types of columns and when they would be used. They then had to write a
description of each column and on what type of building it would be used.
Then it was submitted to me electronically (email).
o Agriculture: In this center, students used books and websites to investigate
the foods that were eaten, grown, and what animals were raised as well as
how these things were accomplished.
o Religion: Students completed a “Who’s who of Greek Mythology”
worksheet to give them basic knowledge of Greek gods and goddesses.
They also had access to books containing many of the Greek myths. Upon
completion of this research, students were then required to create a new
“look” and modern day profile for a god or goddess of there choosing,
keeping in mind the god’s or goddess’s special ability.
o Government: Students researched the 3 basic types of government that
existed in Greece (oligarchy, democracy, and monarch/dictatorship). They
had to then identify at least one city-state that had that government.
o Technology: The assignment in this center was to research various
technological advances made by the Ancient Greeks. Then they had to
choose 2 that they believed were the most important to draw a picture of
and write a paragraph explaining why they were the most important.



For research on the Roman Empire, students were again divided into five groups
again with each group assigned an area to research.
Once they completed research on their area, the groups were then re organized so
that one member from each of the previous groups was in the new group. Students
then had to work with the other students to share information they had discovered.
Following the completion of research on each civilization, students then explored
the website http://www.learner.org/interactives/collapse/index.html. On this
website, students were able to explore artifacts from the Mayan culture to look for
clues about why the civilization collapsed.
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
Lesson Plan:
Shared Writing
 I began by asking students “What is poetry?” to determine their ideas about what
is poetry and what is not. I played parts of the songs “All Star” by Smashmouth
and “Wonderful” by Everclear, and then asked the students if the song was
poetry.
 Following the discussion of what poetry is I asked students what kinds of poetry
they were familiar with. Ex: Haiku, Free verse, rhyming poems, concrete, etc.
 This discussion was followed with a reading of the book I Am the Mummy HebNefert by Eve Bunting. In addition, several poems from the book Ancient Voices
by Kate Hovey were read as an introduction to “I” poems.
 With the reading of this book we discussed perspective and the different literary
elements present in the poems.
 Have students help create an “I poem” about Zeus. As we are construction the
poem, discuss word choice with students.
 After creating a class I poem, I then asked students to use the research they did on
the three ancient civilizations to create their own I poem.
 Students, then, worked with two other students to edit and revise their poems,
paying careful attention to word choice, the number of facts present, and grammar
and spelling. I provided assistance and monitored groups as needed for word
choice, structure, and information about students’ chosen topics.
 Students typed and printed their poems using our mobile lab as well as creating an
illustration to go with their poems. These will be displayed in the hallway outside
our classroom.
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
Invitation
Ancient
I am timeless
I wonder where my people are
I hear the echoes of what once was
I want to return to a time long forgotten
I am timeless.
I pretend it is the Golden Age, Pax Romana
I touch the lives of those who once
worshiped here.
I feel the ages descend upon my temples
I worry I shall be forgotten never to be
heard from again
Am I timeless?
I cry at all that has been lost to the ravages
of time.
I understand my stones are wearing away
I speak to those who would remember.
I invite you to learn of my world.
I will be timeless, again.
(On front)
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
Invitation (continued)
On Back
Please join me in an exploration of the
Ancient World.
1. We will be using websites, videos,
and books to research Ancient
Greece, the Roman Empire, and the
Incan Empire.
2. Write your notes in your note book
and on your research chart.
3. Upon the completion of your
research, you will choose one topic
to write an “I” poem about.
4. Be sure to use poetic forms in your
poem. Include at least seven facts
about your topic.
5. Have fun!
Rubric: Ancient Civilizations “I” Poem.
1. Includes seven
facts about topic.
2. Information
displayed in “I”
Poem format.
3. Creates
illustration that is
relevant to topic.
4. Uses poetic
forms.
5. Uses appropriate
grammar, spelling,
and mechanics.
0
No evidence of
factual information.
Poem not written in
I poem format
1
Evidence of 4-7
facts.
I poem format
attempted
2
Evidence of 7 or
more facts.
Poem is written in I
poem format
No illustration
included.
Illustration is
included, but it is
not clearly relevant.
Information shows 3
poetic forms.
Illustration is
included and
relevant to topic.
Information shows
more than 3 poetic
forms.
0-1 grammatical,
spelling and/or
mechanical errors.
Information shows
1-2 poetic forms.
4 or more
grammatical,
spelling and/or
mechanical errors.
2-3 grammatical,
spelling and/or
mechanical errors.
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
Pre-test: (Students wrote this in their journals and then we discussed as a class.)
What do the following words mean to you?
 civilized
 civilization
 technology
 culture
 custom
 tradition
You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of the unit.
1. What is a civilization?
2. What is a culture?
3. Why are some civilizations successful?
4. Why are some civilizations unsuccessful?
5. Are there similar patterns in the development of different civilizations?
6. How is each civilization unique?
Post-test:
Ancient Civilizations Unit Test
Multiple Choice
1. A civilization is
a. A group of people with a high level of technological and social
development.
b. A group of people living in the same area but not working together.
c. A group of people going to war against each other.
