Click here to display our home page

Lesson Ideas
Main Events
Putting Time In Perspective

Event Lists

I limit the event list to 5 or 6.  Too many and the calendar becomes crowded, minimizing the activity's effect.  If you like it and have more events that you want to use, wait a bit, then try it again with an additional set of 5 or 6.

Select events or people that will be highlighted in your class.   Doing the warm-up activity with them will give you some idea of what your students know about them going in.  Think of it as a small pre-test.

Here are some sample lists.

Set 1: Human Evolution from the         Ape-Human split

Scale

4,500,000

years =

365 days

Event

# of years ago

Australopithecus Afarensis

3,500,000

Homo Ergaster

1,700,000

Homo Neanderthalis

200,000

Homo Sapiens

120,000

student's birthdate

16

 

Set 2: US History (1st semester)

Scale

506

years =

365 days

Event

# of years ago

Columbus lands on Hispaniola

506

Jamestown settled

391

Declaration of Independence

222

14th amendment ratified

130

student's birthdate

16

 

Set 3: World History (1st semester)

Scale

5,000

years =

365 days

Event

# of years ago

Ramses III ascends throne

3,196

Homer writes the Iliad

2,848

Christian (Common) Era begins

1,998

Columbus lands on Hispaniola

506

student's birthdate

16

 

Set 4: Cosmic Evolution

Scale

14,500,000,000

years =

365 days

Event

# of years ago

the Big Bang

14,500,000,000

formation of the Earth

4,500,000,000

Dinosaurs die off

65,000,000

ape-human split

4,500,000

student's birthdate

16


return to the Putting Time In Perspective page

copyright © 1998-2004 classroomtools.com. All Rights Reserved.
original web posting: Wednesday, September 9, 1998
last modified: Tuesday, March 16, 2004