Story of the World: Chap 15 - Phonician Traders

This page is part of my history series where I share supplementary activities for Story of the World history chapters.  If you aren't using Story of the World, you can still use this page:  Just skip over the "While Reading Story of the World" section, and browse my suggestions of books and activities for learning about the Phoenicians. 



SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKS
I almost always supplement our Story of the World reading with pictures from other books.   Here's the books I used for this chapter.   Your library may have other books that would work just as well.

DISCLAIMER:  Here and elsewhere on the page, I include some links through which I can earn commission (but, even so, I highly suggest looking for these in your library first, which of course is free). 

The Phoenicians by Katherine Reece
I was so excited to actually find a children's book JUST ABOUT the Phoenicians in our library.  It had some good maps, pictures and illustrations we used--though I had to go to another source for pictures of Phoenician glass (they only showed a shaped glass bead).   While we didn't read further about the Phoenicians than the Story of the World text, this would have been a good source for that had we wanted to.  It also had info on modern Lebanon, where the area of the original homeland of ancient Phoenicia was located.

Bible Lands - Eyewitness Book
This is a great DK book about the various places mentioned in the Bible.  It's a respectful secular book that I thought I would use much more than I did throughout Story of the World, but I just ended up finding better illustrations elsewhere most of the time.  It did occasionally have something I used though, such as the illustrations of the Phoenician glassware and cloth I used to illustrate this chapter.





WHILE READING STORY OF THE WORLD

SECTION 1:  Phoenicia Traders
(Note:   The Revised and Original version are the same for this section, except for different maps and some slight punctuation changes).

Paragraphs 1- 2
We looked at some maps in The Phoenicians by Katherine Reece

Paragraph 3
We looked at pictures of ships and some of the trade goods mentioned in The Phoenicians (there's a great drawing of a Phoenician ship in the SOTW Activity pages too for kids to color).  
Paragraphs 4 - 6
We looked at the  glass bead shown in The Phoenicians and the pictures of blown glass vases shown on the page on the Phoenicians in Bible Lands (note, there's a newer version of this book but I'm not sure what pictures and information was changed in it).   A found a public domain image of a Phoenician glass bead which i shared below.   I imagine this also shows a little bit about how Phoenician men adorned themselves and wore their hair. 

Public Domain

Paragraph 7 - 8
Showed shell and purple cloth pictures from The Phoenicians and Bible Lands (found in pg 41 in the section on Money and Trade). You could also use the picture I found that shows the shells of the murex snails, and the cloth dyed with murex snail dye.   You can click on it to show a larger version where you can read the text.

This picture by  U.Name.Me and edited by TeKaBe
and by myself is licensed for sharing under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

SECTION 2:   The Founding of Carthage
(Note:  The Revised version mentions in the text that Carthage was first settled around 814 BC/BCE.  In the original version it says, in a footnote to parents, not in the main text, that it was founded in 850 BC/BCE.   I'm assuming this was a correction or update with newer info).   

For this section I really wanted to find an image of a Phonician woman to use as an illustration of Dido, but it turns out that the Phoenicians were not fond of making images of themselves.   However, other nations did and I found some  depictions here.

We also used an illustration of a Phoenician city in Ancient Civilizations.




ACTIVITIES

My son loved watching the glass blowing video below...





ACTIVITIES
We didn't do these, but they looked fun....

Purple Dye Craft
No murex secretions involved!

Phoenicia Lapbook

LEARN ABOUT THE PHOENICIAN ALPHABET
Did you know that our alphabet descended from the Phoenician alphabet?  The SOTW text didn't mention it, but it's one of their most important contributions to history.   Learn about it with the video and activity listed below.  (Also see the book for older students in the next section).

The Alphabet, Video by Extra Credits History

Phoenician Clay Tablet Craft
They use clay, which the Phoencians did use.   Since they also used papyrus, you could also make a scroll to paint these letters on, which was the way most papyrus was stored.


ADDITIONAL READING FOR OLDER STUDENTS

The Myth of Cadmus and the Founding of Thebes
Older students might be interested in reading another founding myth involving the Phoenicians:  Cadmus and the Founding of Thebes.   It's a fun story involving fighting a dragon.   While it does contain an un-detailed mention of sex (Zeus "lies with" the main character's sister, one of his many adulteries), apart from that it is pretty benign for a Greek myth.    This would be best for older children on their 2nd or later cycle through history, as it refers to Greek gods yet to be discussed in this volume.    


The Phoenician Alphabet in Archeology
A related archeology article about how the Greek alphabet derived from the Phoenician one (which mentions the myth).   You could follow this up by doing some activities with the Phoenician alphabet.


