Books that help us to understand the central idea

A Country Far Away
Nigel Gray, Philippe Dupasquier
Philippe Dupasquier (Illustrator)

Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 0531070247
Year of Publication: 1991

You & Me, Murrawee
Hashmi Kerri
Marshall Felicity (Ill.)
RRP $14.95
0140564993
Paperback, 32 pages
Published by Picture Puffin October 1999
'We walk this same brown earth - you and me, Murrawee ...' In this lyrical, beautifully observed picture book, we see through the eyes of a young girl camping on the river with her family, life as it would have been two hundred years ago.

'Form' questions to help our inquiry

What was it like then?
What did the people do?
Did they have any problems?
Did anything make life difficult?
What did they do in their free time?
What did they believe?
What did they value?
What language(s) did they speak?
Did they have a written language?
How did they behave towards each other?
What were they particularly good at?
Were they in contact with people outside their own group?
What resources did they have?
Did they use a number system?
What was the available technology?
Was there conflict?

From "Making the PYP Happen", page 65

What makes a civilisation?

What does civilisation mean?
What makes some countries "civilised" and other countries not "civilised"?
Why are some ancient people known as "ancient civilisation" and other ancient people not?
What features do "Ancient Civilisations" have in common?
What was needed to create a civilisation?

These are the fascinating questions that we will start to investigate over the next week or so. We'll do lots of research and discussion in order to try and find some answers.

Some websites that might help are:

A discovery of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece - British Museum
The Ancient World
Ancient Egypt - British Museum
The Roman Empire
Ancient Civilisations - British Museum ***** Top Site
Ancient China - British Museum
Ancient India - British Museum
Ancient Mesopotamia - British Museum