Year 5/6K at Rochedale State School have been doing a theme on the volcano Vesuvius, situated in the Bay of Naples in Italy, using as the focus text, the book "The Secrets of Vesuvius." The class did many interesting activities for the theme and it was a wonderful learning experience. Please select from below for more.

Intro - Excavating Pompeii

An Erupting Volcano

A Volcanic Feast

24 August, 79 AD (Kids' work)

About Vesuvius

Vesuvius Links

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EXCAVATING POMPEII: Late one summer's night in AD 79, a young couple sat cross-legged on a beach in the Bay of Naples, watching the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that had started several hours earlier. Along with about 300 other inhabitants of the wealthy fishing town of Herculaneum, they thought the sea could be their route to safety. Seconds later they were dead. The couple lay solidified on the sand, the man's arm still wrapped around his love. They stayed that way for 1 700 years.

Being an archaeologist: An archaeologist is a person who studies people from the past and their cultures. In order to study the people of Herculaneum and Pompeii, archaeologists carefully uncovered the skeletons and other remains. These can be used to tell about the people and the way they lived. By analysing a skeleton, scientists can discover the person's sex, race and height. This information along with many other interesting details, helps to tell about the people of Herculaneum and Pompeii who lived more than 2 000 years ago. These photos show the children of Year5/6K becoming archaeologists.

Working in groups of 4 or 5, each had a tray in which there were some mysterious items to excavate.

As archaeologists, the students had to work carefully with brushes so they didn't damage the objects in the soil.

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