Lesson 3: Leadership/Civic Engagement
Created by: Carol Kim
Unit Topic: Ancient Egypt
Subject: Nefertiti
Grade Level: 2nd grade, Whole group lesson
Time: 1 hour (2:30PM-3:30PM)
Number of Students: 19 students
History and Social Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools
2.10 The student will explain the responsibilities of a good citizen, with emphasis on
a) respecting and protecting the rights and property of others;
e) practicing honesty and trustworthiness.
Materials/Resources: Construction paper, glue, scissors, clothing props: blue crown, collar
Objective:
1. Given information through a first person reenactment, students will be able to correctly
identify an important leader in Ancient Egypt.
2. Given information through a first person reenactment and classroom discussion, students will
be able to write a complete sentence giving one example about Nefertiti’s leadership role in
Ancient Egypt.
3. Given information through a first person reenactment and classroom discussion, students will
be able to write a complete sentence giving one example about Nefertiti’s contributions to
society in Ancient Egypt.
Introduction (5-10 minutes): As motivation, ask students what they know about being a leader.
What are qualities that leaders have? Do they positively benefit society? How so? Write student
responses on the board. (See graphic organizer). Discuss with students that leaders have a strong
influence, show responsible behavior, and that leaders can be any age, gender, or ethnicity. (This
will focus on the defining leadership strand.) Also discuss with students that leaders have a
positive impact on society and others, makes important decisions and communicates with others.
(This will focus on developing leadership skills and practices.) Tell the students that Queen
Nefertiti was an influential leader in Ancient Egypt and was a very powerful woman. She made
many changes and important decisions during her leadership that impacted society, religion, and
politics. Explain to the class that they will be learning more about Nefertiti.
Content Focus (20-25 minutes): Put on clothing props consisting of Nefertiti’s dark blue crown
and colorful collar in front of the class for the students to see the transformation into Nefertiti.
Return to the front of the class for a first person reenactment. Begin by stating that you are
Nefertiti and here to share information about yourself to the class. Refer to the attached script of
the first person reenactment. Address to students how Nefertiti showed leadership and civic
engagement in Ancient Egypt. During the reenactment, when Nefertiti’s bust is mentioned, show
the primary artifact picture of Nefertiti’s bust on the document camera. Allow students to
examine the primary artifact and share what they have observed as a whole class. Some students
may observe that one of Nefertiti’s eye is missing. If students do not observe this, prompt them
to think why they think an eye is missing? Did the sculptor forget to create an eye? Did it go
missing? Allow the students to make their own inferences and conclusions about what they
observe. Allow students to ask questions about Nefertiti and provide answers using the attached
additional background information. Leave the room and come back with Nefertiti’s crown and
inform the students that Nefertiti allowed the students to keep the crown in the classroom.
Project (15-20 minutes): After discussion of the primary artifact and questions are answered,
inform the students that they will be able to create a biography crown of Nefertiti similar to her
dark blue crown or the students can create their own crown modeling Nefertiti’s crown. Model
for the students that they will decorate their crowns by cutting and gluing decorations or drawing
on the crown if they wish. Show on the document camera how to construct the crown together to
make it 3-D art form. Provide construction paper, glue, scissors, and markers for students to
create their biography crown. If the students do not finish, prompt them that they will work on
this project during extra classroom time or will taken home to complete. Once all students have
completed their biographical crowns, they will share with the class.
Closing (5-10 minutes): Bring the students back together as a class and ask the students what
they learned about Nefertiti. Allow students to share their thoughts to the class. This will be a
review and will guide the students in answering the exit ticket questions. Pass out the exit ticket
(see attached document) to each student.
Formative Evaluation: Class discussion and questions about Nefertiti.
Summative Evaluation: Exit ticket (2-4 complete sentences).
Multiple Choice Question:
Who was an important leader in Ancient Egypt?
A. Susan B. Anthony
B. Nefertiti
C. John Adams
D. Benjamin Franklin
Answer: B
Background Information for First Person Reenactment:
Nefertiti was an influential and powerful woman leader in Ancient Egypt. She married
Pharaoh Akhenaten and became queen at the age of fifteen. Nefertiti and Akhenaten ruled
together from 1353 to 1336 B.C. They had six daughters. Nefertiti’s name means “the beautiful
woman has come” and many people in Ancient Egypt thought that she was very beautiful. She
had great power, possibly higher than any other queen and was considered equal to her husband,
the pharaoh. Although it was not unheard of for a woman to assume such power, it was
extremely rare. She was able to rule with her husband and is often shown on the walls of tombs
and temples to be riding a chariot next to her husband, holding weapons against enemies, and
even wearing the crown of a pharaoh. She was respected by others even though she was a
woman and by gaining equal power as her male counterpart. She modeled responsible behavior
ruling alongside her husband. Most importantly, she demonstrated that her gender did not
influence her leadership role by being treated equal to the pharaoh (Leadership strand: Defining
Leadership.) Nefertiti also showed leadership by taking initiative of power, making important
religious and social decisions, as well as setting goals and communicating effectively to make
these changes (Leadership strand: Developing Leadership Skills and Practices.)
