History 100: A 100 day history challenge

Task 2

Trace how farming led to towns

Source topic: the beginnings of farming. About 10,000 years ago, people in several parts of the world, separately, began planting crops and raising animals: wheat in the Middle East, rice in China, maize in Mexico, potatoes in the Andes. Using your source, write a chain of three steps on the back of your card showing how farming led to villages and then towns. Done when each step points to something in your source.

Why: Seeing the steps from planting crops to building towns explains where much of settled life began.

Task 2

Work out what early writing was used for

Source topic: the invention of writing. Writing was invented separately in a few places, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Mexico. In Mesopotamia it began as marks pressed into clay to keep track of grain and animals. Look closely at one example of early writing in your source and write on the back of your card who likely made it, what it records and what that tells you about the society. Three lines is done.

Why: Reading an object for clues about the people who made it is how historians work with very old evidence.

Task 2

Weigh the evidence about who built the pyramids

Source topic: the workers who built the Great Pyramid. It was built about 4,500 years ago. Archaeologists found the town where its workers lived, with bakeries and signs of medical care, which suggests organized crews rather than the enslaved crowds of old movies. On the back of your card, list two pieces of evidence your source gives and write one sentence on what they suggest about the workers. Done when both are named.

Why: Weighing physical evidence against popular myths helps you tell a well supported story from a familiar one.

Task 2

Explain how Polynesian wayfinders navigated

Source topic: Polynesian wayfinding. Over many centuries, Polynesian navigators settled islands across the Pacific, from Hawaii to New Zealand to Rapa Nui. They found their way by stars, ocean swells, clouds and birds, with no instruments. On the back of your card, explain two of these clues in your own words: what the navigator watched and what it told them. Done when both are explained.

Why: Explaining a skill in your own words shows whether you understood the source or only read it.

Task 2

Judge the fairness of three of Hammurabi's laws

Source topic: the laws of Hammurabi. About 3,700 years ago, the Babylonian king Hammurabi had nearly 300 laws carved on a tall stone for all to see. Punishments were harsh and depended on whether you were rich, poor or enslaved. Choose three laws in translation from your source. On the back of your card, write for each one who it protected and who it treated harshly. Done when all three are noted.

Why: Asking who a law protects and who it harms is a question you can bring to any law, old or new.

Task 2

Start your history timeline

Easy day. Draw a long line across a sheet of paper, or start a note, and place the topics from your Day 1 to 6 cards on it in order with their dates or periods. Leave lots of room, since review days will add more. Keep your history cards together in one envelope, box or notes folder named History cards.

Why: A timeline shows how separate stories connect across time.