Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE ^® Buried by Vesuvius

Warm up:

Challenge pairs or small groups of students to make lists of ten fun facts about volcanoes, Vesuvius, or ancient Rome. Post these for all to share. Students may wish to illustrate their lists.

Label a chart or the blackboard with two titles:

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF VESUVIUS ERUPTION? And WHAT DO WE WANT TO FIND OUT?

Brainstorm with the students and list known information under the first title and questions or topics under the second title. Keep as a guide for students during reading. If possible, arrange a further reading and exploration corner with books and magazines (see list on page 42 for ideas) about volcanoes, Vesuvius, and Roman history and culture of the 1st Century AD. Encourage students to explore the text and images in their free time.

Vesuvius Erupts, pp. 3-7

1. Research and write short biographies of Pliny the Younger and Pliny the Elder, or
2. Perform a skit showing how these two observers reacted to the eruption of Vesuvius and what they did (use directions on page 13 for costumes), or
3. Visit The Philodemus Project Web site and give a short oral report on what you learn to the class.

Meet the People of Herculaneum, pp. 8-13

Read for Information (including sidebars):

1. Who lived in the single family dwellings of Herculaneum? (father, mother, children; sometimes grandparents, other relatives, pets)
2. How was an army diploma made? (Two rectangular bronze plates were bound with bronze wire and had witness seals)
3. What did the army diploma do? (offered proof of honorable service and granted Roman citizenship to military veterans)
4. Who maintained the houses in Herculaneum? (slaves)
5. What was the Latin name of the father in a Roman household? (paterfamilias)
6. What did the paterfamilias do during the day? (He worked to support his household and socialized outside the house.)
7. List three ways in which Herculaneum typical of Roman towns? (It had public baths for bathing and exercise; it had permanent government buildings such as the law courts or basilica; it had a public marketplace or forum; it had a theatre.)
8. What were the men's fashions in Herculaneum? (They wore tunics with belts, short boots or sandals, cut their hair short and shaved; for dressy occasions they wore a toga which wrapped over their tunic and could be pulled over their heads in a hood.)
9. What did the mothers do during the day? (They ran the household or supervised servants and slaves in their chores; some worked outside the house as saleswomen or nurses.)
10. What were the women's fashions? (Loose fitting dresses attached at the shoulders with fibulae or safety pins; married women wore an overgarment called a stola and sometimes covered their heads with a broad piece of overgarment called the palla, and enjoyed wearing jewelry; hairdos included buns and braids; cosmetics and perfume were worn.)

ESSAY: Compare and contrast the Roman household of AD 79 with the contemporary American household.

ART: Make paper dolls with Roman clothes and demonstrate Roman clothing, with its Latin names, to a younger class or make a diorama of a Roman classroom.

Who's Who Among the Gods? pp. 14-15

Have students work in pairs to do the activity in the article and check their answers against the key.

If Rooms Could Talk, pp. 16-18; Rebuilding the Past, pp. 24-27; 'Lustrous' Gardens, pp. 28-30; & The Sculptor's Skills, pp. 34-37

Cooperative learning/Model Building: Divide the class into small groups. Have students read the articles. Then have each group choose and decorate a room of a Roman house with mosaic or painted designs and build appropriate furniture, using a shoebox as the frame. Place the shoebox rooms around an open area, the atrium, to create a model of a Roman house. Some groups may choose to design a small family altar, or lararium, the garden area, or statuary for display.

A Garden on the Wall, pp. 20-22

Questions for Discussion:

• Why is the work of a conservator important?
• How does a conservator stabilize frescos and complete the image?

Rebuilding the Past, pp. 24-27 & 'Lustrous' Gardens, pp. 28-30

DISCUSSION: Why was the garden area so important to the Roman people? How was the ancient Roman garden different from the contemporary American garden?

The Sculptor's Skills, pp. 34-37; Take a Closer Look, pp. 38 - 39; & Surrounded by Sculpture, p. 40

Through discussion, clarify with students the steps in carving marble and in using the lost-wax method of bronze casting. Encourage students to share their own experiences in making sculptures in art classes or viewing statues in museum visits.

DISCUSSION: What role did sculpture play in private and public life in 1st Century AD Italy?

Presenting a Collection, pp. 43-45 & Behind the Scenes, pp. 45-49

DISCUSSION: What are the advantages and disadvantages of presenting the Getty Collection thematically rather than chronologically or geographically? Which of the types of work done in the museum which would you prefer and why?

Additional Research Projects:

• Explore Roman attitudes toward death and the afterlife using the quote on p. 2 as a start.
• Research Roman toys and show how they were similar and different to current toys.
• Find out who the famous Roman playwrights were and what they wrote.
• Research the jobs of a conservator and a museum curator - what do they do, what education do they need, what salary can they expect, where might they work?

Wrap up:

Go back to the original list of WHAT DO WE WANT TO FIND OUT? Can students answer every question? Are there any questions which remain unanswered? Why?

OR

Use the various classroom and research projects to illustrate for another class or parents and friends what people have learned from the moment in time frozen by Vesuvius eruption and what archaeologists have learned from Herculaneum about ancient Roman life. Students may wish to dress up in Roman costume as they present their findings.

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Updated: 11/7/09 04:58 pm
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