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The TIME WARP TRIO lesson plans (one per episode) are geared to grades 4-6. Each one has a brief overview of the relevant historical time period, creative ways to help students get excited about history while they strengthen their academic skills, handouts, ideas about how to connect the lesson with what you are already teaching, NCSS and NCTE/IRA curriculum standards alignments, and theme-related books and Web links. Note: Books and Links contains the same recommendations as in the lesson plans.
PDF files can be viewed and printed using the free Adobe Reader. For more specific times and places, as well as a summary of the activities, please see our detailed listing of these lesson plans below.
| TIME | LESSON PLAN | EPISODE | PLACE |
| Prehistory | Neanderthals | The Caveman Catastrophe | Europe |
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| Ancient History |
Ancient Egypt | Tut Tut | Egypt |
| Ancient Babylon | The Seven Blunders of the World | Babylon | |
| Ancient Olympics | My Big Fat Greek Olympics | Greece | |
| Gladiators | See You Later, Gladiator! | Rome | |
| China | Wushu Were Here | China | |
| India | Dude, Where's My Karma? | India | |
| The Maya | Me Oh Maya | Mexico | |
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| 1000-1500s | Vikings | Viking It and Liking It | Greenland |
| Genghis Khan | You Can't, But Genghis Khan | Mongolia | |
| Medieval Scotland | Plaid to the Bone | Scotland | |
| Leonardo da Vinci | Breaking the Codex | Italy | |
| Ottoman Empire | Harem Scare 'em | Ottoman Empire | |
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| 1600-1700s | Samurai | Sam Samurai | Japan |
| Colonial Africa | Jinga All the Way | Africa | |
| Peter the Great | What's So Great About Peter? | Russia | |
| Pirates | The Not-So-Jolly-Roger | U.S.A. | |
| Easter Island | Birdman or Birdbrain? | Rapa Nui | |
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| 1800s | Lewis and Clark | Lewis and Clark... | U.S.A. |
| Napoleon | Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba | France | |
| Frankenstein | Nightmare on Joe's Street | Switzerland | |
| Old West | The Good, The Bad, and the Goofy | U.S.A. | |
| Inventors | Hey Kid, Want to Buy a Bridge? | U.S.A. | |
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| 20th Century & Beyond |
South Pole | Break an Egg | Antarctica |
| Amelia Earhart | The High and the Flighty | U.S.A. | |
| The Future | 2105 | U.S.A. | |
Many of the characters and time periods portrayed in the shows are ones you already teach. You can use these episodes and activities to add pizzazz to your lessons. For those shows that involve characters, settings, or eras you are less likely to teach, you can use these shows to engage students in historical inquiry, challenge them to learn new ideas and create unique games and projects for extra credit.
Students will also enjoy visiting the online TIME WARP TRIO Adventure each week to learn more about the people, places, and events featured in each show. Historical information, in the guise of clever and fun games, is presented in the time-travelers' guide, Plentifax 487, and in Put It Back, Jack! Students can also determine the course of their own adventure in Green Mist Mysteries, become Sound Detectives, get to know key figures in Who's Who, and more.
DETAILED LISTING
Neanderthals Lesson Plan (847K)
Setting: Prehistoric Era. Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal camps.
Activities: Students create a timeline of prehistory and research and learn about prehistoric animals.
Related Episode: The Caveman Catastrophe
Ancient Egypt Lesson Plan (528K)
Setting: Ancient Egypt, 1500 B.C.
Activities: Students use their knowledge of gods and goddesses to make trading cards in "Egyptian Trading Cards," and create a picture postcard with hieroglyphics in "Postcard to Your Mummy."
Related Episode: Tut Tut
Ancient Babylon Lesson Plan (588K)
Setting: Babylon, 580 B.C.
Activities: Students research and learn to write their names in different languages. Students also learn about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and present their information to the class.
Related Episode: The Seven Blunders of the World
Ancient Olympics Lesson Plan (446K)
Setting: Greece, 404 B.C.
Activities: Students become more familiar with Greek tales and myths and explore their influence on modern popular culture. Students also take a class survey about the pentathlon and create their own mock Olympic games.
Related Episode: My Big Fat Greek Olympics
Gladiators Lesson Plan (621K)
Setting: Ancient Rome, A.D. 120
Activities: In "Let the Games Begin!" students identify, compare, and contrast facts and fiction about Roman gladiators and then write a newspaper article. Students then use metaphors to describe gladiators in "Gladiator Step Book."
Related Episode: See You Later, Gladiator!
China Lesson Plan (456K)
Setting: Baigu Shu, China, A.D. 621
Activities: Students explore topics such as martial arts, Shaolin monks, and the Tang dynasty as they create an ABC chart about China. Students also will create a story screen about famous Chinese leaders or Chinese science and technology.
Related Episode: Wushu Were Here
India Lesson Plan (710K)
Setting: India, A.D. 720
Activities: Students research and create a Book of Knowledge about India and they spend time learning about games from various cultures.
