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The Ruins of Pompeii: A Window into History By Kelvey Stewart |
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Overview/Introduction: Science: What causes volcanoes to erupt and destroy life? How do volcanoes create landmasses? What can we learn about volcanoes from the primary documents written by a witness to the eruption of Vesuvius? English: How did the eruption of Vesuvius help to create the historical fiction piece “The Dog of Pompeii”? How can we use our knowledge of volcanoes and of the Roman Empire to distinguish fact from fiction in historical fiction? Social Studies: How did the eruption of Vesuvius help to preserve Roman artifacts? How can we use those artifacts to better understand Roman history and culture? Purpose or Objective: Time Required: 5
– 50 min. periods for activities Materials, Tools, and
Resources Needed: Prerequisite Student
Knowledge: Literacy Strategies:
Activity
1 - Introduction Activity
2 - Timeline Activity 3
– Locating Pompeii Help students locate Pompeii in Italy on the eastern shore of the Bay of Naples, near the base of the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius. Students can use the atlas at National Geographic Society Xpeditions website: click "Resources & Links" on the Xpeditions homepage, select "Map Machine at nationalgeographic.com," then click "Atlas Maps." Click "Select a New Map" and use the pop-up menu to select "Europe," then scroll down and click "Naples, Italy." Zoom in one level on this map for a view that includes Pompeii at the extreme right. Give students a blank map of Italy and tell them to use the atlas to label all of the places mentioned in the essays from the previous activities (Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius, Herculaneum, the bay of Naples, Naples, Misenum, and Stabiae). Activity 4
– Virtual Tour The Forum •
View of the Forum taken from overhead •
Basilica image plan map, which allows one to move through the building •Basilica
detailed views •Eumachia
Building image plan map •
Temple of Apollo, another view •The
Macellum (ma-sell-um), the city's meat market •
The Macellum, wall paintings within the building • The Macellum image map, which allows one to move through the site(http://pompeii.virginia.edu/pompeii/macmap.html •Sanctuary
of the Genius of Augustus image map, which allows one to move through
this shrine to the emperor's "genius" or life spirit •Sanctuary
of the Genius of Augustus, views of the altar Shopping District • Pompeii Map with Panoramic Images: click "Pompeii Map" and use the links on the map to access views along the Via dell'Abbondanza. •Thermopolium,
another view •Thermopolium, another view showing a painted shrine to the lares (lare-eez) or guardian spirits of the place http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1999.04.0127 •Bakery,
another view showing the oven •Bakery,
another view showing the millstones used to grind flour •Street
Scenes: thermopolium, bakery, latrines and sewers, street signs, and
the stepping stone crosswalks that let pedestrians avoid wading through
the sewage that flowed through Pompeii's streets •More
Street Scenes Homes •House
of the Faun, named for a sculpture found in the impluvium •House
of the Vettii (vet-tee-ee), named for the family of Vettius Provide each group with guiding questions while they take the tour: • Have students try to visualize the site as it appeared 2000 years ago. What is missing from the scene (e.g., doors, roofs, furniture, wall decorations, litter, animals, etc.)? What sorts of people do you imagine coming to the site? What do you see them doing? How do they interact? Encourage students to draw or describe the scenes they envision. •Have students make a list of the most interesting features they notice on their field trip. These can be details explained in the image captions (such as the stepping stones built into Pompeii's streets to allow pedestrians to avoid the sewage that flowed there) or details that simply catch a student's eye. Culminating Activity/Assessment: At the conclusion
of their field trips, have each group create a brochure that describes
the area of Pompeii it explored and highlights some of Pompeii's chief
attractions. The brochure should be written as if the students were
living in Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius. Students should
use both print outs of images and drawings of what they believe Pompeii
looked like before the eruption. Groups should present their brochures
to the class. Encourage students to imagine that they are travel agents
as they prepare their reports, aiming to attract tourists to their
part of the city.
Rubric: See Attached
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Grade: 6 Subject: Social Studies California
Social Studies Content Standards 6.7 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures during the development of Rome. 6.7.1. Identify the location and describe the rise of the Roman Republic 6.7.8. Discuss the legacies of Roman art and architecture, technology and science, literature, language, and law. Science 6.1.d. Students know . . . that volcanoes and fissures are locations where magma reaches the surface. Reading 6.2.3 Connect and clarify main ideas by identifying their relationships to other sources and related topics. 6.2.4 Clarify an understanding of texts by creating outlines, logical notes, summaries, or reports.
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