Expanding the Ancient World Workshop

This workshop will take place online; a Zoom link will be provided via email to registered participants.

Registration is required at THIS LINK.

Expanding the Ancient World is a series of professional development workshops and online resources for teachers. Keyed to the NYC Department of Education Social Studies Scope and Sequence, this program is designed to offer K-12 educators opportunities to develop their knowledge of the ancient world and to provide classroom-ready strategies for teaching the past with reliable sources. Featuring inquiry-based workshops, flexible lesson plans, and up-to-date research, Expanding the Ancient World aims to equip teachers with information and skills that they can share with their students. CTLE credits will be offered to New York State teachers.

This workshop is designed for high-school educators seeking to incorporate archaeological evidence into their teaching of the ancient Mediterranean in concrete, accessible ways. It introduces ceramics as a uniquely powerful category of material culture for classroom use: abundant, visually legible, and deeply informative about trade, technology, daily life, and social organization.

The core of the workshop consists of a ready-to-use lesson plan centered on Roman terra sigillata, using this widely distributed ceramic ware from the Roman Empire as a case study for teaching students how archaeologists reconstruct economic systems, production, and connectivity across the Roman world. Participants will work through classroom-ready activities that guide students in observing, classifying, and interpreting ceramic evidence, mirroring the basic analytical steps used by archaeologists.

In addition, the workshop provides adaptable background materials and comparative examples from other major ceramic traditions of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East (including Greek painted pottery and other widely circulated wares), allowing teachers to modify or extend the lesson to fit different chronological periods, geographic regions, and curricular needs. Throughout, the emphasis is on using objects to teach historical thinking in an active-learning oriented classroom.

Participants will leave with a complete lesson plan, supporting resources, and a flexible framework for integrating archaeological ceramics into existing world history curricula.

Workshop led by Dylan Winchell (PhD Candidate, ISAW).

Participants will receive 1.5 CTLE hours.

If you have any questions regarding the Expanding the Ancient World program please email ETAW@nyu.edu.

Please check isaw.nyu.edu for event updates.

ISAW is committed to providing a positive and educational experience for all guests and participants who attend our public programming. We ask that all attendees follow the guidelines listed in our community standards policy.