Lesson: Escape From Pompeii!

Ask students to think-pair-share about what they already know about Pompeii. Then play the video “What You Need to Know About Pompeii.” Afterward, ask students the following comprehension questions:

• What is Pompeii? (a city in Italy that was buried and preserved when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted)

• How do historians know so much about Pompeii? (They have found primary sources written about the eruption, such as a 17-year-old’s written account. Archaeologists have excavated the area to find clues about the city and the disaster.)

• How was the buried city of Pompeii discovered? (Workers were digging canals and found painted walls of the city.)

• What other questions would you like to ask an expert about Pompeii? (Answers will vary.)

Select four student volunteers to read the article aloud to the class. Assign one volunteer a narrator role and split the speech bubbles in the article among the other three. Ask them to read their parts aloud to the rest of the class in two different ways: 1) Have them read their parts in monotone voices with no expression. 2) Have them reread the article with an emphasis on feeling and expression. Then hold a discussion with the entire class and ask: Which reading was more entertaining. Why? Which reading helped you better understand what was happening in the story?

Distribute or digitally share grid paper. Tell students to use their paper to draw or model any of the images displayed in the video they are about to see. Then play the math video.

Review the definitions and formulas in the “Finding Area and Volume” box on page 8. Before beginning the “Your Turn” questions, provide students with steps to solving these problems: 1) Read the problem and identify which formula is required to solve the problem; 2) Write the proper formula from the math box; 3) Replace the variables in the formula with the proper measurements given in the problem and simplify. Then work through problem 1 as a class and ask the following questions:

• What formula should we use to solve this problem? How do you know? (We should use the formula for area of a rectangle. The forum is said to be a rectangle, and the final question asks for area.)

• What should the formula look like after we’ve replaced the variables with the numbers from the problem? (Area (forum) = 520 ft x 109 ft) What’s the area? (56,680 ft²)

• How should we label the units? (square feet)

For students who may struggle with decoding, provide the option of hearing the article read aloud using the audio recording as they follow along with the text.

Allow students to explore Pompeii virtually. Have them visit the interactive website italyguides.it/en/campania/pompeii, which gives additional information on rooms and areas in Pompeii, as well as 360° views.

Have students find objects in their own homes or neighborhoods that are in the shapes of rectangles, circles, cylinders, spheres, or prisms. They can take measurements of these objects and find their areas or volumes.