CALENDAR JIGSAW

1/9/15

WARM-UP 1/9/15

Think about what you currently know about Muslim, Jewish, Chinese, and Mayan holidays and/or calendars.

BE PREPARED TO SHARE

LEARNING TARGET: I can explain that the idea of time is man-made concept. All societies need to account for time in some way. Different cultures created different calendar systems that suited their needs.

DISTRIBUTE: Calendar Systems Chart Work together to complete the first row of the charts

on the Gregorian calendar.

Name /Hour

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #4 Gregorian

Origin Story:

• Created by Pope Gregory in the 1500”s

• Based on Roman calendar

• Begins with birth of Jesus

Current Year:

• 2015

Lunar or Solar:

• Solar (based on the Earth revolving around the sun and a day as a rotation of the earth)

How many days/months per year:

• 365 days per year

• Leap year has 366 days

• 12 months per year (vary in length)

Is it used today?

• Adopted globally

Other:

Used BC to denote years before the birth of Jesus, and AD to denote years after. For Example, today is 2015 AD

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #6

PURPOSE: Not all calendars are the same and that some societies have created different versions.

JIGSAW Activity to complete the remainder of the “Calendar Systems” chart.

• Divide into 8 separate groups – Number off by 8’s

Each group will have a reading assignment

• 1’s & 5’s “The Muslim or Islamic Calendar”

• 2’s & 6’s “The Hebrew or Jewish Calendar”

• 3’s & 7’s “The Chinese Calendar”

• 4’s & 8’s “The Mayan Calendar”

* RANDOMLY PASS OUT NUMBERED PAPERS

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #6

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #6

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #6

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #6

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #6

1. Each group will become the “experts” of your assigned calendar reading and complete your section of the handout, “Calendar Systems”

2. Read with your group and fill out the chart

3 Discuss your answers with your “expert” group

4. When your “expert” group is finished - you will meet in new groups (1-4 together) & (5-8 together)

7. Each new group will have an expert from the Muslim, Jewish, Chinese, and Mayan calendars.

8. New groups will share and fill in the results of their investigations with their new group members so that everyone can complete the “Calendar Systems” chart.

CLEAN UP AT END OF CLASS:

• PUT CALENDAR CHART IN BASKET

• PUT NUMBERED PAPER BESIDE THE BASKET

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #7

Discuss similarities and differences in the calendar systems:

1. Compare the similarities and differences among the calendars.

2. Describe the most significant difference you observed. Why do you think it was the most significant?

3. Predict what problems historians might have in creating accounts of events when there are so many variations of the years.

4. Explain how we might solve the problem of so many different calendars.

Tools Historians Use to Organize and Analyze Information #7

CONSIDER THIS:

• The ease of communication has led most of the world to use the Gregorian calendar to designate days, months, and years when dating event and creating accounts.

• Muslim, Jewish, Chinese, and Mayan holidays are based on their respective calendars. They seem to “move” because we place them on a different calendar – the Gregorian calendar.