It would be nearly impossible for any elementary school teacher to plan a lesson on all ancient civilizations. Instead, it is much more feasible to choose one specific group of people or region to study at a time. The major civilizations that most students learn about during the early schooling years include Greece, Rome and Egypt. Additionally, many teachers include lessons on ancient Asia or the Mayans of South America. The word "ancient" covers a vast period. The specific time or cultural period that you choose depends on your class curriculum and learning goals. For example, if you are studying Minoan Greece you will cover time topics from approximately 2500 BC. In contrast, a lesson on the ancient Olympic Games will focus on times no earlier than 775 BC.
Before creating the activities or projects that are central to your ancient civilizations lesson plan, set concrete goals and objectives for learning. These should focus on the chosen topic, be achievable by the grade level student, have measurable outcomes and link to required state learning standards. Due to the history and social studies oriented themes in ancient civilization lessons, goals should include understanding the culture, recognizing art or architecture from the time and explaining a time line of the civilization. Elementary school students of any grade are capable of memorizing dates, names of historical figures and names of regions or cities. Make sure to include facts such as recalling that Athens is a city central to ancient Greece in your goals and objectives section.
Include activities and projects in your ancient civilizations lesson plan. Choosing one, or a few, depends on the grade that you teach, the ancient civilization at hand and the content areas included in the lesson. Projects may include computer research and report writing, ancient art, geography of the ancient world or even a dressed up oral report or child-created play on the subject. For example, if you are an elementary art teacher working on an ancient art and architecture theme, create a lesson plan that includes building a group model of the Parthenon or drawing blueprints of the Egyptian pyramids.
Although many teachers use their own imaginations to come up with creative educational plans, others may need some help. With daily lesson planning tasks, it can be tricky to constantly turn out your own creations. Team up with another teacher or a more veteran educator and ask what he used for ancient civilizations topics. Another option is to consult a lesson planning or educational website as a reference. Sites such as Discover Education, National Geographic and Scholastic Teachers all have quality lesson plans on the ancient worlds specifically for elementary grades.