Rationale and Reflection Page
Theme: Ancient Egypt
Grade: Sixth
For sixth grade TEKS, students have a whole list of standards that deal with cultures of different regions, past and present. I chose to do Ancient Egypt because there is so much history to be learned. Ancient Egypt is very interesting in the way they value their traditions. This gives the students an opportunity to learn about a culture that they have no prior knowledge or experience on. I had a really difficult time putting this text set together. When I was trying to come up with ideas, I thought this would be perfect because there is so much neat stuff to learn about that is so different from the culture we know here in the present day United States of
America. As I started to put the text set together though, I realized, I did not know hardly anything about Ancient Egypt. I had to start off by learning the aspects of Ancient Egypt for myself before I could make lessons for my students to learn. I obviously did not learn everything
I possibly could because of the time crunch, but I did learn an abundant amount of information that I did not know before putting this thematic unit together. Even with me reading and using all the resources possible to find information, I still do not feel like an expert on Ancient Egypt. I think if I were to have someone to talk to during this process, I would have a lot more to go off of, but because I am solely reading materials on my own, and doing my own research, I found it very difficult to try and put lessons together. I think in the end, I pulled through and found a lot of interesting information and lessons to put together, but I still feel there is so much more opportunity to learn, and will definitely become more knowledgeable on the subject before I begin to teach my own students.

Kick-off Activity
As the students enter the classroom, they will see the teacher, if a girl, dressed as
Cleopatra, with a black wig and a white gown type sheet, with accented gold and turquoise. The students will notice a “mummy”, fake of course, lying at the front of the room. On the white board will be a couple of sentences written in Egyptian hieroglyphics. At each student’s desk, there will be a worksheet with the alphabet translating each letter of the hieroglyphs. The students will silently translate what was written on the board in English, to find out that the board says, “Welcome to Ancient Egypt. Let us go back in time 5159 years and explore Egypt and it’s history.” After all of the students find out what is written on the board, the teacher will further introduce the subject by playing an excerpt from the video, Egypt - Quest for Eternity. After showing the short clip, the teacher will ask the students to take a few minutes to write in their journals about what they saw on the video, and how what they saw differs from the life the live on a day to day basis, and what they saw that was similar. Also in the journal, the students will write what they expect to learn, what they want to learn, and what they are excited about during this thematic unit.

Essential Questions
What traditions are a part of the Ancient Egyptian culture?
What are the belief systems, and how are they represented?
How did the belief system evolve?
How did the belief system influence their daily life?
Why did Ancient Egyptians have a belief system?
How do the traditions and belief system relate to your own traditions and belief systems?
What were daily life routines for people who lived in Ancient Egypt?
What factors define the culture?
What types of rituals did Ancient Egyptians follow?
Did the geographical position of Egypt have any influence on the way they lived life?

Title/Author/
Publication
Genre Cultural
Diversity
Perspective on
Topic
Content Area
Connections
How is meaning conveyed?
What is unique?
Anderson, S. (1996).
A Puzzling Day in the
Land of the
Pharaohs .
Cambridge, MA:
Candlewick Press.
Cushman, D. (1998).
The Mystery of King
Karfu . Harper
Collins.
Informational
Picture book
Fictional/
Informational/
Animal
Fantasy
Stewart, D. (2007).
You Wouldn't Want to
Be Tutankhamen!: A
Mummy Who Really
Got Meddled With.
Danbury, CT:
Franklin Watts.
Informational
Picture book/
Outsider
Biography
Stewart, D. (2000).
You Wouldn't Want to
Be an Egyptian
Mummy!
. Danbury,
CT: Franklin Watts.
Informational
Picture book/
Outsider
Biography
Egyptian men and women, animals, and a teacher and students from an American classroom.
Each character represents a different animal.
Egyptian men and women, an
English archaeologist
Egyptians
Includes the reader as if his/her class is on a field trip in
Ancient Egypt, exploring famous landmarks and geographical locations.
The book is a little confusing, it deals with touring throughout
Egypt, but is not as informational as a teacher would like.
The book talks about King Tut’s troubles and duties throughout his life, including what it would be like to be mummified.
Includes the process of being mummified and the symbolic meanings of
Egyptian burials.
Social Studies:
Geography and
History
SS: History,
Geography
SS: History,
Science
SS: History,
Science
Text, illustrations
Text, illustrations
The book is a type of interactive book, taking the reader into the book as if they are on a field trip with classmates
The book takes you on a mission to figure out the mystery of the stolen Stone
Chicken of King
Karfu.
Text, illustrations The book refers to the reader as if they are King Tut and experiencing his hardships.
Text, illustrations The book refers to the reader as if they are an
Egyptian who is undergoing the process of becoming a mummy.
Text, illustrations The book refers to the reader as if they are an
Egyptian who is living the life of pyramid builder.
Morley, J., &
Salariva, D. (2004).
You Wouldn't Want to
Be a Pyramid
Builder: A Hazardous
Job You'd Rather Not
Have.
Danbury, CT:
Franklin Watts.
Pipe, J. (2007). You
Wouldn't Want to Be
Cleopatra!: An
Egyptian Ruler You'd
Rather Not Be.
Danbury, CT:
Franklin Watts.
Informational
Picture book/
Outsider
Biography
Informational
Picture book/
Outsider
Biography
Markle, S. (2005).
Outside and Inside
Mummies . New York:
Walker and
Company.
Informational
Picture Book
Egyptians
Egyptian men and women
Egyptian artifacts
Tells stories about how
Egyptians worked hard to build the historical landmarks known as pyramnids.
Tells about the hardships and rough life of
Cleopatra.
SS: History, architecture
SS: History
Tells about the mysteries and processes of being mummified
SS: History
Science
Text, illustrations
Text, photos
The books allows the reader to experience the same struggles as
Cleopatra.
The book shows real life pictures of mummies, as well as the processes of studying mummies.

