Ancient History: Questions and Answers by Capella provides a great answer and question format for information about many aspects of ancient civilizations. The book covers Ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome, Americas, Mesopotamia, Medieval Europs, China, Japan, and the Incas and Aztecs. It has a section for each area and then provides pictures, maps, drawings, and information in a question and answer format. One question for ancient Egypt is “Why is the Nile River known as the lifeline of Egypt?” Then it goes on to explain and gives nice pictures to go along with it. The book focuses the questions for each country on the way of life, food, politics, rulers, cultures, communities, and hobbies. For Ancient Greece the book talks a lot about the Olympics and the playwrighting that people did for fun. For a little history on Ancient China they talk about how the Chinese knew all about tea and that they used it for religious ceremonies but they also ate the tea leaves like vegetables! It is a very interesting books presented in a way that is easy for children to read.
Curriculum Connections
This book would be a great addition to the classroom. It certainly does not have all the information a teacher would want about these countries, as it only focuses on a few aspects of each. It would also be a good introduction to unique things ancient civilizations participated in to grab the students attention. There is information about Greece (VA SOL 3.1,3.4 a,b,c). The book shows pictures and maps of Rome as well as some of the architecture (VA SOL 3.1,3.4 a,b,c ). It also provides a great deal of information about China, where it is located, and the history of China (VA SOL 3.4 a,b,c). This book would be great for a read-pair-share or KWL.
Additional Resources
1. Egyptian Coloring Pages– This site has some coloring pages that really detail what Egyptians wore and how and where they lived.
2. Children’s Literature Resources– This site provides a whole unit on China. It gives many examples for additional children’s literature to use within a lesson plan. This plan is rather long-winded, but it has some good ideas to learn about the Chinese culture.
3. Ancient Rome and Greece lesson ideas– This site provides great ideas for the VA SOL 3.1. It gives great examples for teaching about Greece and Rome and their contributions to society.
4.Rome and Greece– This site provides GREAT pictures and simple words and maps for students.
General Information
Book: Ancient History: Questions and Answers
Author: Capella
Illustrator: Q2A India and Jane Hawkins
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing Limited
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 30
Grade Range: 2-3
ISBN: 978-1-84837-156-9