Over the past week, our sixth graders have been fully immersed in the world of Ancient Mesopotamia. To better understand one of humans earliest civilizations, students explored the fascinating development of written language — beginning with Cuneiform, the world’s first known writing system.

Using a translation key, students practiced deciphering Mesopotamian vocabulary such as city-state, Sumerians, and Mesopotamia in authentic Cuneiform. Once they had mastered the basics, they were challenged to invent their own pictographic writing systems.

The classroom quickly transformed into an archaeological site as students looked at their messages and took on the roles of anthropologists and archaeologists, attempting to decode one another’s scripts. There was laughter, debate, and plenty of “Aha!” moments as they discovered just how complex communication can be without a shared language!

To conclude this hands-on exploration, students examined Hammurabi’s Code, one of the oldest sets of written laws in history. Each student selected a law and inscribed it onto their own clay tablet, bringing this ancient legal system to life in a literal and tangible way.

We invite you to stop by the Humanities classroom to see their incredible clay tablets on display!