Related Episode: Dude, Where's My Karma?
The Maya Lesson Plan (468K)
Setting: Mexico, 1000
Activities: Students create a Venn diagram comparing Mayan ring-ball and American basketball in "Basketball Rules." They then become sportswriters and create headlines about the ring-ball game in "Headlines!"
Related Episode: Me Oh Maya
Vikings Lesson Plan (432K)
Setting: Nova Scotia, 1001
Activities: Students describe cultural artifacts in "Living Commercials" and test their knowledge about Vikings in "Viking Jeopardy!"
Related Episode: Viking It and Liking It
Genghis Khan Lesson Plan (416K)
Setting: Mongolia, 1170
Activities: Students explore historical perspectives in "Poems for Two Voices" and the complexities of creating laws in "No Vehicles in the Park."
Related Episode: You Can't, but Genghis Khan
Medieval Scotland Lesson Plan (439K)
Setting: Scotland, 1338
Activities: Students learn about Lady Agnes Randolph and other heroic women throughout history and then present their findings to the class. Also, students learn what it was like to live and work in a medieval castle and then write a journal entry about it.
Related Episode: Plaid to the Bone
Leonardo da Vinci Lesson Plan (535K)
Setting: Florence, Italy circa 1503
Activities: Students copy Leonardo's special writing technique and create an advertisement in honor of one of his inventions or innovations.
Related Episode: Breaking the Codex
Ottoman Empire Lesson Plan (705K)
Setting: Ottoman Empire, 1536
Activities: Students create a class newspaper about daily life in the Ottoman Empire and students learn about the history of Turkish rugs as they design one, themselves.
Related Episode: Harem Scare' em
Samurai Lesson Plan (708K)
Setting: Japan, 1618
Activities: Students use the haiku form to write a cooperative poem in "Write a Renga" and use kamishibai (Japanese storytelling cards) to present a report on 17th century Japan.
Related Episode: Sam Samurai
Colonial Africa Lesson Plan (403K)
Setting: Angola, 1624
Activities: Students expand their knowledge of women in history month in "Women of the World," and learn about a great warrior queen in "Royal Diary."
Related Episode: Jinga All the Way
Peter the Great Lesson Plan (521K)
Setting: Russia, 1698
Activities: Students learn the origin of the name of their city or town. Students also write a "Bio Poem" about an historical figure.
Related Episode: What's So Great about Peter?
Pirates Lesson Plan (606K)
Setting: North Carolina, 1718
Activities: Students send a pirate postcard in "Postcard from the High Seas" and investigate the rules of being a pirate in "Articles of Agreement."
Related Episode: The Not-So-Jolly Roger
Easter Island Lesson Plan (555K)
Setting: Rapa Nui, 1765
Activities: Students become detectives as they research various theories about Rapa Nui. Students also use what they learn about rongorongo, a written language using symbols, to develop a symbol to represent themselves.
Related Episode: Birdman or Birdbrain?
Lewis and Clark Lesson Plan (602K)
Setting: Northern Rockies, 1805
Activities: In "Back to Back," students use descriptive language to identify objects. For "Who Am I?" they create biography posters.
Related Episode: Lewis and Clark...and Jodie, Freddi, and Samantha
Napoleon Lesson Plan (446K)
Setting: France, 1815
Activities: Students explore palindromes to build their understanding and appreciation for how words work. Students also make plans for a French cafe, bistro, or restaurant.
Related Episode: Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba
Frankenstein Lesson Plan (480K)
Setting: Switzerland, 1816
Activities: Students work together to create an eponym dictionary and they use their imaginations to create their own "monsters."
Related Episode: Nightmare on Joe's Street
Old West Lesson Plan (419K)
Setting: The Old West, 1868
Activities: Students learn about cattle drives in "Cowboy Employment Agency" and use their knowledge about the West to write a diary entry in "Go West!"
Related Episode: The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy
Inventors Lesson Plan (569K)
Setting: New York, 1877
Activities: Students create a television ad describing an important invention in "Infomercial" and dream up their own inventions in "Invention Convention."
Related Episode: Hey Kid, Want to Buy a Bridge?
South Pole Lesson Plan (504K)
Setting: Antarctica, 1911
Activities: Students research Antarctic animals and create a diorama and fact sheet to present to the class. Students also explore the personal journals of the explorers and then write a diary entry of their own.
Related Episode: Break an Egg
Amelia Earhart Lesson Plan (427K)
Setting: U.S.A., 1937
Activities: Students learn about women aviators and act out a talk show-style interview with one of them. Students also will learn about Amelia Earhart's groundbreaking flights as they plot them on a world map.
Related Episode: The High and the Flighty
The Future Lesson Plan (569K)
Setting: New York City, 2105
Activities: In "Back to the Future," students write or draw their vision of the future. In "The Museum of the Future," they create an exhibit based on a passage from a science fiction book.
Related Episode: 2105
