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Activity

Investigating the Cyrus Cylinder: K-W-L

Objective: Students will complete a K-W-L chart and Object Investigation of the Cyrus Cylinder to research the Achaemenid Persian empire and Cyrus the Great.

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The Cyrus Cylinder

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The Cyrus Cylinder
The Cyrus Cylinder
The Cyrus Cylinder, 539–538 BCE. Iraq, Achaemenid period (550–330 BCE). Baked clay. © Trustees of the British Museum.
The Cyrus Cylinder, 539–538 BCE. Iraq, Achaemenid period (550–330 BCE). Baked clay. © Trustees of the British Museum.

MATERIALS:

The Cyrus Cylinder: K-W-L Chart for each student (see downloads above)

Great Power, Great Choices (storytelling video)

Image and description of the Cyrus Cylinder

Rediscovering the Cyrus Cylinder: The Making of a Cultural Icon

Additional Materials:

Cyrus the Great and the Rise of the Persian Empire (talk)

PROCEDURES:

  1. Project an image of the Cyrus Cylinder and ask students to think about what they know (K) and what they want to know (W) about the Cyrus Cylinder (and/or Persian empire). Individually, students complete the K-W in the K-W-L chart.
  2. Show the storytelling video, Great Power, Great Choices. Invite students to add to their K-W-L chart.
  3. In pairs, students share their progress on their K-W-L chart and work together to complete the L column by reading Rediscovering the Cyrus Cylinder: The Making of a Cultural Icon.
  4. In pairs, students decide three ideas or facts that they think are most interesting about the Cyrus Cylinder and put each idea on a post-it.
  5. Student pairs share out their interesting facts while the teacher facilitates sorting into main categories.

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