Introduction to a "weird" language known by few people worldwide and still a bit mysterious...
Children decipher an authentic royal inscription.
Children learn to think differently in order to understand the message Gudea left to us.
The ideal session to start with:
✓ it places the children in a specific place at a certain time;
✓ it shows them how different the Sumerians were, yet close to them in some ways...
A step-by-step approach allows the children to understand the basic concepts of a difficult language.
Before reading the inscription, the introduction fits onto the level of the students:
Year 3-4:
focus on the statue itself to learn the features of Sumerian art: "what is fashionable in the time of Gudea?"
Year 5-6:
focus on some aspects of the Sumerian language: "words are all upside down!"
The content of the inscription tells the children about:
✓ the Sumerian king and his duties
✓ aspects of Sumerian religion
and shows them how to make history from the ancient sources.
