Our Cuneiform Activity
This activity offered numerous benefits to the kids' learning process, including:
- Experiential Learning: This hands-on activity allowed the students to understand how cuneiform writing was created. They experienced first-hand the physical efforts required, the intricacies of the system, and the time-consuming nature of the process, which is something that just reading or hearing about it wouldn't offer.
- Understanding Context: By actually replicating the cuneiform writing process, the students might have gained a deeper understanding of the historical context. For instance, the limitations of the medium might have shown them why certain symbols look the way they do, or why cuneiform writing evolved in a certain way.
- Engagement and Interest: This kind of active participation in the learning process makes the subject more engaging and exciting, which in turn makes the information more memorable. By doing something hands-on, students could better associate their actions and experiences with the academic concepts being taught.
- Retention: Experiential learning is proven to enhance knowledge retention. The physical act of making these tablets will create a stronger memory of the learning experience, making it easier for students to recall the knowledge later.
- Empathy and Cultural Understanding: By immersing themselves in this ancient practice, students can develop a more empathetic understanding of the people and culture they're studying. It allows them to connect more personally with a time and place that might otherwise seem distant and abstract.
- Cross-Disciplinary Learning: The activity not only teaches history, but it can also touch upon areas such as art (craftsmanship of symbols, clay tablets), science (the drying process of clay), and linguistics (understanding the cuneiform script).
