Key Question: How do we know so much about where Sappho used to live? 

Ancillary Question 1: Who was Sappho and where did she live (Pompeii)? 

The children looked at Sappho, a picture which was found nearly 2,000 years ago. 

A fresco- a picture painted onto a wall in a house and we don't know her real name. So it was decided that she would be call Sappho a name given to her by the person who discovered the fresco on the wall. 

We looked carefully at her picture and raised questions as to who she was and where she came from. 

We discovered that she was a wealthy woman that lived in the Ancient city of Pompeii. 

Key Question: How do we know so much about where Sappho used to live? 

Today we had a special visit from Sappho who took questions to discover more about her and where she used to live. 

Key Question: How do we know so much about where Sappho used to live? 

Ancillary Question 3: What happened to Pompeii on August 24th AD 79? 

The children have been learning about Vesuvius. We discovered how it erupted, causing clouds of ash, huge rocks which hurled into the sky and red-hot lava poured out the volcano along with clouds of poisonous gas. The children learnt how the people of Pompeii were terrified which then related back to Sappho. 

The children had a go at labelling the volcano to show their understanding of how it erupted and what happened. 

Ancillary Question 4: What evidence exists of what happened at Pompeii on August 24th AD 79? 

The children discovered how no photographs were taken at the time of the eruptions and destruction of Pompeii. They understood that if they were paintings, sculptures or drawings they did not survive. 

The children have been exploring the distinction between primary and secondary evidence to know which is more trustworthy. It is important for historians to rely on first-hand experiences of eyewitnesses or artefacts that have been discovered in Pompeii. 

The children created paintings to show a representation of what the eruption would of looked like if they had seen it for themselves. 

Key Question: How do we know so much about where Sappho used to live?
Ancillary Question 5: Why do we know so much about where Sappho used to live?

The children looked at various evidence based resources. They discussed their learning of primary and secondary evidence. The children annotated the different artefacts to decide if they were primary or secondary evidence. The children had lots of fun looking at the different evidence. 

Key Question: How do we know so much about where Sappho used to live?
Ancillary Question 5: Why do we know so much about where Sappho used to live?

The children looked at different artefacts. The children made predictions to see if they could identify them correctly. 

The children discussed the artefacts and gave reasons as to why they would help archaeologist discover more findings from Pompeii. 

The children had a go at sketching the artefacts, looking closely at the detail to create a precise drawing of evidence. 

Key Question: How do we know so much about where Sappho used to live?
Ancillary Question 6: How did the archaeologists know that people had been buried under the ash? 

The children looked at evidence which showed the casts of people from Pompeii. The children learnt how the ash from the volcano had created a cast around the bodies. They watched a video which showed archaeologists using 'plaster of Paris' to create cast for evidence. The children were fascinated to see what had been discovered. 

The children then created their own Pompeii cast using 'plaster of Paris'. First they used playdough and different figures to create moulds. Once they were complete they poured 'plaster of Paris' into the moulds and then left them to harden. 

The children were amazed to find the details and shapes from the casts.