Winters, K. (2009).
Voices of Ancient
Egypt.
National
Geographic
Children's Books.
Informational
Chapter Book
Egyptians people, includes all socioeconomic status’
It gives the spotlight to people of the culture that are less known, and describes their everyday lives.
SS: History Text The book talks to the reader in first person from the perspective of different job holders.
Brock, N.
(Director). Egypt -
Quest for Eternity
[Motion Picture].
U.S.A: National
Geographic.
Informational Egyptians It shows great segments over Egypt, and how the culture came to be as it is known today.
SS: History Video Lots of great photos and resources.
Edwards, R. (2006).
Who Was King Tut?
Grosset & Dunlap.
Comprehensi ve Biography/
Informational
Chapter Book
Egypt, King
Tutankhamen
The book has a lot of information that is great for readers who are not ready for long, detailed non-fiction books.
SS: History Text,
Pictures
The book has photos and takes a detailed journey through the life of King Tut, without overloading on the information.
Neuschwander, C.
(2005). Mummy
Math: An Adventure in Geometry . Henry
Holt and Co.
Informational with a
Narrative
Blend
Egyptians
Cobblestone
Publishing (2007). If
I Were a Kid in
Ancient Egypt:
Children of the
Ancient World .
Cricket Books.
Chisholm, J. (2003).
Who Built the
Pyramids?
Usborne
Books.
Informational
Picture Book
Informational
Picture Book
Egyptian children, men and women
Egyptians
Woods, G. (1998).
Science in Ancient
Egypt
Press.
. Children's
Informational
Chapter Book
Egyptians
The book is a little confusing, and does not really focus on geometric shapes like it claims. It does have good examples of hieroglyphs.
Math:
Geometry
SS: History
The book has great details about how the kids would be living their daily life if they were in Ancient Egypt.
SS: History
Text,
Pictures
Text,
Pictures
The book includes both history and geometry as the characters find their way out when out of a pyramid they are stuck in.
The book refers to the reader as if they are the child in Ancient Egypt that is being described.
Daily activities and customs are described throughout.
The book gives great facts about why pyramids were built the way they are and the purpose of them, as well as how peopled lived life along the
Nile River.
History:
Geography,
SS
The book shows accomplishments and contributions Ancient
Egyptians made in all different areas, such as architecture, medicine, and math.
SS: History
Science
Math
Text,
Pictures
Text,
Photos,
Hieroglyp hs
It gives great details, as well as activities for the students to do to go along with the book.
The book has short chapters with straight to the point information. It is an easy read with lots of great facts.

