Pompeii

Introduction

You are about to embark on a journey to an ancient town buried by a volcano almost two thousand years ago called Pompeii. Here you will discover a volcano named Mt. Vesuvius and study an ancient culture of Italy. Pack your bags for a long trip and bring lots of film for your camera so you can take lots of pictures to help you remember this amazing town.

Teacher's Notes

The Task

Before we begin the journey, we must learn about the place we are visiting. Here are some things you should do before we leave New York.

• Find Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius on a map.
• Read the story Pompeii…Buried Alive! or other stories about Pompeii from the library.
• Study volcanoes, vocabulary terms, why they erupt and how they differ from mountains.
• Find out how scientists can predict volcano activity.

Once you are in Italy and visiting the museum-like town of Pompeii, you will have new tasks to complete.

• Write a descriptive paper on what Pompeii looks like today.
• Compare the ancient culture of Pompeii to our culture today.
• Explain why the people of today’s Pompeii would live near a volcano that they know is dangerous.
• Create an "active volcano" out of everyday food items.

The Process

1. Choose a travelling buddy and find Pompeii on a map together.
2. A. Read Pompeii…Buried Alive! with your buddy and discuss the story.

B.    Write your own responses to these questions in a journal (without           help from your buddy):

How did you feel as you read this story? What was your favorite part of the story? Describe the events of the volcano eruption (what were the people doing, what did the town look like as Mt. Vesuvius erupted?) Do you think Mt. Vesuvius will ever erupt again? Why?

3. Go to the library with your buddy to do some research on volcanoes and what causes them to erupt. You may use books, encyclopedias, the computer and even the Internet. Keep track of information and vocabulary on the graphic organizers and volcano map provided to you.
4. Continue your research to find out how scientists predict volcano activity. What instruments do they use? How close do they need to be to a volcano to check on it? Can they tell exactly when a volcano will erupt so people can get to safety in time? Why is it so important for scientists to continue their research of volcanoes?
5. Visit the Pompeii website to view real photos of Pompeii as it looks today. Copy some of these pictures to save for later or print some of them out.
6. On your own, write a descriptive paper (approximately 3 paragraphs) on how Pompeii looks today. Brainstorm descriptive words that will help you draw a picture of Pompeii for the reader. Use a graphic organizer to help you organize your thoughts. You may want to attach some of the photos from Pompeii to your paper so the reader can see Pompeii too.
7. Get together with your buddy again. Use the Pompeii website and the graphic organizer provided to find and record information about Pompeii’s ancient culture. How did they live? What jobs did they do? What did they eat? What kind of religion did they have? What was important to them? What kind of schooling did they have? What kind of government did they have? What kind of transportation did they have? What did they do for fun (recreation)?
8. You and your buddy will now team with another pair of buddies (there should be 4 of you now). Create a Venn diagram on large chart paper comparing our culture today to the culture of ancient Pompeii. Discuss with your buddies the similarities and differences you see in the cultures. You will present your Venn diagram to the rest of the class.
9. Class Discussion: Why would the people who live in Pompeii today choose to live near a volcano that they know is dangerous? What reasons might they have to stay in Pompeii? Why do you think people choose to live in dangerous areas (near the ocean, in places where they get hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods)? In your opinion, where is the best (safest) place to live?
10. You and your class will create mini-volcanoes together using a sugar cone, vanilla ice cream, red frosting and soda pop (any flavor you like). What caused your "volcano" to erupt? Enjoy your treat!  Recipe

                                                                            

Evaluation

Journals:

1. Did you answer the questions about Pompeii…Buried Alive! completely using details from the story?
2. Did you use complete sentences with proper punctuation, proper capitalization and did they make sense?
3. Did you spell lifetime words, sight words and vocabulary words correctly?

Graphic Organizers:

1. Did you fill in the information as completely as possible using words or short phrases?
2. Is your information accurate?
3. Did you use more than one source to find information?

Descriptive Paper:

1. Did you begin by brainstorming words and ideas?
2. Did you use a graphic organizer to organize the layout of your paragraphs?
3. Did you write in complete sentences that made sense?
4. Did you include a topic sentence, lots of details, descriptive words and a concluding sentence?
5. Did you edit your paper for spelling, punctuation and capitalization?
6. Did you complete your paper in a reasonable amount of time?

Venn Diagram:

1. Did you work well with the other 3 students?
2. Did you put accurate information in the diagram?
3. Was the diagram done neatly and legibly?
4. Was your presentation interesting, clear and loud enough to be heard by all of your classmates?

Class Discussion:

1. Did you participate in the discussion?
2. Were you a good listener while others were speaking?
3. Did your answers to the questions make sense and did you stay on the topic?

                                       

Conclusion

You have now learned what volcanoes are, what causes them to erupt and what effect they have on nearby towns and people. You have also learned about an ancient culture and its people. Although life in Pompeii was very different two thousand years ago, we can still find similarities in how people live their lives today. We are left with a question of whether Mt. Vesuvius will erupt again with enough force to bury Pompeii and all of its people again.