Maps record how our surroundings change over time. Students should find an early map of their town or neighborhood, as well as a recent version. Ask them to visit an area identified on the map, and to compare what they see with what each of the maps show. What features are constant and what has changed? What evidence can they find of past structures and land or water use? (For example, what do place names suggest?) What do the changes tell us about the way social and economic changes have shaped the physical landscape?

Ask your students to choose the identity of someone living in Petra in 50 B.C. (e.g., temple attendant, rock carver, camel herder, merchant, potter, etc.). Then have them write a letter to a friend that describes their lives, including daily activities, whom they spend time with, and their interests and concerns.

For younger students: Find color pictures of ancient buildings or artifacts (one per student or small team). Working with up to three groups at a time, tear each picture into five pieces, keeping one piece and sticking the remaining pieces up on the classroom walls in random order. Hand out the reserved pieces and ask the students or teams to reassemble the original photographs.

Review the Petra timeline and map insert (pdf 877k) with your class. Ask students to create chronological charts of their lives, complete with a timeline. Can they divide the chart into "eras" or "ages"? What events, such as a trip to another country or a religious rite of passage, reflect cultural influences? Can they identify events in their neighborhood, their town, or the larger world that might have affected them?

On the timeline and map insert (pdf 877k), note the number of ancient civilizations that built massive structures. Ask students to choose and research two—for example, the Hopewell earthworks and the Moche pyramids—and compare their architecture, engineering, and purpose to that of Petra's monuments.

Copy and distribute the timeline and map insert (pdf 877k). Challenge students to use atlases and maps to draw in present-day borders and indicate countries and cities.