Moscovitch, A.
(2000). Egypt:
The Culture.
Crabtree
Publishing.
Informational
Picture Book
Egyptians
Moscovitch, A.
(2000). Egypt:
The Land.
Crabtree
Publishing.
Informational
Picture Book
Egyptians
This book is focused mainly on the culture of present day Egyptians, but also focuses on the influence Ancient Egypt has on their lifestyle.
This focuses on the landscapes and how the geography of Egypt influences the lifestyles.
SS:
History, civilization, religion
L:
Language, hieroglyphs
Text, photos, illustrations, paintings, sculptures
The book goes into detail about many different aspects of the Egyptian culture.
SS:
Geography
Science:
Wildlife
Text, photos It has a lot of information on how the Nile River gives nourishment to the land.
Moscovitch, A.
(2000). Egypt:
The People.
Crabtree
Publishing.
Informational
Picture Book
Egyptians This book is a great resource, but it focuses more on the present day people rather than people from ancient times.
SS: Social life, customs
LA: literature
Text, photos The book focuses on the people and their customs, and how they live their daily lives.
Climo, S.
(1992). The
Egyptian
Cinderella .
Harper Collins.
Myth/
Informational with a Narrative
Blend
Egyptians,
Greeks
Although it is a different culture, this book has close to the same story line and morals as
Disney’s Cinderella
History: SS
LA
Text, pictures
This book also uses a show to find the
‘prince’ his true love.
Stanley, D.
(1997).
Cleopatra .
Harper Collins.
Partial
Biography
Egyptians This book tells about the life of Cleopatra from teenager to death. It has a lot of great details in it!
History: SS
LA
Text,
Pictures
Bailey, L.
(2000).
Adventures in
Ancient Egypt .
Kids Can
Press, Ltd.
Time Travel
Fantasy/
Informational
Picture Book
Egyptians,
American children
This book has a lot of great information and facts, without being overloaded with too much information.
History: SS Text,
Pictures
Donnelly, J.
(1998). Tut's
Mummy:
Lost...and
Found .
Random House
Books for
Young
Readers.
Informational
Chapter Book/
Historical
Period Place
Egyptians,
English archaeologist
This book is a great resource for learning about King Tut and his burial process.
History: SS Text,
Pictures
The book includes other Ancient
Egyptian legends, such as Mark
Anthony and Julius
Caesar.
The book takes three kids back in time, and they must read a book to travel back to present day.
It tells the story of
Howard Carter and his discovery of
King Tut’s tomb.

Logan, C.
(2002). The
5,000-Year-
Old Puzzle .
Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Informational
Picture Book
Egyptians, young boy
This book takes readers on an archaeological dig with actual facts from the dig done by archaeologist
Dr. George Reisner.
History: SS
Science
Text,
Pictures
The book is done in a diary format, each page dated with notes from that day of digging.

Annotations
Stewart, D. (2007). You Wouldn't Want to Be Tutankhamen!: A Mummy Who Really Got
Meddled With. Danbury, CT: Franklin Watts.
This informational picture book is filled with great information about King Tut. The book captures the reader by referring to the reader as if they are King Tut, and experiencing the
Egyptian prince’s troubles and hardships. The book has a lot of great information from the time he was a baby, to the time he was being mummified. Rather than just text and illustration, the book is more of a story that captures the reader. It has dialogue and is comical, but as the same time is factual and interesting. I would use this book for a response lesson on who King Tut was and his accomplishments.
Markle, S. (2005). Outside and Inside Mummies. New York: Walker and Company.
This informational picture book is a great resource for kids, especially those who like the gruesome type of facts. There are pictures of actual mummies that have been found over the years. The book goes on to talk about how the process of mummification works, as well as how the scientists go through the process of making new discoveries about the ancient mummies.
This book would be a great introduction to making our own mummies in class.
Moscovitch, A. (2000). Egypt: The Culture. Crabtree Publishing.
This is an informational picture book. It has so many great details about how Egyptians live, and how they have evolved over time. The book also includes great photographs to help clarify meaning. The majority of the book is based in modern time Egypt, but it does talk about ancient
Egypt, and how it has influenced modern day Egypt. It would be a great resource to compare ancient Egypt to modern day Egypt, as well as modern day Egypt to modern day America, as we know it.
Climo, S. (1992). The Egyptian Cinderella. Harper Collins.
This book is an informational with a narrative blend, but also falls under the myth genre. This book is very interesting when compared to the Disney version of Cinderella . The story line is completely different, yet somehow it is extremely similar to the modern version we know. The book offers a great example of the Egyptian atmosphere and culture from way back when. This book would be used for a skill lesson to show how to organize content or facts.
Stanley, D. (1997). Cleopatra. Harper Collins.
This partial biography offers a great story about Cleopatra and her struggles as she grew into a queen. The book gives great detail about the opportunities she faced while competing to rule over the people she thought she deserved to. The book would be a great way to teach a skill lesson, as well as write an open ended journal entry as if the student was in the story as another character to give Cleopatra some advice.
Cobblestone Publishing (2007). If I Were a Kid in Ancient Egypt: Children of the Ancient
World. Cricket Books.