 

Last :: Next

See All Story of the World Posts

HEADING PICTURE CREDITS
The picture of a Phoenician ship in the credits is licensed for sharing under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.   It was created by NMB and also attributed to Elie Plus.

Videos About Christopher Columbus ...that are actually accurate!

Several years back I did a post about Christopher Columbus fact checking a lot of the errors floating around.    Now, I'd like to share some short videos you CAN use to teach this history to children, without exposing kids to things they aren't ready for or sugar coating this history.   Further down on this page are some good videos related to Spanish exploration, conquest and colonization.

Recommended Columbus Videos

BrainPop:  Columbus  
(Recommended for All Ages)
This was free when I first accessed it, but sadly it isn't now.  But, because this was the best video for elementary age kids on Columbus I've found, I couldn't leave it off the list.  It was kid friendly, animated, accurate, and didn't try to demonize Columbus or make him into a hero.  It also dealt to some extent with both the positive and negative ramifications of Columbus' journey, both for the people of Europe and the people of the Americas. (NOTE:  I didn't have a chance to look into the "extras" about Columbus they have...just the video, so can't comment on those). 





Crash Course World History:  15th Century Mariners:  Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He
(Recommended for Upper Elementary through High School)
This video talks briefly about Columbus, along with two other sailors from this time.  This doesn't at all deal  with the results of Columbus' journeys, but later videos in this series do (see below), so combined with those this covers this well.   My middle-schoolers loved the humor in John Green's crash course videos.

CONTENT CONCERNS:  Contains one joke related to a Chinese explorer being a Eunuch that some may find inappropriate (minute 1:40-2:05, easy to skip if you want to). You could also just watch the part about Columbus (6:30-9:27), though I really think the it's worth adding the part about the Portuguese explorer De Gama, which really sets up why the Spanish were looking for a passage to Asia and would fund Columbus' journeys. (That starts at minute 4:24).



Crash Course World History:  The Colombian Exchange
(Recommended for Upper Elementary through High School)
This video shows the impact of Columbus' journeys and what followed on both sides the Atlantic, for good and bad, so it's a really important follow up to the last video.

CONTENT CONCERNS:   Smaller children might be scared by depictions of war and people dying of smallpox.  It uses OMG, spelled out, once (in an easily skippable side-segment in minutes 1:22-1:33).   There is, in talk about syphilis, some indirect reference to sex (in talking about how it was spread by sailors they mention a quote "sailors...are men without women and therefor men of many women.")

Bartolomé de las Casas: Conscious of an Empire
(Recommended for Middle School through High School)
I highly suggest this for high schoolers and middle schoolers who prefer un-animated documentaries.  This video is mainly about Bartolomé de las Casas, a priest who came to the new world shortly after Columbus had been removed of his governorship there, and later spent his life trying to end the enslavement and oppression of the native people in the Spanish colonies.   After briefly introducing De las Casas and Nicolás de Ovando (the 3rd governor of the new world), it backtracks to Columbus's previous journeys, including the establishment of colonies and subjugation of the native peoples, which continues until minute 12:04  (though I suggest watching the whole thing to learn more about what happened after Columbus in the Spanish colonies).    It is accurate overall, apart from one small error  mentioned below which is easy to discuss.  

CONTENT CONCERNS:  Contains one brief instance of cultural nudity.   Around minute 4:15 it briefly shows native people being shown to queen Isabela, including a woman with bare breasts (only slightly blurred).  It also contains more depictions of violence.  

Related to accuracy, it said that Bobadilla was sent back specifically to replace Columbus, but actually he was sent back mainly to investigate a colonist rebellion, though he had the power to replace Columbus based on his investigation.   Another important detail that is left out is how Bobadilla also mishandled the governing of the colonies, and that things actually got worse for the indigenous people under his government.  While Columbus and his brothers had tried to maintain discipline of the colonists through arguably cruel means, Bobadilla went in the other direction and let the colonists basically do what they wanted, including rape and abuse the native peoples without any censure (which I wrote about more in this article, in the section, "After Columbus".)


Biography.Com - Several Videos
(Recommended for Upper Elementary through High School)
There are three videos embedded in this article (and unfortunately when you load the article they all begin playing at once...so you will want to scroll down and turn off the other two before showing to your kids).   All are are in the more typical older documentary style (not animated).     The first video covers the basics of the Columbus journeys and the first Spanish colonies started under Columbus.  My only slight criticism is they could have said something to clarify the differences at the time between subjugation under a feudal system (which we might recognize as a form of slavery today, but which they would not have been thought of that way then), and chattel slavery (Columbus subjugated many Taino on his 2nd journey and later enslaved some of these after the Taino fought back over their treatment).   But overall this is accurate. 

