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Making History

Some say history is a ‘dead’ subject. Well, that may well be true. It’s equally true that good history teachers have a magic for bringing the dead back to life. And that’s exactly what history teacher Tom Ryan did when he taught a year 7 HUMS class how to make a mummy recently.

Forget PowerPoints, quizzes and worksheets. Think real world learning with ‘real’ ingredients, like spaghetti, jars and toilet paper. Give the kids the chance to hear the noise of ‘brains’ being removed from the body through the nasal passage, careful to leave the body clear of any soft tissue so it can dry out and be preserved for posterity. How DID they remove those parts from the body, and why? What better way to engage kids in the how and why of an ancient civilisation and culture than by problem solving how best to wrap a dead pharaoh? If there’s a better or more fun way, feel free to fill us in.

This is a history lesson these kids won’t be forgetting any time soon.