This informational picture book is a very intriguing book, especially for students. It allows students to relate their life as a kid, to another kid who lives a very different lifestyle than the one they know. This book would be great to compare life today and growing up in Ancient Egypt.
Bailey, L. (2000). Adventures in Ancient Egypt. Kids Can Press, Ltd.
This time travel fantasy book is loaded with great facts and information. Although it is a fictional book, the three characters are trying to find their way out of a pyramid they have been trapped in.
The book provides many illustrations to go along with the text, and provides many facts that can be useful for when the students will transform the room into a pyramid.
Chisholm, J. (2003). Who Built the Pyramids? Usborne Books.
This informational picture book has a very unique set up. The text is written throughout the pictures, as well as extra interesting facts written outside the pictures with little bullets. This book can be used for a skill lesson, and also be used for when the room is converted into a pyramid, as well.
Logan, C. (2002). The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
This informational picture book for older readers is very intriguing and is especially great for advancing readers. The book’s format is done as a diary or journal. A fictional family goes on an archaeological dig in Egypt. The book is based off of an actual archaeological dig done by an
English archaeologist. The book has great facts and information throughout the story, as well as a fun story line. This book could be used to teach new styles of writing and different book genres.
Winters, K. (2009). Voices of Ancient Egypt. National Geographic Children's Books
This informational picture book is full of descriptive poetry. It gives attention to those who get shadowed by the mysterious wonders of Ancient Egypt. Those who are normally referred to as a peasant or farmer are given a more detailed job title. For each different person in the story, their jobs are described in detail so we know what life was like for them as well. This book could be used for a writing activity. Each student could pick an occupation not listed in the book, and write a poem about their job duties and the ways of life as if they were living in Ancient Egypt.
Edwards, R. (2006). Who Was King Tut? Grosset & Dunlap.
This informational chapter book tells the story of King Tut from the time he was born, to the time he became mummified. It gives a great explanation of how the Egyptian people reacted to
King Tut as a ruler, as well as to his death. This could be used as a writing assignment. The students could write their own “Who Was…” story about themselves.

How did Ancient Egyptians live, and how are they different from or similar to the life you live today?
(Culture Cont’d) What makes up their culture? (Food, government, clothing)
Activities

Fill out a KWL chart and keep it on the wall and add to it as we learn more throughout the unit (WG/LA)

Use a large map to locate Egypt and its surroundings.
We will talk about all the geographical landmarks
(WG/Geography)

As we learn more about pyramids, we could turn our classroom into a life-size pyramid, allowing the students to bring artifacts to decorate the walls (WG/Art)

Using the book If I Were a Kid in Ancient Egypt: Children
of the Ancient World, the students will make a Venn diagram comparing everyday life in Ancient Egypt to the everyday life the live and see. They should include transportation, food, school, religion, and any other facts they learn from the book. (SG/History)
What types of death rituals did they have in Ancient Egypt?
Ancient
Egypt
Sixth Grade
Activities:

Make a burial mask: The teacher will read aloud You Wouldn't Want to Be an
Egyptian Mummy! By David Stewart. After the read aloud, the students will make a burial mask like they used in Ancient Egypt. (WG,I/History, Art)

As a shared reading, the class would read I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert by Eve
Bunting. In response, the students will write a journal entry as if they are a mummy themselves, talking about their past experiences from before they came a mummy (WG,I/History, LA)

Paper mache mummy cases out of balloons (SG/History,Art)

Using the book Who Built the Pyramids? the students will write an essay on why
Ancient Egyptians did the process of mummification, and the process of the entire ritual. The students should include whether or not religion had any factor on the process of mummification, as well as who would be mummified and placed in pyramids. (I, LA, History)
Activities

Students will create their names using hieroglyphics.
After some practice, the students will write it on precut strips of a poster board, decorate and color their names, and they will be hung up for everyone to see (I/LA)