The 2nd video listed is more about the ships used on the journey, and the 3rd is a short footnote with a few more details.

The text article is also well done, but contains one error (it says on his 4th journey he was shipwrecked in Cuba when he was actually shipwrecked in Jamaica).

CONTENT CONCERNS:   The videos contain some artistic nudity (middle age drawings of the natives without clothing). 

Recommended Videos on

Civilizations of Central and South America 

 and Spanish Conquest/Colonization

The following aren't directly about Columbus, but can make a good follow up to show what happened in the new world after the voyages of Columbus.

Crash Course US History:  The Black Legend, Native Americans, and Spaniards
(Recommended for Middle School and High School)

This video covers, very briefly, the Native American peoples who lived in what is now the US before European contact, and covers what happened to them during Spanish colonization/exploration (which was after Columbus, but still related). My one minor quibble is that it sort of suggests that Bartolomé de las Casas was the only Spaniard fighting against the oppression of the natives, while in fact, he was convinced that the enslavement of the native peoples were wrong by other priests who were preaching this before him.   But none were as vocal or steadfast in their fight, so I don't think that oversimplification is worth skipping this video, which overall sets up well what happened to the native people during colonization.  

CONTENT CONCERNS:  It has pictures/depictions of massacres and torture which are not suitable for younger kids, and which also contain nudity (medieval artistic nudity).  

Extra Credits History:  Bartolomé de las Casas - Changing Your Mind
(Recommended for All Ages)
This one deals a little bit more with Bartolomé de las Casas, who is mentioned briefly in the last video. I was so excited when this came out because this is probably my favorite historical character and the person who got me studying this time period. He was a Spanish priest who came to the colonies just after Columbus had his governorship stripped. While he originally participated in the oppression of the indigenous people he soon realized what was happening to them was wrong and spent the rest of his life trying to end their oppression.  The video did an excellent job and even managed to be completely kid friendly.

NOTE TO CHRISTIAN READERS:  Though this is a secular resource, they did very well at portraying de las Casas' faith.   They did however offer a brief  critical note about proselytizing (presenting as a negative that las Casas supported it).  Las Casas believed in proselytizing through love and logic, not force or coercion, and preached that this was the only Biblical way to share the gospel. 


Crash Course US History:   The Spanish Empire, Silver, and Runaway Inflation
(Suggested for Middle School and High School ...may work for late elementary also.)
This covers, briefly, the empires that existed before Spanish Conquest and what followed in the next several hundred years, and the results in America, Spain, and even China. 

Extra Credits - The Inca Empire
(Suggested for Mid-elementary through High School)
This series, about an hour long in all, tells what life was like in the Inca Empire and than chronicles it's conquest by the Spanish.  

CONTENT CONCERNS:   There is violence but it is animated and somewhat abstract.   I let my child watch other videos by Extra Credits with similar levels of violence around age 8. 

TedEd - The Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire
(Suggested for All Ages)
This video also has some history of the Inca, and tells of their conquest.  It has less detail than the longer video by Extra Credits.   I feel like this video is more appropriate for younger kids because of the way it's told, in a way that reminds me of how a fable is told and with paper cut-out people that I think make the violence even more abstract than the stick people drawings of Extra Credits.  

Thanks to Pixabay for the images used to make the intro graphic.

 

Torn Paper Mountain Craft

 

Making torn paper mountains is a fun, really easy artwork you can do with kids of almost any age (or even adults!).


Supplies: 

Different color paper
Glue
Scissors (optional, for second part).


You will need different shades of paper.   In mine I used different shades of purple cardstock, plus black for silhouettes in the front and a blue background.   Shades of green or blue look nice too, or you can also do this with multiple colors of paper, or even patterned paper, for a different look.  

First, tear the paper in a zig-zag or wave pattern to make mountains.

Before gluing anything down, you might want to suggest your kids figure out what order they want their mountains in. 

While it seems obvious, as adults, that you have to glue the mountains in the background first, you may need to explain that to your children.   I've done this with two groups of kids now, and I notice little kids often start by gluing the mountain in the foreground, even though that needs to go over the the other mountain.   

Also, if you are going to add trees (see below) decide if you want any between your mountains before gluing.

OPTIONAL - ADD A TREE

The mountains on their own look beautiful, but if you want you can add a silhouette of a tree, or a few trees, like the ones I cut out here.  

Here are several arrangements I tried of my trees...I encourage kids to move around their pieces and find the way they would like them to be placed before gluing.

You Tube Through Ancient History - For Middle School and High School

This is a collection of videos to expose students to an overview of ancient history, organized in a way that they could be used as a spine or as supplements for another spine or curriculum.  It's a bit unpolished as yet, and I'm hoping to add more resources to go with the videos (like free printables and such as I find them), but I wanted to get it up, unpolished or not, so that people can start to use this if they want.  

