Watch a Video: What You Need to Know About Pompeii
Discuss: What is pyroclastic flow? What effect did it have on Pompeii?
Students will explain how artifacts reveal clues about the ancient city of Pompeii.
Lesson Plan - Secrets of Pompeii
Learning Objective
Students will explain how artifacts reveal clues about the ancient city of Pompeii.
Text Structure
Description, Cause and Effect
Content-Area Connections
World History, Earth Science
Standards Correlations
CCSS: RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.3, RI.4.4, RI.4.5, RI.4.6, RI.4.7, RI.4.8, RI.4.10, L.4.4, SL.4.1
NCSS: Time, Continuity, and Change
TEKS: Science 4.7
1. Preparing to Read
Watch a Video: What You Need to Know About Pompeii
Discuss: What is pyroclastic flow? What effect did it have on Pompeii?
Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.
Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about what makes Pompeii unique.
2. Close-Reading Questions
1. Explain what happened to the city of Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
When Mount Vesuvius erupted, a giant cloud of ash, stones, and toxic gases exploded into the sky. Soon the city was swallowed by a deadly mixture of hot gases, ash, and rocks. When the ash cooled, it hardened like concrete.
RI.4.3 EXPLAIN EVENTS
2. Why is Pompeii a unique archaeological site?
Pompeii was a busy city full of activity when the eruption happened, and its daily life was preserved by the ash. Archaeologist Steven Ellis says, “You get to see a city that was still pulsing with life.”
RI.4.1 TEXT EVIDENCE
3. Why does the author say there is “more to discover” in Pompeii?
The author says there is more to discover in Pompeii because about one-third of the city is still covered by up to 20 feet of rock and dirt.
RI.4.8 REASONS AND EVIDENCE
3. Skill Building
FEATURED SKILL: Analyze a Primary Source
Use the Skill Builder “Eyewitness to an Eruption” to have students read and analyze a primary source about the eruption.
RI.4.9 PAIRED TEXTS