Imperial China - Song Dynasty - Science and Technology

The Song Dynasty by Scott Ingram
Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China by Suzanne Williams

Discussion:
Major inventions of the Song Dynasty - gunpowder, Su Song's clock, rainbow arch bridges
Improvements to existing industries - iron and steel, silk, ceramics

Activity:
History journal
Picture study: Song Dynasty ceramics
Build a rainbow bridge

Medieval Europe - Feudalism - Cities and Trades

Life in the Middle Ages: The City by Kathryn Hinds
Archers, Alchemists, and 98 Other Medieval Jobs You Might Have Loved or Loathed by Priscilla Galloway and Martha Newbigging
Science and Technology in the Middle Ages by Joanne Findon and Marsha Groves
Medieval Society by Kay Eastwood
Children and Games in the Middle Ages by Lynne Elliott

Discussion:
Trades, guilds, and apprenticeships
Clusters of trades and merchants
City governments

Activity:
History journal
Map study: largest cities in the early Middle Ages

Medieval Europe - Vikings - Sea-Faring and Raiding

Mythical Viking Sunstone is Real

The Real Vikings by Melvin and Gilda Berger
The Vikings by Virginia Schomp
D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths [read-aloud]

Discussion:
Navigational equipment, sea-faring - long journeys; colonization, boat-building
Why did Vikings raid?
Locations of major raids
Warriors - equipment, fighting methods

Activity:
History journal
Map study: Viking raids and journeys
Build a model Viking ship

Medieval Middle East - Abbasid and Ummayad Empires - Art and Architecture

Islam by Neil Morris
1001 Inventions & Awesome Facts from Muslim Civilization by National Geographic Kids

The Genius of Islam by Bryn Barnard

Islamic Art and Culture: A Visual Guide by Nasser Khalili

Discussion:
Muslim architecture throughout the Mediterraean
Spanish buildings and fortresses
Mosques, government buildings, palaces, homes
Decorative arts, illuminated Qur'an

Activity:
History journal
Visit the Freer and Sackler Galleries

Medieval Middle East - Abbasid Empire - Cities

1001 Inventions & Awesome Facts from Muslim Civilization by National Geographic Kids
Islamic Art and Culture: A Visual History by Nasser Khalili
Baghdad by Nikki van der Gaag and Felicity Arbuthnot

Discussion:
Centers of activity - mosques, markets, homes, stores, baths
Building materials, methods
Roads, city gates and walls

Activity:
History journal
Build a model of Baghdad ca. 900 CE

Medieval Europe - Byzantine Empire - Art and Architecture

Art of Constantinople: An Introduction to Byzantine Art 330-1453 by John Beckwith

Discussion:
Themes and materials in Byzantine art
Greek Christian iconography
Buildings - structure, purpose, decoration

Activity:
History journal
Picture study

Ancient Rome - The Republic - Military - Roads and Forts

A Roman Fort by Fiona Macdonald and Gerald Wood
Tools of the Ancient Romans by Rachel Dickinson

Discussion:
Road-building - why?
Parts of a fort, people who work there

Activity:
Build a model Roman fort

Ancient Rome - The Republic - Military - Soldiers

How to Be a Roman Soldier by Fiona Macdonald and Nicholas Hewetson

Discussion:
Types of soldiers
Weapons and gear
Deployments
Differences between the Roman army and Alexander the Great's

Activity:
Arm yourself!  Pretend to be a Roman soldier!

Ancient Greece - Philosophy and Science - Review

The student should be able to match the person to his contribution:

Asclepius	Medicine	Revered as a god, might not be historical
Galen	Medicine	Wrote work of medicine used for over a thousand years
Hippocrates	Medicine	Hippocratic oath (recite)
Anaxagoras	Astronomy	Eclipses
Socrates	Philosophy	Socratic method of teaching; "All I know is I know nothing"; Recite his prayer to Pan
Plato	Philosophy	Founder of the Academy
Aristotle	Philosophy	Syllogism, logic, teacher of Alexander the Great
Pythagoras	Mathematics	Pythagorean theorem
Euclid	Mathematics	Parallel lines, shortest distance between two points
Archimedes	Engineering	"Eureka" story, Archimedes' screw, levers and pulleys

The student should be able to complete the following:

• Name the seven wonders of the ancient world.
• Draw parallel lines and explain what "parallel" means.
• Give an example of a syllogism.
• Show how an eclipse happens.
• Explain why Socrates was killed.  
• Give an example of following the Hippocratic Oath.

Ancient Greece - Science - Astronomy

Science in Ancient Greece by Kathlyn Gay
The Ancient Greeks by Allison Lassieur
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
The Library of Alexandria by Kelly Trumble and Robina MacIntyre Marshall

Discussion:
Famous astronomers - Anaxagoras, Heracleides, Aristarchus
Discoveries - round Earth, size of the Earth, planets vs. stars, topography of the moon etc.

Activity:
Make a sun dial
Model an eclipse with a ball, mirror, and flashlight
Look at the moon with the telescope

Australia - Technology

Aborignes hunting kagaroo with spear
Hunting bats with a boomerang (in Spanish)
Fire Hunting in Australia

Australia and Oceania by Mel Friedman
Australia by Allan Fowler
Useful reference: New South Wales K-6 Curriculum on Aboriginal Technology

Activity:

Learn to throw a boomerang
Try tracking animals