AGE LEVEL:   The general age level for this is Middle School through High School.   Most of these videos could be watched by younger children, but some may have content that is a little over their head, or that otherwise might not be appropriate.   See "Content Information" below for more info.

MAIN VIDEO SERIES USED

Crash Course
Crash course offers chronological broad overviews of history.   While it is partially animated, the concepts and pace are aimed at adults (and I feel like overall it's suitable for Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers).   There are a few jokes that are inappropriate and might want to be skipped, especially if viewing while younger children are present.  I've tried to note these but may have missed some (and if so, please tell me in a comment).  Apart from these episodes, most episodes could be watched by younger children without issue though, though many will find this too fast-paced for younger children to follow.   

Extra History
Extra Credits History is my favorite history series.   It offers deeper dives into various subjects.   The series is animated, and funny, but done respectfully as well, I think.   It appeals to a wide age range...my 8 year old and my high schooler both enjoyed these equally.

TEDed

TEDed offers brief, annimated glimpses into various subjects, including history.  It is, in general, safe for all ages of children...at least the videos listed here.   I've linked to these from the TedEd site, not youtube, since TedEd videos also come with an online questionnaire students can use to quiz themselves, and links to places they can find more info on the subject.   (NOTE:   I may have accidentally linked some of these from YouTube directly, in stead of from the TedEd site, where that extra stuff isn't available, but if I did, just go to TedEd.com and type their title into the search...and then come back and tell me so I can fix it.   Thanks.)

 

TICE Art History
These are short animated videos on art history appropriate for all age groups.  


WORKSHEETS AND ACTIVITIES
I've started to link a few "supplementary activities" related to the videos.   Some are more appropriate to high school or middle school.  I have also listed a few "discussion question" worksheets I found for free for some of these videos.   There isn't one for every video, but I'd thought I'd list ones where I found them free.   If you are willing to pay for them, you can find many similar discussion question sheets listed on Teachers Pay Teachers.  As mentioned earlier, TedEd videos also come with some additional resources.

CONTENT INFORMATION

VIOLENCE
Various videos suggested here have descriptions of historical violence, but I felt like this was depicted appropriately and not gratuitously. I do not usually make special  note of violence in videos because it is so common.  A certain tolerance for historical violence is necessary for using this list. 

SEX/NUDITY
There are references to sex in a few of these videos, but usually handled subtly/well (nothing gratuitous or crude, with the exception of one joke in one Crash course video, which I've included a warning with).   Crash course does occassionally refer to sex as "skoodlypooting" and shows a blanket with feet hanging out.    There's also a few videos with historical artwork that depicts nudity (such as Greek statues), or very stylized cartoon nudity (along the lines of the centaurs in Disney's Fantasia...lacking detail).   

PROFANITY
Most of these contain no profanity.   A few of the Crash Course videos contain a "Long A** time" joke (and then they say they aren't swearing, because they mean a donkey).   I try to note these in red.

 

VIDEO LIST

Below are the videos to watch in chronological order.  I've organized this semi-chronologically by topic.   Some topics take a day, some topics will take much longer.   Videos labeled "series" contain a playlist of multiple videos.   The videos listed on the left are ones that cover broad topics, and the videos in the bullet lists under them are extra videos related to this topic.   I've listed key videos in bold, while unbolded videos are less essential are and can be skipped.

MESOPOTAMIA PART I - AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1 

- Worksheet:  Discussion Questions

 

ANCIENT INDIA PART I - INDUS VALLEY

Indus Valley Civilization: Crash Course World History #2

• Indus Valley Civilization Virtual Tour (not a video)
• Indus Valley Website (not a video, but has one on it)
  

 

MESOPOTAMIA

I do not suggest using the Crash Course video for Mesopotamia  because of the serious content issue in it, though if you did want to use it you can skip that part.   Several alternative suggestions are listed below.  CONTENT WARNING: Mesopotamia: Crash Course World History # has an inappropriate joke about a sex tape (it's from about 4:02-4:10...or go back to 3:55 to skip over any mention of sex at all).  

 

(Suggestion I)

Ancient Civilizations of Mesopotamia This video is aimed at Elementary/Middle School, so may be a little "young" for High Schoolers.   It's a little longer and goes more in depth on some of the civilizations, but shares a little less of the "progression of history" than Crash Course does.)

(Suggestion II)
The Rise and Fall of Sumer - TedEd
This one is broad and covers a lot but is less engaging than the two above, in my opinion, but it is also less "childish" than Alt 1.

