Heading:
The Egypt Game: Chapter 1
Vocabulary:
“It was one day early in a recent September that the Professor happened to be the only witness
to the very beginning of the Egypt Game. He had been looking for something in a seldom used
storeroom at the back of his shop, when a slight noise drew him to a window. He lifted a
gunnysack curtain, rubbed a peephole in the thick coating of dirt, and peered through.” (Snyder
5)
1.
2.
What does the word “seldom” mean as it is used in the passage above?
a. in few instances, rarely
b. often
c. frequently
d. publicly
Complete the analogy: slight : quiet :: ___________ : peered
a. listened carefully
b. look intently
c. contemplated
d. study
Figurative Language:
1.
“ He was tall and bent and his thin beard straggled up his cheeks like dry moss on gray
rocks.” (Snyder 4)
What type of figurative language is used in the passage above?
a. Metaphor
b. Hyperbole
c. Idiom
d. Simile
2.
What is the purpose of the figurative language in the passage above?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____
Inferencing:
“The neighborhood surrounding the Professor’s store was made up of inexpensive apartment
houses, little family-owned shops, and small, aging homes. The people of the area, many of
whom had some connection with the university, could trace their ancestors to every continent,
and just about every country in the world.” (Snyder 4)
1.
What inference can be made about the setting based on the passage above?
a. The community is made up of mostly middle-class citizens. It is a community made up
of mostly caucasian people who own their own businesses.
b. The community is lower-class and is a “melting pot” made up of a mixture of people from
different countries. The community is located near a college.
c. The community is lower-class and is a “melting pot” made up of a mixture of people from
different countries. Most of the people are professors or doctors.
d. The community is upper-class. Many of the citizens own their own businesses and live
near the college.
2.
Underline the CONTEXT CLUES that led you to the inference made above.
3.
Which inference can NOT be made based on the passage above?
a. The community is lower-class
b. The Professor lives near the community
c. The community is diverse
d. It is an older community
The Egypt Game: Chapter 2
Vocabulary
“The store was called A-Z, and its dusty show windows were crammed with weird clutter of old
and exotic looking objects- huge bronze oriental vases next to some beat up old pots and pans.
An old fashioned crank telephone, a primitive looking wooden mask and treadle sewing
machine” (17).
1.
I think exotic means____________________.
2.
I think primitive means_________________.
UNDERLINE the context clues that make you think so.
“As a matter of fact, I’m even planning to be an archaeologist when I grow up. Some people
think that’s pretty kooky ambition for a girl--but I like it” (21).
3.
a.
b.
c.
d.
kooky: crazy:: ambition : ________________
goal
life
knowledge
loafing
Figurative Language
1.
“In fact, there was something about the absolute nothingness behind it that was a little
bit frightening, like putting out your hand to touch something that wasn’t really there”
(20).
What type of figurative language is used above?
a. Metaphor
b. Hyperbole
c. Idiom
d. Simile
What is the purpose of that figurative language?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
___
2.
“It was almost as if the old man’s deadly silence was a dangerous dark hole that had to
be filled up quickly with lots of words” (21).
What type of figurative language is used above?
e. Metaphor
f. Hyperbole
g. Idiom
h. Simile
What is the purpose of this figurative language?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____
Inferencing
1.
“Dorthea had promised it would only be for a little while. Only until things got more
settled down and she wasn’t on tour much of the time” (14).
What does the above passage reveal about Dorthea?
Chapter 3
“Her hair was stacked up in a pile that seemed to be more pins than hair, and the whole thing
teetered forward over her thin pale face. She was wearing a big, yellowish-white fur thing
around her big shoulders, and carrying a plastic purse almost as big as a suitcase. But most of
all was the eyelashes. They were black and bushy looking, and the ones on her left eye were
higher up and sloped in a different direction. Melanie’s mouth opened and closed a few times
before anything came out” (23).
1.
In the above passage, underline the simile. What is the purpose of that simile?
2.
In the above passage, what does the word teetered mean? Highlight the context clues.
3.
What does the above passage tell us about April? Use specific evidence from the
passage to support your answer.
4.
Find another piece of specific text evidence from chapters 1-3 to support your character
trait in the answer above.
“Melanie was eleven years old and she had lived in the Casa Rosada since she was only seven.
