Today, Year 5 had the joy of visiting Norwich Castle Museum to take part in learning all about ancient civilisations.
Ancient Writing
At the beginning, we discussed the importance of writing and why ancient civilisations would have needed it. Then, we learned about Sumerian writing (cuneiform) and used a specific stylus and blu tack to make the correct shapes and lines. It was really difficult to create the correct shapes to begin with, but with some practice, we all managed it!
Farming
In this session, we learned about the importance of farming and what sort of fruits and crops were grown during ancient times. The children got to guess different ancient farming tools, and we saw evidence of them in ancient writing and pictures. We also learned about the invention of irrigation and why it was so helpful to farmers.
Building
During the building session, we discussed ancient buildings and how they improved over time. The children worked together to try to build arches, and they discussed why arches work. Then, we learned about what a city needs and the children, in two groups, designed their own!
Philosophy
Finally, in the philosophy session, we discussed how philosophers think about things, and we were led through a thought experiment based on the ancient Theseus’ ship!
The children were perfectly behaved and thoroughly enjoyed their day!