In ancient times, all over the world, early people joined together to create villages, city-states, nations and empires.

Lesson Plans, Classroom Activities, Simulations, and Learning Modules Authored by Us

Mr. Donn's Ancient History Lessons and Activities for 6th grade - can be adjusted for any grade

1. Ancient Mesopotamia: Ancient Mesopotamia Unit

2. Ancient Mesopotamia: Translators Needed: Apply Within (Cuneiform Lesson Plan)

3. Ancient Egypt: Stump the Audience, 1-2 class periods, group activity, Daily Life

4. Ancient Egypt: Pharaoh's Fun House Concluding Activity

5. Ancient Egypt: Egypt Bingo Review game

6. Ancient Greece: Ancient Greek Olympics Mini-Unit: A Simulation for the Classroom (3-5 days) with city-state backgrounds, and events

7. Ancient Greece: Socrates, Classroom Activity (2-3 class periods, 55 minutes each) Mock Trial

8. Ancient Greece: Early & Classical Greece Units

9. Ancient Rome: Can you save the Roman Republic? Lesson Plan, Ancient Rome.

10. Ancient Rome: Gossip at the Forum, A Play for the Classroom (every student has a part)

11. Ancient Rome: Emperors - What Makes a Good Leader? Classroom Activity

12. Ancient Rome: First Unit Test: Ancient Rome

13. Ancient China: Buddhist, Taoist, Confucianist, Legalist; How would each behave when faced with the same problems? Lesson Plan

14. Ancient China: Debates on Censorship: (2-3 days) Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty, debate set in modern times, Classroom Activity

15. Ancient China: What is the difference between a proverb and a fable? (1-2 class periods)

16. Ancient China: The Silk Road Game (1-2 class periods)

17. Feudal Japan: Samurai, Peasant, Artisan, Merchant, Simulation, Game

18. Lesson Ideas (some ours, some emailed to us) Easy to implement and very creative.

Mrs. Donn's Ancient Civilizations for Kids - Written for middle school (6th-8th grade)

• The Life & Times of Early Man

• Daily Life in Ancient Civilizations (Index)

• Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia/Sumer/Babylon/Assyria

• Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

• Daily Life in Ancient Ireland, Scotland, Wales (Iron Age Celts)

• Daily Life in Ancient Greece

• Daily Life in Ancient Rome

• Daily Life in Ancient China

• Daily Life in Ancient India

• Daily Life in Ancient Mongolia

• Daily Life in the Middle Ages

• Daily Life in Medieval Africa - Ghana, Mali, Songhay, Benin

• The Inca Empire (the Incas)

• The Maya Empire (The Mayas)

• Native Americans in Olden Times

• Deep in the Tombs of Egypt Two of our people have disappeared - Deep in the Tombs of Egypt!

• The Three Teachings (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism)

• Ancient Roots, Modern Holidays Mini-histories, lesson ideas, activities for the classroom for holidays

• Ancient Money - How Money Started

• The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

• Classroom Activities and Project Ideas

Ancient Myths and Legends, retold by Lin Donn

Anansi the Spider (Africa, Ghana)

Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus (Aztec)

Journey of a Princess (Aztec, grades 6-12)

Wise Owl (Native American, Iroquois Myth)

How Raven Stole Crow's Potlatch (Native American, Northwest Coastal Pacific Myth)

Clever Coyote (Native American, Comanche Buffalo Myth)

Child of Water and Little Blue Rock (Native American, Apache Myth)

Theseus and the Minotaur (Minoan/Greek)

Zeus, Hera, and Little Io (Greek Version)

The Oracle at Delphi (Greek Myth)

Hades and the King of Corinth (Greek Myth)

Apollo and Cassandra (Greek Myth)

Pandora's Box (Greek Myth)

Demeter and Persephone (Greek Myth)

Hercules (Greek Myth)

How Aphrodite Caused the Trojan War (Greek Myth)

Legend of the Trojan Horse (Greek Myth)

The Sun Chariot (Greek Myth)

Perseus, Andromeda, and the sea god, Poseidon (Greek myth)

The Cyclops Cave & The Sirens (Greek, from "The Odyssey" by Homer)

Loawnu the Wise Woman (Xia Times, Ancient China)

Wang the Peddler (Han Times, Ancient China)

The Legend of the Shadow Puppet (Han Times, Ancient China)

The Legend of Gilgamesh (Ancient Mesopotamia, Sumerian)

How Marduk Became the King of ALL the Gods (Ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonian)

Purim, The Story of Esther and an ancient Babylonian (Persian) King

The Legend of Romulus and Remus (Ancient Rome)

Horatius at the Bridge (Ancient Rome)

The Punic Wars & Hannibal of Carthage (Ancient Rome)

Jupiter, Juno, & Little Io (Roman Version)

Pluto & the King (Roman version)

Ceres & Proserpina (Roman version)

Venus & the Queen (Roman version)

The Warrior Well (Ancient Myth, Mongolia & China)

The Hero Twins (Maya)

Happy Together (Russian Folktale)

NEW SECTION: Case Files from The Hercules Detective Agency
(Original stories about Ancient Greece written by Lin and Donn Donn)

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: How It All Started

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Misunderstood Minotaur

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Enchanted Well

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Missing Olive Trees

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: Kerberos on Strike

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Very Inventive Rescue

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Scaredly Fish

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Tricked Bully

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Stone Zoo

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Reluctant Oracle

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: Olympic Team Herc

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Bad Barber

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Talking Tools

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Mad Machine

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Constant Chatterbox

The Hercules Detective Agency Case File: The Voiceless Storyteller

More Case Files from the Hercules Detective Agency

Presentations in PowerPoint format
retold by Lin Donn, illustrated by Phillip Martin

Ancient Civilizations

Early Humans

Rameses II (Egypt)

Hermes & Apollo (Greece)

Aesop and His Fables

The Fox and the Crow

The Fox and Sick Lion

Nero at the Circus Maximus (Rome)

Nero Goes Insane (Rome)

Mercury & Apollo (Rome)

Ancient Chinese Dragons (China)

The Story of Mulan (China)

Warrior Well (China/Mongolia)

The Seven Wonders

Great Pyramid at Giza

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Colossus of Rhodes

Lighthouse at Alexandria

The Most Ancient Race, the San People

The Americas (North, South, and Central America)

The Hero Twins (Mayas)

The Invisible Warrior (Woodland Indians, A Cinderella Story)

Wise Owl (Northeast Woodland Indians, an Iroquois Myth)

Clever Coyote (Plains Indians, a Buffalo Story)

Child of Water & Little Blue Rock (Southwest Indians, An Apache Myth)

How Raven Stole Crow's Potlatch (NW Pacific Coastal Indians)

Holidays - Ancient Roots, Modern Holidays

Kwanzaa (African American)

Groundhog Day (American)

April Fool's (Many countries)

Halloween Bats

The Ghost with the Most!

AND MORE! (powerpoint index)

These are activity and project ideas for kids and teachers to use in unit studies of ancient civilizations. These activities can be adjusted for any grade. We hope you'll find some ideas you can use.

Archaeology Classroom Activities & Projects

Early Humans Classroom Activities & Projects

Ancient Mesopotamia - Sumer, Babylon, Assyria - Classroom Activities

Ancient Egypt Classroom Activities & Projects

Ancient Greece Classroom Activities & Projects

Ancient Rome Classroom Activities & Projects

Mrs. Donn's Special Section: The Middle Ages for Kids

Medieval Europe for Kids

Anglo-Saxons

Vikings for Kids

Ancient Africa for Kids

Incredible Incas

Mysterious Mayas

Awesome Aztecs