Case Study “Reimagining Lost Civilizations”: Inspiring Curiosity, Creativity, and Critical Thinking in the Classroom

Discovering the Traces

the course introduction: 

– course programme overview and guidance, practical arrangements, course aims, objectives, expectations; 

– participants’ presentations of their school; 

      – participants receive packages containing text fragments, drawings, artifact   

          descriptions, and maps

     –  in groups, participants develop their first hypotheses:

         Who were these people? How did they live? What were their values?

Learning Outcome:
Participants formulate initial hypotheses about an imagined civilization and practice collaborative inquiry and interpretation.

Comparison and Connection

       Task: Define the core values of the imagined civilization.

       – groups compare the discovered traces with known cultures and literary motifs 

      –  participants enrich their hypotheses with cultural and historical references from their own     

         reading habits and culture and teaching experiences.

       Learning Outcome:
      Participants strengthen analytical and comparative skills, connecting interdisciplinary

      knowledge and literature knowledge with creative exploration.

Society and Everyday Life

– groups reconstruct aspects of the civilization: social structure, religion, art, science, and daily life, by adding creative elements such as a myth, a poem, a chronicle, or a code of laws.

     Learning Outcome:
    Participants design a holistic portrayal of a civilization, demonstrating how storytelling    

     and creative writing can support interdisciplinary learning.

Decline and Lessons

Task: Prepare for the final creative presentation.

– groups imagine possible causes of the civilization’s decline 

– participants develop a parable or universal message: What can the modern world learn from their rise and fall?

Learning Outcome:
Participants develop reflective and philosophical thinking, exploring how narrative learning can build empathy, perspective-taking, and moral reasoning.

Final Production and Presentation

       – groups choose a creative form to present their story of the lost civilization:

• Exhibition of artifacts 
• Dramatic scene 
• Documentary film or live interview
• Chronicle or epic poem
• Fictional newspaper from 2050 
• Art collage or mural 

Learning Outcome:
Participants deliver a creative, evidence-based interpretation and demonstrate the power of active, experiential learning.
They reflect on how reading, knowledge, and creativity shape meaningful education.

• Final reflections

  • Round-up of learning outcomes

  • Group discussion and self-assessment

• Course review

  • Evaluation and feedback

• Certification ceremony

• Goodbye and final group activity