• The History of Writing - Where the Story Begins - Extra History
• Activity:  Cuneiform Craft
• Ancient Mesopotamian Art - TICE (to minute 2, then it moves on to Egyptian art)
• The Rise and Fall of the Assyrian Empire - TedEd 
• Babylon the Great - 2000 Years of Mesopotamian History in 10 Minutes
  

 

EGYPT

Ancient Egypt: Crash Course World History #4

CONTENT WARNING: Mild "swearing" (long a** time joke)

• Egyptian Mummies -TEDed
• Activity:   Egg Mummy
  
• The Egyptian Myth of Isis  -TEDed
• Hatshepsut, The Woman Pharoah -TEDed
• Explore Hatshupsuts Temple Virtual Tour (not a video)
• Akenaten by Extra History AND/OR King Tut's Tomb and the Armana Period - Susan Euler
  
• Mesopotamian and Ancient Egyptian Art - TICE (could alternatively be inserted right after Bronze Age Collapse, below, as that sort of relates to all the near east cultures).
• (NOTE:   Cleopatra is covered later on under Ancient Rome).
  
  

KERMA & NUBIA/KUSH

Ancient Kerma and Nubia/Kush - Lost Kingdomas of Africa
Note:  On this page scroll down to the history section, and I have a list of the sections of this video by minutes, if you want to watch just certain sections.

AND/OR WATCH

The Kingdom of Kush - TedEd (shorter than the above)

BRONZE AGE COLLAPSE
Note, this is a good time to stop and review many of the nations covered previously, as from this point we move away from the regions of Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Levant and move into Greece and Rome and Asia.  The reason for that is largely, a mysterious collapse of many of those civilizations around this time.

Both of the following videos are excellent, and cover enough that's different that it might be worth watching both, but they also overlap quite a bit so you might choose just one.

The Bronze Age Collapse SERIES - Extra History (1200 and 1150 BC)
This one, in addition to very thoroughly covering the Bronze age collapse, also briefly covers Levant/Mediterranean area civilizations of Egypt, The Hittites, Assyrian, and the Mycenaeans in it's first episode.    I don't yet have another resource that covers the Mycenaeans well...so you might choose to watch at least the first episode just for that, if you don't watch the rest (though the whole thing is worthwhile).

AND/OR WATCH

Civilizations by Crash Course
This one covers the Bronze age Collapse much more briefly than the Extra History series above, and uses this as a springboard to talk about "what makes a civilization" and brings in some alternative ideas about that.  If you've already watched the Extra History series, this one is worth adding on, just for that extra discussion.

GREEKS (AND PERSIANS)

The Persians & Greeks: Crash Course World History #5

• Geography and Ancient Greece - Mr. Corwin (Past minute 7.10 this also has the story of the minitaur, which can be skipped).
  
• A Day in the Life of an Ancient Athenian - TEDed
• Athenian Democracy: Lottery vs. Election - TEDed
• This is Sparta  - TEDed
• Greek Art and Architecture
  
• Greek and Roman Art (can save last half for Rome)
• Activity:   Greek Scratch Art Vase
  
• The Building of the Parthenon
• Activity:   Cup Columns Experiment (MS) 
  
• Greek Myths (choose 1 or more below)
• Prometheus  - TEDed
• Pandoras Box  - TEDed
• Jason and the Argonauts  - TEDed
• 12 Labors of Hercules Part 1 and Part 2 - Extra Mythology
• Theseus and the Minotaur - See U in History
• Good companion video: The Scientific Origins of the Minotaur - TedEd
• (Note:   Be careful with minotaur stories, as the original full myth has some very dicey sexual content.   The video above doesn't contain that but another in the same channel does.   My apologies that the story of Icarus I had earlier here contained some of that.  I thought I had watched it before but turns out I had only watched part of it).  
• Greek Philosphers
  
• Socrates - School of Life
• Plato - School of Life  OR Plato's Best and Worst Ideas - TedEd
  
• Aristotle - School of Life
  
• Thermopylae - Extra History SERIES
  

Alexander the Great - Crash Course World History #8

• Archimedes - TedEd (Archimedes was a Greek Scientist who was Alexander the Great's teacher as a boy, and who's amazing Machines were later used against the Romans in the Punic Wars, so he could be included here or under the Punic Wars.   The videos on the Punic Wars in the first section on Rome also mentions him.). 
  

