In class activities:
- Watched portions of Ancient Mysteries of the Rosetta Stone
- Discussed how not all archaeological discoveries are made by archaeologists
- Reviewed the difference between pictographs and phonetic writing
- Learned about the importance of ancient writings to understanding history
- Excavated multiple layers in our dig site
- Compared our discoveries to existing documents to try to decode the meaning of a tablet we discovered
- Documented results
Optional lesson extension activities:
- Finish watching Ancient Mysteries of the Rosetta Stone
- Type up several phrases in a simple hieroglyph translator, and see if you can come up with a complete alphabet (without typing the alphabet letter for letter). Notice how several sounds are represented by one symbol, and several symbols can be used for a single sound. How would this impact translation attempts?
- Make a list of all the archaeological tools and systems you have learned. Try to write an instruction manual for future students.
- We will be working on artifact restoration next week. If anyone has a hot glue gun, please bring it with you!