During that time she’d welcomed a lot of new people to the apartment house. Apartment
dwellers, particularly near a university, are apt to come and go. Melanie always looked forward
to meeting new tenants, and today was going to be especially interesting.” (22).
“Meeting people had always been easy for Melanie. Most people she liked right away, and they
usually seemed to feel the same way about her” (23).
1.
In the above passage, what does the word apt mean? Highlight the context clues.
2.
What do the above passages tell us about Melanie? Use specific evidence from the
passage to support your answer.
3.
Find another piece of specific text evidence from chapters 1-3 to support your character
trait in the answer above.
In perfect paragraph format, compare and contrast Melanie and April. Use your character
traits and evidence from the answers above in your response.
Based on your paragraph above, predict how Melanie and April will get along throughout the
book.
The Egypt Game: Chapter 4
Figurative Language:
“It was in the library in August that the seeds were planted that grew into the Egypt Game in
September in the Professor’s deserted yard.” (34)
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Underline the figurative language in the quote above. What type of figurative language
is used in the passage?
Alliteration
Simile
Metaphor
Idiom
“And it was going to worse at school, where every kid would feel duty bound to do his or her part
in trimming the new kid down to size.” (37)
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The figurative language in the passage above is underlined. What type of figurative
language is used in the quote?
Idiom
Alliteration
Hyperbole
Allusion
Vocabulary:
“April and Melanie and Marshall were on their way home through the alley when, by the
sheerest luck, Melanie noticed the loose plank. It had moved stiffly, that first time, with a
reluctant rusty yelp and they peeked through into the hidden and deserted yard” (38)
3.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Deserted : Abandoned :: Yelp : ___________
Short, sharp cry
quiet noise
loose board
slip carefully
4.
What is the relationship between the words in the analogy above?
a. Antonyms
b. Cause and effect
c. Synonyms
d. Part to Whole
5.
a.
b.
c.
d.
What is the best dictionary definition for the word “sheerest” as it is used in the passage
above?
Adjective- Bright, pure, clear, unmixed
Adjective - Very thin, transparent
Adjective - Obvious, simple
Adjective - Straight up and down
Literal Questions:
6.
Why does Melanie question April’s eyelashes?
a. They seem to bother April
b. She is afraid that April will get teased about wearing them
c. She is jealous that she can’t wear them
d. She can’t afford to buy them with her own money
7.
According to Melanie and April, who were the Egyptian’s worst enemy?
a. Israel
b. Syria
c. Saudi Arabia
d. Iraq
‘“All clear?” Melanie asked, looking both ways.
“Yes, for the time being.” April breathed. “but they almost had us. That was a close call
back there in the tunnel.”
“Closee,” Melanie agreed, “but we fooled them.” With that they shoved Marshall through
the hole in the fence and crawled in after him.”
8.
In the above passage, who did the girls
“fool”?__________________________________
Below is an article on Nefertiti from History.com. Read the passage and answer the questions
that follow:
One of the most mysterious and powerful women in ancient Egypt, Nefertiti was queen
alongside Pharaoh Akhenaten from 1353 to 1336 B.C. and may have ruled the New Kingdom
outright after her husband’s death. Her reign was a time of tremendous cultural upheaval, as
Akhenaten reoriented Egypt’s religious and political structure around the worship of the sun god
Aten. Nefertiti is best known for her painted sandstone bust, which was rediscovered in 1913
and became a global icon of feminine beauty and power.
NEFERTITI AS QUEEN
Nefertiti may have been the daughter of Ay, a top adviser who would go on to become pharaoh
after King Tut’s death in 1323 B.C. An alternate theory suggests she was a princess from the
Mittani kingdom in northern Syria. She was her husband’s Great Royal Wife (favored consort)
when he ascended the throne in Thebes as Amenhotep IV. In the fifth year of his reign, he
displaced Egypt’s chief god Amon in favor of Aten, moved the capitol north to Amarna and
changed his name to Akhenaten, with Nefertiti taking on the additional name
“Neferneferuaten”—her full name meaning “Beautiful are the beauties of Aten, a Beautiful
Woman has come.”
6.
Why do you think that the girls were so excited to find Nefertiti?
7.
How long was Nefertiti the Queen? _______________________________
8.
1.
What are the two theories about Nefertiti as Queen?
_________________________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________________