 

    

MONEY AND WRITING - A CROSS CIVILIZATION OVERVIEW

The Alphabet - Origins of Writing - Extra History

The History of Paper Money - Origins of Exchange - Extra History - #1
(NOTE:  This one travels far out of our time frame, but does start in ancient times)


ANCIENT INDIA - PART II

Buddha and Ashoka: Crash Course World History #6


ANCIENT CHINA

‎2,000 Years of Chinese History! The Mandate of Heaven and Confucius: Crash Course World History #7

Worksheet:  Discussion Questions

• The History of the Great Wall - TedEd
  
• Terra Cotta Warriors - TedEd
• Who Was Confucius - TedEd
• The Three Kingdoms - Extra History SERIES
• The Silk Road and Ancient Trade: Crash Course World History #9  
• CONTENT WARNING:  Briefly mentions prostitutes around minute 4:35
• Worksheet:  Discussion Questions

THE ROMANS - PART I

The Roman Empire. Or Republic. Or...Which Was It? - Crash Course World History #10

• Greek and Roman Art - TICE (May have already watched during study of Greece)
• Rome: The Punic Wars - Extra History SERIES
• Archimedes - TedEd (If you didn't include this video about Archimedes after Alexander the Great, it goes well here.   The videos on the Punic Wars explains how he was involved in them.).  
  
• Grachus the Elder (good pre-quel to the Brothers Gracchi, but not essential)
  
• The Brothers Gracchi:  How Republics Fall - Extra History SERIES...leads up to Caesar
  
• The Assassination of Julius Caesar  - TEDed
• PICK ONE of the Below for Cleopatra
  
• History vs. Cleopatra  - TEDed (brief) or...
• Cleopatra's Egypt - Invictus (longer - suggested)
• Cleopatra - Extra Credits SERIES (longest)
  
• History vs. Agustus  - TEDed
• Teenage Life in Ancient Rome  - TEDed (Daily Life - Boys)
• 4 Sisters in Ancient Rome  - TEDed (Daily Life - Girls)
• Day in the Life of a Roman Soldier  - TEDed
• Life of Spartacus - TEDed 
  
• Odenathus - Ghosts of the Desert - Extra History
• Middle East: Palmyra Today - Afterword - Extra History 

 
THE CELTS
The Rise and Fall of Celtic Warriors

CHRISTIANITY + JUDAISM
(Yes, I realize I need to cover Judaism much earlier...and would love suggestions of resources).

Christianity from Judaism to Constantine: Crash Course World History #11

- Worksheet:  Discussion Questions

• Early Christian Schisms - Extra History SERIES

 

THE ROMANS - PART II 

Extra History:   3rd Century Crisis (series)

Fall of The Roman Empire...in the 15th Century: Crash Course World History #12

The History of Rome in 20 Minutes (nice summary to re-cap) 
CONTENT WARING:  Brief mention of a rape, Renaissance paintings containing nudity.

OTHER PLAYLISTS

I have not vetted all these videos, but I found another interesting playlist for ancient history here. 

OTHER ERAS?
No, I haven't done other eras like this.  I did start notes for a video list aligned to Story of the World Volume II (The Middle Ages).   It's really rough, not at all edited for "best videos" (some I hadn't even watched yet...just took a note of) and you'll only find "by chapter" section is after a "add later" section which is not as well sorted.   But I thought you all might appreciate having this anyways so feel free to use it until I make something better (if that ever happens).

Why didn't I align the Ancient History list SOTW Ancient Times chapters too?   Well, I made this list  our second time around when I was doing history through a different curriculum that went by civilization, not so much chronologically.  

---

MY OWN NOTES (Ignore this...it's my own notes about changes/updates I may want to do): 

Nothing to note currently.

Educational Games for Middle and High School

Playing games can be a great way to make learning fun, and spend quality family time together.   Below are a list of learning games for middle and high school students you can use to practice and learn about various topics  (for elementary games, click here ).   While there are many great online games too, in this list I'm only listing games you play offline with others (siblings, parents).  

Most of the items on this list are free, but there are a few board games (some of which may already be in your closet) or printable games you can purchase which I've include, which are marked with a $. 

KEY

$ = Not a free resource

$ + $ = Free and not free resources

PK = Preschool

E = All of Elementary

LE = Late Elementary (3rd - 6th)

MS = Middle School/Junior High (6th - 8th)*

HS = High School (9th - 12th)*

K-12 = All school age (not PK)

ALL = All Ages

*Why do I even bother including Elementary in the Key?   Because sometimes its nice to find a game you can play with the whole family that everyone can learn from.

This post contains a few affiliate links through which I can earn commission.

