Tag: test revision

Kyle’s remarkable creative timeline of the Stone Age. Thanks, Kyle!

“A test? But I’ve only been at high school for 3 weeks! What is that Ms Green thinking?”

Hmm, I know. That’s why you can be sure that this little test will be extremely straightforward. It will be a gentle baptism, not a baptism of fire. You will discover that tests are a cinch if you follow the cardinal rules. There are three of them.

1. Revise. “Well, obviously!” I hear my star 7X student say.

2. Read the question and answer it. “Oh my goodness, does she think we need to be told that?” says my hypothetical student, with asperity.

3. Answer the question comprehensively in order to gain all the marks allotted. “Hey, that might be useful advice. About time.”

Sorry for stating the obvious, 7X. But believe me, every year I mention these cardinal rules when I return the test to my students. Every year at least eight students in my class really needed to hear them before the test, not after. You see, I’m teaching you to sit tests as well as make remarkably thoughtful comments about history; after all, you don’t need much teaching in order to do that.

Now, the topics. I always give students ALL the topics well before the test, so that they can ace it. Our test won’t be until Tuesday 2 March. In the intervening week or so, you can make sure that all these topics are firmly woven into your brain cells. Here they are:

• BC, AD, BCE, CE, BP (Sounds like a petrol company! Don’t write that in the test though.)

• The Stone Age (use the quiz on this blog to help you revise – you can go to this quiz by clicking HERE)

• The life and death of the Neanderthals; comparisons between them and homo sapiens (us)

Summary: The Neanderthals appeared about 300,000 years ago and died out about 35,000 years ago. Their brains were larger than ours; they were strong and well-adapted to the ice ages; they made tools and they were effective hunters. Perhaps most interesting of all, they buried their dead and looked after the old and infirm. YET they did not survive.

Modern humans, called homo sapiens (wise or knowing man [person]) developed more sophisticated tools than the Neanderthals did. They were the first to create art works as far as we know.  They are generally believed to have developed more complex language skills than Neanderthals. They are the only hominid to farm and learn to write, but they did not begin to do so until long after the Neanderthals had become extinct. For most of their history (that’s our prehistory!) they were hunter-gatherers. That period and lifestyle lasted for almost 2 million years.

• The Old Stone Age (hunting and gathering) and the New Stone Age (farming and herding), as summarised below:

• The hunter-gatherer lifestyle which dominated human life from 2 million years ago until about 10.000 years ago, and continued in many parts of the world for much longer

Summary: People moved from place to place. In other words, they were nomads, who followed the migrating herds of wild animals and moved around to find wild plants. They hunted wild animals for meat and gathered wild foods such as berries, nuts, fruits, vegetables and eggs, using stone tools and weapons. Their lives would have been harsh and difficult at times.  They had to find food during the Ice Ages, suffer fractures and injuries caused by hunting and deal with constant uncertainties about food, especially in the less fertile areas.

• The farming and herding lifestyle that began to develop in the New Stone Age; advantages and disadvantages of each kind of lifestyle

Summary: Farming and herding began about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East and spread inexorably from there to Europe. It also began independently in Asia and the Americas a little later. It changed human societies and lifestyles in many ways. For instance, people could stay in one place and gradually build larger settlements.  People’s jobs began to vary more within more complex societies, with specialists such as builders, potters and leaders, etc. People began to have more possessions, which needed to be protected from theft and conquest. Since the land was being farmed intensively, it could support a denser population. In short, this change to farming and herding, many anthropologists believe, was the basis for more structured and more hierarchical societies.

• Primary and secondary sources in history **** (not done in class yet – DON’T PANIC!)

• Important events in the Stone Age as shown by your Stone Age timeline (you don’t need to look up any more)

Sarah’s stupendous walk through the Stone Age. Well done, Sarah!

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool

Sooner or later every teacher decides to foist a test on weary students who have just finished an assignment and might naturally expect some rest. To make the experience less painful, I am giving you all the topics that will be on the test. If you revise thoroughly, you will ace the test.

Topics:

• BC, AD, BCE and CE
• The Stone Age (use the quiz on this blog to revise)
• The Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age: differences between the two
• The hunter-gatherer lifestyle in contrast to the farming and herding lifestyle that began to develop in the New Stone Age
• Ancient Egypt
• The common people of ancient Egypt and their lives
• Farming, the Nile and the Nile’s seasons
• The power of the Pharaoh and the social hierarchy of ancient Egypt
• Writing – why it is important in a society
• Hieroglyphics
• Ancient Egyptian beliefs and religion
• Mummification

The test will be quite bearable, I promise!

Kind regards from Ros.

Some Hieroglyphic Help…

CLICK HERE to go to a site that explains the different kinds of signs used in hieroglyphics.

(http://www.eyelid.co.uk/hiero1.htm)

It lets you translate your name and send an e-postcard to a friend.