The students will write a story in response to You
Wouldn't Want to Be Tutankhamen!: A Mummy Who
Really Got Meddled Wit. By David Stewart. The students’ story will involve themselves, King Tut at the same age as the student, a problem and the resolution. The students can bring in made up facts, but it must include actual facts as well, such as the setting of Ancient Egypt, what they ate, how they dressed, etc. (I/LA, History)

Students will create a readers theater as if they were living in the time of Ancient Egypt. They will be given class time to come up with dialogue, and at the end of
 the week, they will share with the class. They will have materials to make their own costumes (SG/LA, History)
Depending on if other classes or grades are studying the same or different cultures, the school could set up a
‘Market Day’ for the kids to make artifacts and bring the trade, just like they did in Ancient Egypt(WG/Art,History)
How was the lifestyle of Ancient Egyptians affected by geography/weather?
Activities

The students will have a chart to record the weather that will compare temperatures in Cairo, Egypt with their hometown where they attend school. The internet will be accessed by a different student everyday to record the different temperatures, then discussed how this affects their everyday lives(WG/Math,Science)

After reading an excerpt on Ancient Egypt from How People Lived by
Anne Millard, the students will discuss what types of foods were mentioned, and what types of food they think Egyptians ate. As we list everything on the board, the students will have time to research to see if what they brainstormed was correct(WG/LA)

Whitney Williams
EDRE 4870
April 29, 2009
Skill Lesson
Objective: The students will learn how to use text supports to construct meaning with the aid of pictures.
Materials: You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pyramid Builder: A Hazardous Job You'd Rather Not Have by J. Morley and D. Salariya; Paper; Pencil
Introduction: The teacher will ask the students some questions, such as: Have you ever been reading a novel or some sort of text, and you could not understand what the author was trying to tell you until you saw a picture or chart that helped explain the object the author was talking about? I seem to run into that problem quite often. Sometimes, pictures and charts help clarify meanings.
Teacher Input and/or Modeling: The teacher will start off by showing a list of words that are describing a mummy from ancient Egypt. As the teacher reads the list of words, he/she will demonstrate a thinking process. As the teacher gets ideas about what object the list of words is describing, they will write the words out to the side of the list. Once all words are read, the teacher will go back through the possible objects written down, and eliminate the words that do not fit the describing words. The teacher will eventually come up with mummy, the object the list was describing. The teacher will then show a picture(s) of an Ancient Egyptian mummy.
The teacher will then do the same process, but have a list of words describing King
Tutankhamen. As the teacher reads the word list, he/she will write the possibilities that the list of words is describing. The teacher will do the same elimination process, and eventually end up with King Tutankhamen. The teacher will show a picture of King Tutankhamen. The teacher will then go on to discuss how the pictures would have given a clearer meaning to the list of words.
Student Guided Practice: Given a picture of an elephant, the students are to create a list of words to describe the picture and what actions are being taken. The students will discuss aloud their ideas, and figure out that without any words to explain the picture, it is hard to say exactly what the elephant is doing.
The teacher will move on to providing a list of words describing a camel. After all the students have had an opportunity to read the list and decide what the object being described was, the teacher will ask the students to sketch a picture of a camel. Once finished, the teacher and students will discuss why it is important to provide text and pictures together when it is

available, as well as to take advantage of those opportunities to use visual aids when given to help provide a deeper understanding of readings.
Summarize and Reflect: The students will take some time to write in their journals about any past experiences with reading that may have been confusing, but may have been clarified if some sort of picture was provided. The student also may write about why including pictures with text is important, and explain in what ways could it effect the reader positively and negatively.
Independent Practice: Students will be given a passage from the book You Wouldn't Want to Be
a Pyramid Builder: A Hazardous Job You'd Rather Not Have. The passage will describe physical descriptions, as well as the purpose of Egyptian pyramids. There will be no pictures visible while the students are reading the passage. The students will have an opportunity to write down their predictions, and use the process of elimination as they finish reading the passage. Once all the students have had a chance to read the passage, the teacher will ask for volunteers to share their conclusions with the class. Once the class has come to a consensus on what the object is, a pyramid, the teacher will ask the students to draw what a pyramid looks like, still not having seen any pictures. After the students have completed their drawings, the teacher will provide a picture of several Egyptian pyramids. The students will continue to write in their journals about how they felt about the assignment, and why it is important for them to know how to use the aid of pictures and charts when available within the reading.
Evaluation: The teacher will look over the journals and drawings the students made to see if they comprehended the idea of using the picture to help construct meaning.

