Here are some presentation scripts. Unlike some of mine in the past, I am making these relatively brief and undetailed in terms of what pictures to choose and things like that. But it is still one line per page text. Obviously, since you would be finishing this, you can edit the text however you want. I am sure that I would edit the text myself if I were to finish these (which, eventually, I might, especially if nobody else does). I thought I'd make a whole bunch of presentation scripts because…we need some new good ones ourselves!
I'd love it if people were to find pictures for these and post the results!!!
Visualizations of the Past
[The point of this is very simply to drive home the point that the past was very different from the present. Later presentations can give the details about how each period looked...]
Today, people dress like this,
they go from place to place in cars, trains, and airplanes,
they go to work and school in buildings like this,
and they use many useful machines.
But a long time ago, people and places looked very different!
In ancient Greece and Rome, people wore togas.
Then, in the Renaissance times, rich people dressed like this.
Later on, in the 19th century, men and women went to parties dressed this way.
For a very, very long time, people used horses and donkeys to pull carts,
and they could move things on big sailing ships like this.
But then, in the 19th century, people started using steam engines.
Buildings have changed a lot too. A very long time ago, people lived in mud and straw huts,
but then they learned how to make stone temples in ancient Egypt,
and in Greece and Rome.
In the Middle Ages, people made very big, grand cathedrals,
and later, rich people built many grand castles
and palaces.
Long ago, at night, people used campfires and torches to make light.
Then they started using oil lamps—and for most of history, that is what people used.
The light bulb was not invented until the 19th century.
For a long time, people washed clothes in streams,
or in tubs with washboards.
The electric washing machine wasn't invented until the 20th century.
For a long time, people could make pictures only by drawing
or painting,
but in the 19th century, cameras were invented,
so people could take photographs.
In ancient times, books had to be written out and copied by hand, like this,
but in the Renaissance, the printed book was invented.
This made it possible for many people to read and have big libraries!
Periods of European History
[Cf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-age_systemNote, for these, I recommend using two or three pictures after each period of history, to illustrate different aspects of life in those ages. For example, for ancient Greece you might show a Greek temple as well as some hoplites, or whatever. The idea is simply to teach the names of the periods of history, associating them with various pictures. Later presentations can introduce some details about the different ages and periods.]
Human beings
have lived on Earth
for thousands of years.
We still read about how people used to live.
We read about history,
and we talk about periods of time from long ago.
There was the Stone Age,
the Iron Age,
the Bronze Age,
and Iron Age.
Then came ancient times:
ancient Egypt,
ancient Greece,
and ancient Rome.
Then Rome fell to the barbarian invasions,
and there were the Middle Ages.
After a thousand years, civilization was reborn with the Renaissance.
Then came the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century,
the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century,
and the modern age in the 20th century.
We now live in 2009, in the 21st century.
The Mind
The brain is a very powerful thing.
Human beings used their brains, or minds, to build skyscrapers,
and make jet airplanes,
and write millions of books.
But what is the mind? What does it do?
The most basic thing the mind, or brain, does, is to see,
hear,
touch,
taste,
and smell.
Those are called the five senses, also called perception.
Perception is something the mind does.
When we see many things that are all alike, we get an idea, or concept.
We see many different of these. What are they all?
They are all cats! We get the idea of cats.
We see many different things all of the same color. What color?
Red! We get the concept of red.
We hear many different things that make a lot of noise. What is that?
Loud! We get the idea of loudness.
Can you think of something that happened yesterday?
Your mind is remembering what happened.
Do you remember what you had for breakfast?
Do you remember your name?
Sometimes, you can think up things you have never seen before.
No one has ever really seen a horse with wings.
Your mind imagines it.
Can you think up, or imagine, a dog with antlers?
Did you imagine something like this?
Now look at this picture. Can you guess how many dots there are?
There are 20 dots. Your mind made a guess!
Guessing, or estimating, is another thing the mind can do.
Look. Rover is bigger than Fido.
But Rex is bigger than Rover!
Who is bigger, Rex or Rover?
Rex is biggest. How did you know? Your mind used reasoning.
To reason is to think things out, to draw conclusions.
To go on the ride, a child must be four feet tall.
This child is not four feet tall. He is still short.
So can he go on the ride?
No! We used reasoning to answer the question.
The more you perceive, remember, imagine, and reason, the more you learn!
When you learn, you are get knowledge.
When you have a lot of knowledge, then you are educated.
If you can use your knowledge to make good choices, then you are wise.
