An 80-minute sixth-grade lesson on understanding, building, and interpreting historical timelines, teaching BCE/CE, BC/AD, Circa, and Chronological Order, focusing on Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and global history.
In the AD/CE era, as time marches on towards today, the numbers get ________________ (larger / smaller).
Therefore, a Year like 2026 CE is ________________ (older / newer) than 1500 CE.
5 Part 5: Solving the Mystery of "Circa"
c.
The word "Circa" comes from Latin meaning ____________________.
Historians use it when they do not know the ______________ date of an event, so they use archaeological evidence to give an estimated guess.
Example: If a timeline says Mohenjo-Daro flourished c. 2600 BCE, what does it mean?
6 Part 6: Checking Your Map Skills
Q1: An archaeologist finds two artifacts. Artifact X is dated 1200 BCE. Artifact Y is dated 500 BCE. Which artifact is OLDER? Explain why.
Q2: How many years passed between King Hammurabi's Code (c. 1750 BCE) and the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza (c. 2560 BCE)? (Show your math work!)
MATH WORK AREA:
ANS: ________ YRS
Unit 1: Timeline Explorers Series Page 2 of 2
Example: 500 BCE to 500 CE = 1000 years.
Problem 1: How many years passed between Event A (Cuneiform Developed: c. 3400 BCE) and Event D (Code of Hammurabi: c. 1750 BCE)? Both are in BCE!
SHOW WORK AREA:
ANS: ________ YRS
Problem 2: How many years passed between Event E (Founding of Rome: 753 BCE) and Event F (Gutenberg Press: 1440 CE)? Notice: Different eras!
SHOW WORK AREA:
ANS: ________ YRS
Problem 3: An archaeologist in Rome discovers a tomb that was sealed in 250 BCE. How many years ago was this tomb sealed relative to today (use 2026 CE as today)?
SHOW WORK AREA:
ANS: ________ YRS AGO
4 Part 4: Cartographer's Analytical Log
Q1: Events A, B, and C all have "c." (circa) written before their dates, but Event F does not. Why do you think historians use "circa" for events in the very ancient past, but can be highly exact about the Gutenberg Press?
Q2: Imagine a country chose to use BC/AD for its history books, while a neighboring country chose BCE/CE. If both are looking at the Great Pyramid's construction, will they disagree on how many years ago it was built? Explain.
Unit 1: Time Cartography Labs Page 2 of 2
Part 1 Challenge: Eat Breakfast (2), Wake Up (1), Go to School (3).
Part 2: estimated birth of Jesus Christ. Before Anchor: backward. After Anchor: forward. Warning: 0 (Zero).
Part 5: "around" or "about". Blank 2: exact / precise.
Part 6 Q1: Artifact X (1200 BCE) is older because BCE dates count backward. 1200 BCE is 700 years further back in time than 500 BCE.
Part 6 Q2: 2560 BCE - 1750 BCE = 810 years.
Timeline Builders Worksheet Solution Key
Part 2: Visual Plotting Dots
Dot 1 (3400 BCE)
A
Dot 2 (3100 BCE)
B
Dot 3 (2600 BCE)
C
Dot 4 (1750 BCE)
D
Dot 5 (753 BCE)
E
Dot 6 (1440 CE)
F
Part 3: Calculating Temporal Distance
Problem 1 Solution: 3400 BCE - 1750 BCE = 1,650 Years (Subtract because both are BCE).
Problem 2 Solution: 753 BCE + 1440 CE = 2,193 Years (Add because they are in different eras).
Problem 3 Solution: 250 BCE + 2026 CE = 2,276 Years Ago (Add because BCE and CE are different eras).
Part 4: Cartographer's Analytical Log
Q1 Answer: We have precise records, written manuscripts, and official registries from 1440 CE because of widespread writing systems and historical printing. For extremely ancient times (e.g. 3400 BCE), we rely solely on archaeological excavation and carbon dating, which yields approximate windows, hence "circa".
Q2 Answer: No, they would not disagree on the amount of years. The timeline coordinates are exactly identical; only the labels differ. 2560 BC is the same absolute point on the human timeline as 2560 BCE. The physical duration of time elapsed remains unchanged.