Skill Lesson # 2
Objective: Students will learn how to organize content/facts with a Venn diagram.
Materials: Class set of Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
Assumptions: Students have already read or seen modern day Disney fairytale movie Cinderella
Introduction:
Have you ever read two different stories that were different, but had many similarities. Whether it be the same character in two different books, or different characters with the same story line, some stories just tend to relate to each other. Today, we are going to learn how to compare two things that are alike in some ways, and are different in some ways. In this case, we will be comparing two books. First, I will demonstrate how it works.
Teacher Input and/or Modeling:
The teacher will begin to explain what a Venn diagram is as she shows an example of one on the board or overhead, and how it is beneficial to learning. Rather than starting with a book, the teacher will use the following example:
Now let’s see how we can compare firefighters and police officers with a graphic organizer. On this left side of the Venn diagram, let’s list everything that only relates to firefighters, on the right side everything that only relates to police officers, and in the center we will put everything that relates to both, firefighters and police officers.
The teacher will write the following in the appropriate spaces in the Venn diagram. Firefighters: put out fires, also paramedics, drive big red trucks or ambulance, have heavy duty fire resistant uniforms. Police officers: drive police car, carry weapons, wear bullet proof vests. Both: Fight crime, help the community, both transportation have lights and sirens.
If you look at this Venn diagram, you can see that I have organized all my information that is comparing and contrasting firefighters and police officers.

Now, let’s see if I can do one a little more challenging. What if I compared teachers and students? I will complete my Venn diagram in the same fashion I did the first one. Everything about teachers will go on the left side, everything about students on the right side, and all the similarities in the middle.
The teacher will then fill out the Venn diagram with the following information. Teachers: Prepare lessons, provide materials, always challenging students. Students: Prepared to learn, are given homework, get challenged everyday. Both: learn something new everyday, are good at adapting, motivate each other.
These are examples of how you can use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two different things.
Venn diagrams help keep your thoughts neat and organized, and are a very reliable and easy resource!
Student Guided Practice:
Teacher will allow students to create their own practice Venn diagram on a sheet of paper. Once everyone has a Venn diagram, the teacher will allow the students to practice putting their own together as the class talks aloud with some ideas. The class can choose what to compare and contrast, or you can give them an example. For this one, we will use chocolate chip cookies and brownies. The following is just an example of some criteria you may have, but the class may come up with different observations. Choc chip cookie: crunchy, round, and hard. Brownie: moist, soft, square. Both: Chocolaty, sweet, dessert.
Allow the students to work with someone sitting next to them and come up with their own topic and fill out another Venn diagram. Once they have something filled in, ask for volunteers to share their topics and information with the class.
Summarize and Reflect:
The students will take a minute to write in their journals about either a situation it would be good to use a
Venn diagram, or why Venn diagrams can be helpful in different, everyday situations.
Independent Practice:
Each student will have a copy of Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo. The students will look through the book silently. As the students are looking through the book, he/she will independently create a Venn diagram comparing how the Disney version of Cinderella is different from the new Egyptian version.
Once everyone has had a chance to put a few ideas down, students will volunteer their comparisons and contrasts about the different characters.

Evaluation:
The teacher will check the students’ journal entries and Venn diagrams to see if they have grasped the idea of using a graphic organizer to compare and contrast.

Skill Lesson #3
Objective: Students will learn to predict and confirm their predictions.
Materials: One copy of The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt by
Claudia Logan
Introduction:
Does anyone in here like to play the guessing game? Students will show of hands. Well, when reading, readers guess all the time. Guessing what is going to happen in a book is called predicting. When you make a prediction, you are guessing something that is about to happen.
That is what we are going to do today, make predictions.
Teacher Input and/or Modeling:
The teacher will begin by reading a couple passages to the students. The first one:
Little Sally was so excited. She hasn’t done this since last summer. As she stood up on the board and looked down into the clear, cool water, she could not wait to jump in. She bounced up and down, up and down, and took a deep breath before jumping in. What was Sally getting ready to jump into? The teacher will then think out loud, if she was looking into clear, cool water, I would guess, or predict, that Sally is getting ready to jump into a swimming pool.
The second passage:
Billy and Leah were walking home from school. They were bundled up with heavy coats and scarves. The ground looked as if there was a white blanket lying on top of the grass. The wind blew past Billy and Leah and they shivered. What time of year was it, and what did they see on the ground? The teacher will think aloud if they were bundled up, and shivered when the wind blew, it must be winter, and if it is winter and they see white on the ground, they must see snow.
Now, this is how you guess, or what was the other word? Predict, that’s right! You predict when you are guessing about something you do not know, but you have clues to help you get the right answer. Let’s see if we can practice some of these.
Student Guided Practice:
Bella and her Mother drove to the computer store. Sara had her money she had saved. She waited a long time for this day. Finally, she would be able to look up all the things she needed for school on a computer and email her friends.
Turn to your friend, and discuss with them what you think Bella and her mother were going to do.
Give the students a few seconds to discuss. Are there any volunteers about what she was going to do?
Give students an opportunity to answer.
Now, how about we try one more together.

