A rendering of what the city may have looked like | Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, graphic: Yann Bernard

Current events can sound sort of flat and droll, especially if nothing very exciting is going on. When something truly thrilling does occur, then, allow the creative port to fully open. One of today’s headlines made me want to rush home and write! That’s not really part of my actual job description, though, so I thought I’d pass along the inspiration for our educators.

It’s like something right out of a movie – a movie about ancient history. Imagine Indiana Jones actually discovering the lost city of Atlantis! That was my immediate thought when I read ”Lost Egyptian City Revealed After 1,200 Years Under Sea.”.

In addition to its historical merit, the implications on social and cultural knowledge from the time, the layers of scientific and mathematical skills and tools used to uncover the city, this story has huge potential as a writing prompt for multiple ages.

Writing Prompts for this story:

•Geography and earth science students can write about what causes earthquakes/ erosion/ types of soil and other factors contributing to the sunken city.
•Students at any age can write a fictional story from the perspective of the city residents or the scientists discovering the lost city.
•Use the photographs from the exploration as illustrations for a story.
•World Literature students can explore actual images from historical/ mythical stories about Herakles, Helen and Paris (who visited the city before the Trojan War), and the temple of Amun.
•Have journalism students narrate this video exploration of the site.

We’d love to share what your students write about this topic. You can email those to us at education@gpb.org.