The following post is written by Ms. Nashwa Mekky, 5th-grade
teacher at Ivy Hill Elementary School in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
She shares her field
trip planning and the museum visit experience for her students
at the Oriental Institute in January 2014.
“Where is in the world can we find Mesopotamia?” I ask my fifth
graders, only to receive blank stares back. I have a little more luck
with, “How about
Egypt? What continent can we find Egypt on?” Half the hands shoot
up; all ready to answer. There would have to be ample pre-field trip
learning before we
embark on our class trip to the Oriental Institute. With proper
planning, this field trip would be a valuable experience that my
students would always
carry with them in their schema of learning. But where to start… The OI website of course!
The last thing I wanted was to have my students walk through the
museum like drones, looking at artifacts as if they were broken pieces
of stone. Because I
teach in a progressive school district that values 21st-century
skills, like global awareness, technology, discovery, and integration of
learning, I knew I
would find all the resources and support I needed to make this
learning experience an authentic one. After all, my school is WIRED,
literally.
In collaboration with my 5th-grade teaching team, we started by
creating a closed WebQuest template on a Google Drive, with direct links
to the educational
resources offered on the OI website. Students pondered questions
posed to them relating to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and then
searched for answers
using the provided links. Research topics pertained to each
civilization’s daily life, warfare, art, architecture, farming, and much
more. They analyzed
these artifacts online, compared and contrasted daily life today
with that of their earlier descendants, and self-assessed their learning
daily through
questioning and reflection. And all this was just the start; they
were exploring, discovering, analyzing, and gaining new information. The
next step was to
share out with their peers.
Students collaborated together and created a Google Presentation on
what they uncovered. Now they were ready for the onsite visit to the OI.
“Are we going
to the see Striding Lion?” asked one student. They all wanted to see
their artifact. The ones they researched and were the class expert
on. The list was long. The Mesopotamian group wanted to see the Laws
of Hammurabi, the Incantation Bowl, Demon Pazuzu, and the Lamassu.
While the ancient
Egypt group was excited to see the real life Sistrum, Mummy Mask,
Statue of Tutankhamun, and the Female Harpist.
To help defray the cost of the trip, the OI made available useful
links for field trip grants that I was able to apply for. I was grateful
to secure a
sizable grant through Target Field Trip Grant Program, which
helps to make field trips like mine cost-effective and affordable.
Beaming with anticipation and excitement, students grabbed hold of
their iPads and were ready to document every moment of their experience.
Once we arrived
at the OI, we were greeted by friendly and knowledgeable docents who
took our students in small groups for a guided tour of the museum. As
part of the
program, students attended the artifact analysis class, where they
handled original and replicas of artifacts, and like real
archaeologists, made
deductions and conclusions about the daily life of the people who
created them.
So what happened with all the pictures that were snapped up with the iPads? The students created a presentation on the Explain Everything App and uploaded them to their classroom YouTube Channel.
Students used their favorite
artifacts to explain everything they knew through their prior
research and onsite visit. They had a finished product that synthesized
their learning, and
was a creation of their very own.
Will my class visit the OI again next year? I sure hope so. I know
my students will carry much of what they learned about this region’s
culture, history,
civilization, geography, as well as an overall awareness that goes
beyond their sixth grade social studies curriculum. This experience has
broadened their
appreciation and understanding of the world we live in today.
Whether the students are 5th graders or seniors in high school, there is
so much the Oriental
Institute has to offer on so many levels!
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About the Author:
Ms. Nashwa Mekky is a 5th-grade teacher at Ivy Hill Elementary
School in Arlington Heights. She served on the Oriental Institute
Teacher Advisory Council
in the school years of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014.
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