 

Mixed Skills/Any Skill
5 Learning Games (these can be used for various skills)

English/Language Arts

Spelling

Boggle Word Game (E/MS)

Prefixes/Suffixes and Greek/Latin Roots

Affixes and Roots Games (LE/MS/HS)

Greek Roots Tarsia Puzzle (LE/MS/HS)

Roots and Affixes Go Fish (LE/MS/HS)

Languages

French
Various French Games by Ellen McHenry (E/7+/MS)

Latin
Latin Games, Various (ALL)

Geography
(Also see History)

South America

Birds of Brazil Bingo (K-12)


US States - Multiple States

13 Colonies Dominoes (K-12)


US States - Specific States

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Geogrphy/Geology - Bottom of Page (K-12)

Health/Nutrition

Fruits and Vegetable Nutrition Games (ALL)



History
(ALSO look under Religion for religious history games)

Historical Games
These game are actual games played in ancient cultures and other times in the past.   They are useful for living history style exploration. 

Senet - Ancient Egyptian Game (Printable, LE/MS/HS)

Ancient Egyptian Snake Game (Printable, ALL) 

Ancient Rome - Tabula, an Ancient Roman Game (LE/MS/HS)  

Rota - Roman Tic-Tac-Toe (Printable, ALL)

Native Americans - Games from the Aboriginal People of North America (ALL)

World History

History Buffer Games (Various Eras - Printable, LE/MS/HS $ + $)

Egyptian Trivia Game (Printable, LE/MS/HS)

Digging Up Greece (LE/MS/HS)

Viking Voyages (LE/MS)
    + Viking Voyages Expansion Pack (LE/MS/HS)

The Great Italian Wars (Unsure of Age Range)
This is an card game that recreates the atmosphere of the Italian late Renaissance (1494-1527) during the famous period called the "Italian Wars".  The Game is free in pdf form, but you have to register for free at Board Game Geek.

Sail the Seas - Explorers/Bodies of Water (LE/MS/HS)

Storming the Bastille (French Revolution Game) (LE/MS/HS)

US History

History Buffer Games - US History (Printable, LE/MS/HS $ + $)

13 Colonies Dominoes (K-12) 

Bluebird Math Circle (All)
Math activities for various ages, many of which are related to Native American history and culture.


Math

For more math before Algebra/Geometry, see the math section of my page for  Learning Games for Elementary.  

MISC

Traditional Native American Games Organized by Math Skill (ALL)

Bluebird Math Circle (All)
Math activities for various ages, many of which are related to Native American history and culture.

ALGEBRA

Prime Numbers
Loot the Pirate Ship (Printable, LE)

GEOMETRY

Area/Array Game (Printable)

Area of a Triangle Card Game (MS/HS)

Science

Anatomy

Find My Wound: An Anatomical Directions Game (Requires File Folder, HS)

Bone Bingo (HS $)

Lymphatic System Board Game (HS $)

Animals and Habitats

Various Animal Games by Ellen McHenry (All)

Phyla Ecology Game (LE/MS/MS)

Birds of Brazil Bingo (K-12)

Birds of Prey (LE/MS/HS $)

Gastropods (Mollusks) Bingo (K-12)

Poison Dart Frog Habitats/Rainforest (Requires cardboard, Lots of Set Up, E/MS)


Biology
(See Animals, Botany, Cells, Human Body/Anatomy)


Botany

Various Games About Plants by Ellen McHenry (ALL)

Photosynthesis Game (MS/HS $)

Plant Taxonomy Game (MS/HS $)

Cells
 
Pond Scum - A Protazoa Game (LE/MS/HS)

Translation Taxi RNA Game (MS/HS $)

Cellular Respiration Game (MS/HS $)

Photosynthesis Game (MS/HS $)

Protein Synthesis Game (MS/HS $)

Thanksgiving Protein Synthesis Game (MS/HS $)

Earth Science

Nitrogen Cycle Game (HS $)

Chemistry

Various Free Games by Ellen McHenry  (K-12)

Periodic Table Battleship (Requires File Folder, MS/HS)

Make 5 - A Game About Mineral Chemical Formulas (LE, MS, HS)

Carbon 14 Game (MS/HS) $

Nuclear War/Radioactive Decay (MS/HS) $

AP Biology Games  (HS $)


Human Body/Anatomy

Various Games by Ellen McHenry


Habitats (see Animals and Habitats)

Pond Scum - A Protazoa Game (LE/MS/HS)


Nature Study

Nature Scavenger Hunt (K-12)


RELIGION (Christian)

Journeys of the Apostle Paul Game (LE/MS $)

St. Patrick of Ireland (LE/MS $) 

MISC
 
Family Friendly Version of Cards Against Humanity (LE/MS/HS)

Lego Building Game (Requires Legos, ALL 4+)

Bible Games, Various (ALL)

Concentration, Memorization, and Observation Games (LE/MS)

Click Here Elementary Learning Games

CRAFT: Wrapped Walking Stick

Decorating a walking stick with yarn/and cloth is a fun craft that can be simplified for a young child, yet is still an enjoyable project for a teen or adult to do!  Learn how to make your own below!

