Neolithic Man Ideas For Primary School

[Khumbu8000]

Okay, I know very little about Neolithic man but have decided that my class next term, will be doing it as their topic, Long, Long ,Ago.

I teach Reception, so 4-5 yr olds. They have gutted and roasted mackerel on fires, made basic hurdles for fences etc and are pretty much up for anything.

I also teach in Devizes so Kennet Longbarrow, Avebury, and Stonehenge are all closeish.

i just wanted people to add to ideas;
cook pearl barley stew,
make charcoal,
make a wattle and daub hut,
lash together basic adzes,
cave paintings,
archaeological dig site in outside area, complete with pulleys, buckets etc
get people mad about prehistory to show off what they have made etc.

Please, please, any other suggestions?

 

[Toddy]

If you buy some fleece you can show them how to mould it around their feet and work it into felted 'shoes'. They're slippers really, but very comfortable. You can dye the wool too. Simple things like onion skins will give really good golds and rusts (if you add bark or oakgalls you'll get darker shades). Madder roots will give pinks and reds. Elderberries will give plum colours with vinegar, but that will turn blue/grey with soap. The reason I mention these dyes is that they are non toxic, don't need a mordant (though they do better with) and are safe for children to use.

I can send you some Soapwort roots that are just starting to sprout. If you pot them up and keep them well watered and in good light, then the leaves when crushed and rubbed up in warm water make a lovely greenish soap. It's non toxic, very gentle on the skin, but it cleans. It was the common laundry plant of the past.

Chestnuts do this too, but their milky water is toxic and it kills fish. Not advised.

Tracking is a good activity too, and they can make plaster casts of the tracks they find. Laying out a tray with a thin layer of damp clay near a bird feeder can often give a wide assortment of bird tracks quite quickly. If you leave it out over night you might get hedgehogs, or a cat too.

North, South, East and West.....follow the Sun, is a good concept to take on board at that age as well. Make a standing stone sundial.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[THOaken]

Making miniature stone monument models? I like the idea of having a square filled with a sort of turf material and the children can put in stones and design their own little Stonehenge or Ring of Brodgar.

 

[Harvestman]

A supervised forage for spring greens to make a salad.
Fire is your social hub, so stories around a fire. Natural firelighters and tinders.
Natural materials - fleece has already been mentioned, but fur, bone, antler, horn are all good.
Bead making with the materials above, threaded onto natural cordage.
Cordage making
Show them the range of creatures that used to live in the UK - bears, moose, lions, hyena, elephant, wolves, beavers etc
Dress them like a Neolithic person (as much as you can), and perhaps do a barefoot walk

 

[boatman]

Read up about the Neolithic as you would do for any subject you were attempting to teach. Activities without context are valueless.