ANCIENT EGYPT
Welcome to the great discoveries as we travel through Ancient Egypt to
explore the many wanders of this land. The lands of Ancient Egypt were filled
many interesting artifacts and information that have become a vital part of our
world history. This unit on ancient Egypt will include interdisciplinary lessons from
Language Arts and Art. Each week students will learn the vocabulary and read
from the text to gain information on the Gifts of the Nile, Life in Ancient Egypt,
The Pyramid Builders, and The New Kingdom.
Unit three is the unit for Ancient Africa and starting with chapter five is
Ancient Egypt. The time line for this unit will be three weeks and will include
activities that are hands on and engaging. The objective for this unit is Students
will gain information on the geography of Egypt, the economics, the sciences and
technologies of the Egyptians, their belief systems, their government, and their
culture.
The units California content standards for social studies are as followed:
6.2.1 locate and describe the major river systems and discuss the physical
settings that supported permanent settlement and early civilization. 6.2.2 Trace
the development of agriculture techniques that permitted the production of
economic surplus and the emergence of cities as centers of culture and power.
6.2.6 Describe the role of Egyptians trade in the eastern Mediterranean and Nile
Valley.
Along with the social studies lessons this unit will also incorporate
Language Arts and Art. The first social studies lesson has the objective that
students will learn about the life of the Egyptian traders on the Nile River. Student
will gain an understanding how the Egyptian economy was built. The standards
addressed in this unit are state standards 6.2.6 and writing 2.2. The summary of
the unit is students will first read to gain the information and then they will
imagine they are an Egyptian trader who has written in a journal entry about their
days work and what it is they are trading. Students will then draw their trading
boat with the major components needed to travel along the Nile River to make
the trades.
The second Social studies Lesson to the unit addresses standards sub
strand 6.2 standards 1 and 2 This three part lesson studies life in Ancient Egypt.
Lesson 2 from Chapter 6 of the textbook looks at work and family life, Egyptian
social roles, astronomy, geometry, medicine, and hieroglyphs, and beliefs and
religion of Ancient Egypt. The first lesson plan is a discussion and read through
of the textbook pages 155-160. The textbook we are using comes with a CD so
we will listen to the narrator read Lesson 2 of Chapter 5 as the class reads along
in their textbooks. The class will then answer 10 comprehension questions as an
informal assessment to the reading. The second lesson plans begins with a short
video on Ancient Egyptian social roles. After a short discussion, the class divides
into four groups and moves through four centers writing down notes for each
social class. Each center has different resources the class can use and they are
required to write at least five facts about each social class. Showing their notes
will be their assessment as to having done the work. The third lesson plan begins
with another short video on the life of ancient Egyptians. The class then divides
into six groups, each group representing one of the six social roles, and begins
deeper research on their social role. They are to give an oral presentation on
their social roles. The assessment for this lesson is their oral presentation which
needs to answer several questions as stated in the lesson plan.
The Art component to the unit will consist of the following; students will
work in groups of 5-6; students will design and build an ancient pyramid including
the interior tomb of their pyramid. This art project will be done in class over a six
day period. The objective for the art lesson will be; Students will learn about The
Pyramid Builder Pharaoh Khufu during the Old Kingdom period in ancient Egypt.
Students will learn about the complexity and time allotment of building The Great
Pyramid and interior tomb. Students will learn how to build a model of The Great
Pyramid in a classroom setting while working with a group of 5-6 students per
pyramid. This art lesson ties in with our unit of study Ancient Egypt. Students
Understand the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of the pyramids
of Ancient Egypt and there representation. Students will design and build in
groups of 5-6 a pyramid and the interior tomb. Students will be given specific
dimensions and supplies to re-create a model of Pharaoh Khufu (The pyramid
builder's Great Pyramid) using art supplies that I have in my classroom. Students
can bring items from home to enhance their artistic point of view for their Great
Pyramid.
The Language Arts component to the unit will include the objective that;
Students will be able to explore the origins of the "curse of the mummy," a
modern Egyptian myth; investigate the culture and belief systems of ancient
Egypt; explore myths and stories of ancient Egypt; and discuss the influences of
ancient Egypt and geography on modern Egyptian culture.
Students will examine stories and myths about ancient Egypt through time. First
they will learn about the famous modern Egyptian myth about the "curse of the
mummy." Then they will investigate ancient Egyptian culture and belief systems,
including the influences of geography on the beliefs and customs of the time.
They will then explore myths and stories from ancient Egypt. Finally, they will
read about and discuss the influences of ancient Egypt and geography on
modern Egyptian culture. This lesson will address standards• Sub-Strand 2.0: Reading
Comprehension ( on Informational Materials)
Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe
and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by
using their knowledge of text structure, organization, and purpose. The selections
in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight
illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. In
addition, by grade eight, students read one million words annually on their own,
including a good representation of grade-level- appropriate narrative and
expository text (e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines,
newspapers, online information). In grade six, students continue to make
progress toward this goal.
The overall purpose of the unit is to teach students the many wanders of
Ancient Egypt traveling as far back as 3100 B.C. to 1200 B.C through fun
interactive lessons. The goal of this lesson is Getting students involved and
interested in World History while covering all the necessary standards.