Religion
[This obviously will have to be edited to suit each person's beliefs. It is very light on Eastern religions. You can add more info about them if you wish. This might take two or more parts. If you divide these by religion, for clarity, can you title them something like "Religion - Christianity" and "Religion - Other"?]
In the West,
The oldest religion is Judaism.
Its followers are called Jewish.
Here are many Jewish people, or Jews. [many pictures of a wide variety of Jews on separate slides, but heavy on religious symbolism]
The Jews believe in just one God.
The most important founders of the Jewish religion are Moses
and Abraham.
The basic rules of Judaism is the Ten Commandments,
and the holy book of Judaism is the Hebrew Bible,
which is the same as what we [or: Christians] call the Old Testament. [Adjust this, obviously, to suit your own religious background or how you want to teach this!]
The Jews believe they are God's chosen people and that Israel is their country.
Jewish people worship in a synagogue,
and they listen to a rabbi, which means teacher.
The next important religion is Christianity.
Its followers are called Christians.
Here are many Christian people. [again, many pictures, wide variety, but heavy on religious symbolism]
The Christians worship Jesus Christ
they say Jesus is the son of God,
and that the Holy Spirit is another part of God.
But all three are the same—this is called the Trinity.
The Christians also accept the Ten Commandments,
and the Old Testament,
but they also believe in the New Testament.
The Christians come in two groups.
Catholics believe the Pope, in Rome, is God's special representative on Earth.
Protestants disagree and say each God speaks to each person individually.
Christians worship in a church or chapel,
or a cathedral,
and they listen to a priest if they Catholic,
or a pastor if they are Protestant.
The next important religion is Islam.
Its followers are called Muslims.
Here are many Muslim people. [again, many pictures, wide variety, but heavy on religious symbolism]
Muslims believe in one god, called Allah.
Their holy book is called the Koran,
and their most holy place is Mecca,
in Saudi Arabia.
Islam is the main religion of the Middle East,
north Africa,
and southwest Asia.
All three of these religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,
believe that, after we die, we can go to Heaven.
Some people believe that, if very, very bad people go to Hell.
In the East,
there are two very big religions.
In India,
the biggest religion is Hinduism.
Its followers are called Hindus.
Most Hindus believe in many gods, like Vishnu, Shiva, and Krishna,
and their holy books are the Vedas,
the Upanishads,
and the Bhagavad Gita.
In China
and southeast Asia,
a very big religion is Buddhism.
Its followers are called Buddhists.
This religion was started by a man named Siddhartha Gautama,
and later he became known as "The Buddha."
Buddhists seek a feeling of peace,
called Nirvana.
Not everyone believes in God.
If you do not believe in God, then you are called an atheist.
If you do not know whether God exists, then you are called an agnostic.
Politeness
To be polite, you should use words like please, thank you, and excuse me.
If you want something, you say, "Please."
Can I have some please?
If you get something, you say, "Thank you."
Thank you for the present!
If people are talking, and you want to say something, say, "Excuse me."
Excuse me, I have something to say!
If you are walking and you bump into someone, say, "Pardon me!"
Pardon me!
If you do something wrong, you say, "I'm sorry!"
Oh, I broke the cup. I'm sorry!
When you are speaking to a man, to be nice, you say "sir."
Thank you, sir!
And when you are speaking to a woman, to be nice, you say "ma'am."
Yes, ma'am!
Good manners
What is a good little boy or girl like?
You do not scream,
you speak quietly.
You do not say mean things to people,
you are nice.
You say nice things about Mama and Papa and friends.
You do not grab other kids' toys,
and you share your own.
You say "please" and "thank you."
You do not frown at people,
but you can smile at them.
You don't hit, slap, or bite people,
but you can give Mama or Papa a kiss.
You don't speak over someone else,
you let them finish before you speak.
Balloons
What are these?
They are balloons—that haven't been blown up!
You can blow up a balloon with your mouth, like this,
or you can go to a store and have them put helium in it.
Helium is a gas
that makes balloons go up and up into the sky.
We use balloons at parties,
and we give them on birthdays and other occasions.
What is this?
It is rubber.
Rubber is used to make balloons.
Kids love balloons!
What will happen if someone takes this pin,
and pokes it in the balloon?
The balloon will burst. It goes "pop"!
In the summer, sometimes, people fill up balloons with water,
and then throw them at each other! It's fun!
A hot air balloon
is filled up with a burner, like this.
The burner heats up the air, and the air rises,
filling up the balloon,
until it floats up in the sky!
People can ride down below, in the gondola.