Back to School Ancient History Pre-Test & Post-Test Lesson Plan

Save yourself some time and use a ready-made pre-test at the beginning of the year to find out what your students already know about Ancient History. There are 2 versions: Version 1 covers Prehistory and the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome; and Version 2 includes those topics plus Ancient India, Ancient China, and a question about major world religions in the ancient world.

Then, at the end of the year, you can give your students the post-test versions to see how much they have learned. A Challenge handout for both versions is included for early finishers, or you can use it as an additional activity with all your students.

✓ Please note:

* This resource is included in a money-saving Back to School Bundle, which you can find HERE.

* It's also available in a money-saving Prehistory & Ancient History Bundle with 4 other resources, which you can find HERE.

* A Boom Cards™ version of this resource is also available; you can find it HERE.

Resource at a Glance:

★ What will students learn/do?

Students take a short test to find out what they already know about ancient history, then take the same test at the end of the year to see what they learned.

★ Who is it for?

All students, though English Language Learners at beginning and low-intermediate language proficiency levels will need some support to do the tests.

★ How does it help teachers?

* Detailed instructions in the lesson plan tell you how to administer the tests.

* Ready-made pre- and post-assessments just need to be distributed to students.

* The challenge handout keeps early finishers occupied or it can be used as an assignment for the whole class.

What educators who have used this resource say about it:

♥ "This is a fun way to get kids started!" -- A buyer

♥ "Awesome product!" -- Rachel A.

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What you get in this product:

★ A table of contents for quick reference (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher page with background information (1 page)

★ A lesson plan with instructions on how to administer the tests and evaluate the writing (2 pages)

★ WIDA Model Performance Indicators (1 page)

★ Page listing the lesson objectives, in color and black-and-white (2 pages)

★ A cover page listing the topics on Version 1 of the pre-test and post-test (1 page)

★ Pre-test in Version 1: 9 questions total (1 page)

★ Post-test in Version 1: 9 questions total (1 page)

★ Answer key for Version 1 (1 page)

★ Challenge handout for Version 1, in color and black-and-white, with answer key (3 pages)

★ A cover page listing the topics on Version 2 of the pre-test and post-test (1 page)

★ Pre-test in Version 2: 13 questions total (1 page)

★ Post-test in Version 2: 13 questions total (1 page)

★ Answer key for Version 2 (1 page)

★ Challenge handout for Version 2, in color and black-and-white, with answer key (3 pages)

More Info:

The 2-page lesson plan explains how to administer the pre-test, specifies what you should tell your students who will take the pre-test, and offers suggestions for supporting students who are at lower levels of reading ability or English language proficiency. The pre-test does not take a lot of class time to administer and can be used with both ELLs and native English-speaking students. Answer keys for both versions are included along with suggestions for how to assess the response to the writing question.

Version 1 of the pre-test has 8 multiple-choice questions and 1 open-ended response question.

Version 2 has 11 multiple-choice questions and 1 open-ended response question.

There is a "Challenge handout" for students who finish early, which asks students to match pictures representing each civilization with the names of civilizations provided in a word bank. There are 2 versions of this handout, depending on which pre-test is used, and both versions come in color and black-and-white and have answer keys. If you don’t use it to keep early finishers busy until everyone has completed the pre-test, you may want to use it at the end of the year as another type of assessment to see what your students have learned.

Example WIDA Model Performance Indicators (MPIs) are included as well in this product for teachers who work in WIDA Consortium states.

I used these pre-tests and post-tests every year with my 6th and 7th grade English Language Learners who were learning about Ancient History in their Social Studies classes but this resource is appropriate for use by all students, not just ELLs. It was interesting to compare my students’ responses at the end of the year with their responses on their pre-tests!

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You might also be interested in these resources:

★ Back to School Archeology Lesson Plan with Writing Task

★ Prehistory Zoom Backgrounds (Distance Learning)

★ Mesopotamia Zoom Backgrounds (Distance Learning)

★ Ancient Egypt Zoom Backgrounds (Distance Learning)

★ Ancient India BUNDLE: Vocabulary & Charts about Empires, Religions & People (digital version included)

★ Chinese Dynasties, Emperors & Philosophers: Charts, Task Cards & Puzzles (digital version included)

★ End of Year Persuasive Writing Activity: Ancient and World History (digital version included)

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Thank you and happy teaching!

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