Things or ideas Nefertiti implemented that had an impact on society can explain her
contributions to Ancient Egypt as well as how she impacted history. Nefertiti was an agent of
change and made many important decisions while being a leader. Her most important one was
establishing a new religion, focusing on the sun God, Aten. This religious shift was a drastic
change from believing in many Gods to believing in one God (Civic disposition: Assuming the
personal, political, and economic responsibilities of a citizen.) To show her dedication to the new
religion, Nefertiti changed her name to Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti meaning “Beautiful are the
beauties of Aten, a beautiful woman has come” (Civic skill: Evaluating, taking, and defending a
position.)
In 1914, a team led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered Nefertiti’s bust in Amarna, Egypt. It
was created by a sculptor named Thutmose in 1345 BC. It is now located on display at the Neues
Museum in Berlin. It is made of limestone, gypsum, crystal and wax. In one of Nefertiti’s eye,
the inlay is not present in the bust and it is unclear whether it was purposefully left out by the
sculptor or if it went missing. Her face can be seen as very symmetrical, showing her beauty. She
is wearing a dark blue crown with colored detail similar to her collar. This bust is so important
due to its preservation along which allows for a greater understanding of Egyptian art.
Additional Background Information:
There is strong evidence that Nefertiti was not a blood relative to Akhenaten, which was
rare during this time period because it was very common for pharaohs to marry a relative. Not
much is known about Nefertiti’s family or early childhood. Nefertiti and Akhenaten lived at his
new capital city El-Amarna, which became the center of their of religion. The change in religion
Nefertiti and Akhenaten implemented was most likely not a smooth one because many temples
closed and livelihoods were changed. After about 12 years of reign, Nefertiti disappeared. It is
still unclear what happened to Nefertiti. Some think that she may have died, or been exiled after
unpopular religious support, or came to equal power and started to dress as a man therefore
going into disguise as a pharaoh.
Additional Vocabulary:
Pharaoh- a king of Ancient Egypt
Tomb- the burial site
Temples- places of religious worship
Chariot- vehicle used for transportation
References:
Ardagh, P., & King, C. (2000). Ancient Egypt. New York: P. Bedrick Books.
Hart, G. (2008). Ancient Egypt, with CD. New York: DK Pub.
Kaplan, L. C. (2004). Politics and government in ancient Egypt. New York: PowerKids Press.
Macdonald, F. (1999). Women in ancient Egypt. New York: Peter Bedrick Books.
Nefertiti. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 12:50, Nov 04, 2014,
fromhttp://www.biography.com/people/nefertiti-9421166.
Nefertiti. (2010, January 1). Retrieved November 4, 2014, from
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/nefertiti
Nefertiti. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2014, from http://www.egyptian-museumberlin.com/c53.php
Example of Graphic Organizer
Makes
important
decisions
Helps
others
Repects
others
Leadership
Any age,
gender,
ethnicity
Talks to
others
Honest
and
trusting
Acts fairly
Primary Resource Artifact:
Nefertiti Bust
Exit Ticket
Name: _____________________________Date: ____________
1. Who was an important leader in Ancient Egypt?
A. Susan B. Anthony
B. Nefertiti
C. John Adams
D. Benjamin Franklin
2. Write a complete sentence with one example of how Nefertiti
showed leadership in Ancient Egypt?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
2. Write a complete sentence with one example of how Nefertiti
contributed to society in Ancient Egypt?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Expected Results of Exit Ticket
Name: _________________________Date: ____________
1. Who was an important leader in Ancient Egypt?
A. Susan B. Anthony
B. Nefertiti
C. John Adams
D. Benjamin Franklin
2. Write a complete sentence with one example of how Nefertiti
showed leadership in Ancient Egypt?
Nefertiti was a woman and had equal control as the pharaoh of
Ancient Egypt.
2. Write a complete sentence with one example of how Nefertiti
contributed to society in Ancient Egypt?
Nefertiti changed the religion in Ancient Egypt.
Example of Costume: Nefertiti’s crown and collar.
The crown is also used as an example of student project.