Middle School African History Activity
A Hands-On Social Studies Lesson About Ancient Aksum
Jun 24, 2009
The kingdom of Aksum was located in northeast Africa, in present day Eritrea and Ethiopia. This ancient African kingdom developed a unique architecture that used stone to create buildings still standing today. One notable example is the Church of St. George at Lalibela. The entire building is carved out of one piece of solid rock.
For middle school students, simply reading about this World Heritage Site will not give them an understanding of the difficulty of this feat. But asking students to undertake a similar challenge as the original builders of this church will get them thinking about the accomplishments of this kingdom.
Learning About Ancient Aksum
For the ancient Aksumite architects and builders who had the responsibility for building this church, mistakes were not an option. This lesson recreates the challenges these people faced when carving an entire building from rock. Students will also gain an appreciation and understanding of the ways ancient peoples used natural resources.
Students will accomplish three objectives. They will:
- Describe Aksum's architectural accomplishments.
- Understand how local resources were used in building construction.
- Analyze Aksumite building methods.
Recreating the Church of St. George at Lalibela
The materials for this lesson are muffins, plastic knives and paper plates. Each student should have their own muffin but it does not have to be one of the large, bakery style muffins. Sara Lee or Little Debbie brand muffins are smaller, cheaper and work just as well. Another economic option is to bake muffins at home. Students will use plastic knives to carve their churches and ordinary paper plates will help contain the mess.
Pass out materials to the class and explain that the muffins are actually pieces of stone and students, just like the Aksumites, are responsible for shaping a church out of their "stone" muffin. Stress that students must be very careful because they will not be able to correct any mistakes. Once they carve away a piece of muffin, there is no way to reattach it. An optional requirement that adds to the challenge is to require students to carve a cross somewhere on their church, since a cross in a symbol of Christianity.
Give students two minutes of brainstorming time when they should study their muffin and visualize the building they would like to carve. After this time expires, students may begin shaping their churches. Depending on the size of the muffins, students will need between 15 and 30 minutes. The teacher should circulate to encourage and ask questions so students are also analyzing their experience as they carve.
Understanding African History
The teacher should call a two minute warning and when time expires, all students must put down their carving tools. Students may clean up their scraps by eating them or throwing them away. Then students display their churches at their desk and the teacher gives two minutes for a walking tour around the room to view everyone's creations. Last, students may eat their churches!
The following questions will help students reflect on their experiences and assess whether or not objectives were met.
- What was difficult about carving your church? What was easy?
- Did you make any mistakes? How did you deal with them?
- How is this kind of construction different than modern day construction?
- Is it easier or harder to build this way?
- Why aren't churches or buildings made in this way anymore?
- Why didn't Aksumites make churches out of wood?
- What skills would a builder need to construct a church in this way?
- Are there any nearby cultures Aksumite builders may have learned from?
- If you had the chance, what questions would you ask an Aksumite builder?
Student Builders
Ancient Aksumites used unique and highly skilled methods to create buildings out of the surrounding landscape. By substituting muffins for stone, students can experience the same challenges faced by the builders and architects of this ancient kingdom. Plus, students will enjoy eating their creations as soon as the lesson is done!