I could here the thunder rolling so loud it shook the pictures on my wall. My family was watching the television, when all of a sudden all the lights and the television turned off. The only light we could see was from the lightning, until Mom lit some candles.
Turn once more to your friend and discuss what you think was going on in this passage. Give the students a few seconds, then ask for volunteers.
You all did an excellent job of predicting what was going to happen in all of the stories!
Summarize and Reflect:
The students will write in their journals why knowing how to predict can be important when reading a book.
Independent Practice:
The teacher will read aloud select pages from the book The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a
Mystery of Ancient Egypt by Claudia Logan. Once the teacher has finished reading the page, she will give the students an opportunity to write down a prediction on what they think will happen next. The students will place their prediction in what will be called the Predication Bag. The students can decorate these however they would like. Once the students have made their prediction and placed it in the bag, the teacher will go on to read the next page. The teacher will read about three or four pages for the students to make predictions on. Once everyone has made their predictions, they will pull them out of the bag, and write in their journals about one they predicted either right or wrong, what they guessed, and what the right answer was.
Evaluation:
The teacher will read the students’ journal entries as well as the Bag of Predictions, to see if the students understand the concept of how to predict.

Skill Lesson #4
Objective: The students will create visual images for the text mentally and on paper
Materials: One copy of Voices of Ancient Egypt by K. Winters, journal, various art supplies
Introduction:
Have you ever read a story that described a scene so well that you had the most vivid image in your head? Many authors have a talented gift of painting an image with words. Sometimes, the images in our head can help interpret a story in different ways, rather than the author providing pictures. Today, we are going to create visual images from text.
Teacher Input and/or Modeling:
I am going to show you an example of how to create images from text.
The teacher will start off by reading an excerpt from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight . The scene about the meadow is described with such great details on what it looks like. After the teacher reads the short excerpt, he/she will begin to model a thinking process. The teacher will close their eyes and imagine what the scene described looks like. Once the teacher has a mental image, they will draw a sketch on the board.
Now, let’s see if I can do one more.
The teacher will read a chosen piece of poetry from the book, Voices of Ancient Egypt . Once the poem has been read, the teacher will model the thinking process once again, by closing their eyes and visualizing the image in their head. Once the teacher has talked aloud about what they have visualized, they will once again draw a sketch of the image on the board.
As you can see from my examples, the pictures you draw from text do not have to be an exact description of the words. When I read the poems out loud, some of you may have been thinking something relatively close to the picture I drew, but others of you may have had a completely different image in your head, and that is great! That is what is so great about poetry and text, although the same words are being read, the interpretations and images being visualized do not have to be the same.
Student Guided Practice:
Now, let’s let you guys practice with creating visual images from text.
The teacher will read another poem from Voices of Ancient Egypt . Once the teacher walks the students through the thinking process of closing their eyes, and imagining what the words mean to them, the teacher will ask the students to just take a second and make a quick sketch in their journals of the image in their heads. Once everyone has had a chance to sketch their image, let volunteers share their sketches and their ideas behind their mental image.
Those were great examples! You guys are pros at creating visual images from text!

Summarize and Reflect:
The students will finish their sketches in their journals, and, if they want, write a couple of sentences describing their image. They will then write about how creating visual images when reading helps them to better understand the text, and how they can use it in the future.
Independent Practice:
The teacher will read aloud one more poem from Voice of Ancient Egypt . The students will repeat exactly what they did before, only this time they will not make a sketch. The students will draw the picture in their head with various art supplies and a given sheet of paper. The students will write en explanation of their picture, and how they decided to draw what picture they drew.
Evaluation:
The teacher will look over the drawings that the students completed, and hang them on the wall after they are all completed. The teacher will also read over the students’ journal entries to see if they understand the concept of creating a visual image from text.