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This post contain some affiliate links through which I can earn a commission. 

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Finding The Perfect Stick
Finding sticks for this craft is easier than you would would think.    You can go to local wooded areas and look for downed branches (sometimes you'll even see downed branches on the side of the road).   Or, look for neighbors pruning their trees and ask if you can take some of the branches.   Once I started looking for sticks for this project, I started noticing them everywhere. 
 
You'll want sticks that are relatively straight, and about 1-2 inches in diameter. Watch out for sticks that are rotten or molded, and make sure to ask if any of the wood had been treated for pesticides (which you will want to avoid.   If any of the bark seems loose, see if you can peel it off as that can be a sign there are bugs underneath.  If you leave on the bark, or are able to peel the bark free, you won't have to sand it.  If you choose to carve off the bark you will want to sand the stick afterwards.  Bark left on may detach on it's own over time.

A good height for a walking stick is about 6-8 inches taller than a person's elbow if their arms are hanging straight down while standing (got that tip from Boy's Life).  Even if you find a stick nearly the exact height you want, you may want to saw one end off to flatten out the bottom of your walking stick.


Wrapping a Walking Stick With Yarn
We decorated our sticks with either yarn or cloth (or both). Below is a video showing a simple way to wrap the stick with yarn. At the beginning of this video I said that I have "a few inches of yarn." I misspoke...I actually had a few feet...but what I meant was that I had a few inches of yarn left over to form a "tail."   You can add beads other charms to the left over yarn tails, as shown in the picture at the top of this page (more on that below).

I love how the yarn looked on this curvy stick.  

When we did these we were looking for simple things we could do with cheep materials.   If you are looking to do something more complex, you can find several more detailed techniques using Paracord (which would also be more weather resistant).  

Turks Head

Cow Hitch

Fish Scale Braid

French Hitching

Solomon V

How to Wrap a Stick With Cloth

You can also wrap a stick with cloth tied in yarn (or leather).  

This is actually a useful feature as it creates a padded area for a hand-hold (the more padding you want, the more layers you will want to wrap around your stick).  We used strips from old t-shirts, but you can use any type of cloth you want (or even scraps of leather).

Wrapping cloth on a stick is fairly simple. First roll a strip of cloth around the stick. Then take a long piece of yarn and tie it tightly near to top of the cloth.  Make your tie in the middle of the yarn so you have two fairly equal lengths of yarn hanging down, and leave about an inch of cloth above where you tie it. For a criss-cross design, spiral one of these down the cloth, and the other in the opposite direction, so that the two lengths of yarn criss-cross, then at the bottom (about an inch from the edge of the fabric), tie these two yarn-tails together tightly.


Adding Decorations

You can add beads or charms to the strings that are left when you are done tying your yarn. You will need beads with a hole large enough that yarn can fit through. I look for beads with holes just slightly larger than the yarn, because then after I've put them on the yarn, all I need to do is tie a double or triple knot in the yarn and that holds on the beads. You can also get charms that tie on the yarn, and those will hold up all the beads above them as well. 

Getting beads onto thick, fuzzy yarn can be tricky! But I have a trick that makes it easy! I use floss threaders (the kind found in the dental aisle of most supermarkets). Just put the yarn through the large hoop of the floss threader, insert the bead over the small pointy end, and then pull the bead down over the yarn. You can see floss threaders in use in the picture below.

I decorated some of the walking sticks with small shells.   Sometimes, while walking on the beach, I find shells with holes naturally worn into them, but you can buy shells buy shells with drilled holes.  Usually these holes are too small to fit yarn through, even with a threader, so I put a small diameter jump ring through the holes and then I can put the yarn through the larger jump ring.

Some Bead and Charm Ideas
(Click to see on Amazon)

 

Other Decoration Ideas 

And a few practical considerations

You can add lots of other decorations as well. You could use decorative tape, paint, ribbons...whatever you can think of.  You can even carve patterns in your stick if you like to whittle. Skies the limit!

But whatever you do keep practicality in mind. Make sure to leave a smooth surface to hold (or a soft one). Don't put hanging beads and baubles where it will hit your hand as you walk. Be careful of putting paint where you will hold your stick as it might rub off over time (stains might work better). And make sure that whatever you decorate with, it's able to withstand a little weather and wear.


Tips for Group Projects

I originally did this project for our church's Vacation Bible School.   Doing this with a larger group is different than doing it with just your own kids.   You can see my suggestions for doing this project with a large group over at my other blog here (just scroll past the how-to in the beginning, since you've already read that here).

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This has been shared on Encouraging Hearts and Home and Littles Learning Link Up.

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