2. A culture is
a. how a group of people work together
b. the customs and beliefs of a group of people
c. the food someone eats.
3. The five areas of development in a civilization are
a. technology, agriculture, architecture, husbandry, and houses
b. life style, religion, farming, hunting and war
c. agriculture, architecture, religion, technology, and government
True/False
_____ 4. Polytheism is the worship of many gods.
_____ 5. One reason ancient civilizations were able to develop is because they learned
how to farm.
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
_____ 6. The Inca, Greeks, and Romans all made homes from straw.
Post-Test (continued)
Short Answer
7. Identify three things in the Inca, Greek, and Roman civilizations that were similar.
Explain how they were similar.
8. Identify two ways that the Romans, Greeks, and Inca were different. Explain your
answer.
9. Identify two characteristics of a successful civilization. Explain why these two
characteristics are important to its success.
Student Graphic Organizer:
Research Notes
Name_________________
Ancient
Topic__________________
Civilization:________________________________
Agriculture
Architecture
Government
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
Technology
Religion
Pictures of Process:
Shared Writing
(Picture A)
Picture A: Template used to
help student’s begin to write
our shared writing on Zeus.
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
(Picture B)
Picture B: Beginning of 1st
period’s I poem on Zeus,
King of the Greek Gods
(Picture C)
Picture C: Beginning of
2nd period’s I poem on
Zeus, king of the Greek
Gods.
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
Student Published Poems:
Students’ Independent Work
Sample A-notes taken
in class.
Sample B-Individual I
poems with Illustrations
Sample C
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
Bibliography:
Books:
Bunting, E. (1997). I am the Mummy Heb-Nefert. Harcourt Books: New York.
Hovey, K. (2004). Ancient Voices. Margaret K. McElderry: New York, New York.
Articles:
Miner, H. (1956). “Body Rituals Among the Nacirema”. American Anthropologist. 58(3).
Websites:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/collapse/index.html. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
Song:
“All Star” by SmashMouth
“Wonderful” by Everclear
Poetry Analysis:
Poetry Project:
One the first day of the unit on Ancient Civilizations, I wrote several vocabulary
words on the board and asked students to write them along with what they thought the
words meant in their Social Studies notebooks. They had to define civilized, civilization,
technology, culture, custom, and tradition. Upon the completion of the “pretest”, in small
groups they discussed what they felt were the definitions and came to a consensus as to
the meaning of the words. When the students were satisfied, one person from each group
wrote their groups definitions on the board. Following this, the class discussed what they
thought the meanings were for each of these vocabulary words in order to form a class
meaning for each word. It was apparent that the students had a limited knowledge of what
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
these words could possibly mean. The class’s discussion developed as I expected it too.
The one thing that surprised me about the discussion was the level of enthusiasm
displayed in class. I would have thought that a discussion of vocabulary would not have
been received well. This however was quite the contrary to what happened. The class was
eager to share their opinions and seemed to enjoy debating the meaning of the terms.
One thing that was challenging with this project was finding the time to
implement everything in a timely fashion so as to not lose momentum. During this time
of the school year, I teach remediation to several of my classes. This leaves me with only
about two days a week to teach my content areas, science and social studies. In addition
to that challenge, we do a lot of testing during this time of year as well. Two weeks of
computer lab time was taken away due to this testing in grades three through six, making
it almost impossible to conduct thorough research on ancient civilizations.
Impact on Student Learning:
In teaching this unit, it has become apparent that disruptions to the schedule do
have an affect on student ability to comprehend what they have been researching. It also
causes issues in maintaining their interest in the project and completing the project in
timely fashion. Within my classroom, it is essential for student success that the unit not
be divided as it has been each week. In addition to that, as I have taught the lessons along
the way, I have discovered a few things that will be changed for next year. One thing that
needs to be changed is the time of year in which I teach this particular unit. I can not
foresee the schedule difficulties that have arisen this year, which has had an impact on
student learning, changing next year. As for changes to the unit itself, having students
discuss and determine their own categories to be researched for their assigned
Tara Gilleland
RE 5130
Poetry Assignment
civilizations may provided students with an increased incentive and keep them actively
engaged in the project. I also believe the unit would be much stronger if I could
collaborate with the Language Arts teacher. Not only would the students be learning
about topics in Social Studies, they could also see how what they are learning in one
content area is related to what they are learning in a different area. It would also provide
them with necessary relevance and connections that are required for deeper
understanding of the curriculum.
On a positive note, I found it very helpful that most of my students had already
worked on “I” poems in their Language Arts class earlier in the year. This meant that
most of my students needed less scaffolding to create their own poems. The mini lesson
became more of a review of I poems and allowed me to focus more on the content.
Students also enjoyed expressing what they learned in a creative way versus the
traditional method of a multiple choice test (which we did take later). In light of this, I
plan to incorporate poetry as a genre for students to choose when we do this unit next
year as a multigenre project.