World Affairs Council of Houston
Egypt Fellowship Lesson Plans
Objective: The student will understand the history, culture, economy,
religion, politics and art of Egypt.
TEKS Alignment: (23) Social Studies Skills: problem solving, decision
making, working independently with others.
(A) Plan, organize, complete research project.
(B) Identify contemporary geographic problems and skills to answer
real world questions.
Activity: Students will have five days to create and present a class
newspaper covering their assigned topic of Egypt. Students will decide on
an Editor-in-chief of the newspaper and divide into investigative teams.
They will determine the news bureaus represented and topics to be covered.
In teams, decide which aspects of your topic you wish to cover in your
research, the scope and areas of interest. Assign each reporter in your team
an engaging area that they may prepare for the newspaper. The Editor-inchief will compile the Table of Contents and catch phrases for the cover to
elicit interest in the readers. They will follow up with each group to see to it
that photographs are submitted with captions.
Students will spend two days in the computer lab to research and write
report. After presenting factual data, students must contribute to an editorial
section of the paper. They must take a stance regarding one of the issues
discussed (state mandated Sunni Islam, construction of the High Dam with
its cost to antiquities, etc.) In addition, they will submit pertinent questions
including answers using Bloom’s Taxonomy covering their articles. These
will be compiled for the class as a whole as a final assessment to check for
understanding, comprehension and retention of the impact of the issues
presented.
World News – Using CIA Factbook and US State Department websites,
create a statistical comparison and analysis of a minimum of eight data
points (must include birth rate, literacy rate, GDP, per capita income, major
imports/exports, religion). Graphic representation must accompany a write
of Egypt’s standing compared to that of four other African nations (students’
choice: one country from each of Africa’s four regions) and four other
nations in the rest of the world (USA and China must be used; the other two
are the students’ choice).
TEKS: (7) Geography: the student understands growth, distribution,
movement, and characteristics of world population
(A) Construct and analyze data, graphics, maps, and characteristic of
different societies
National News – three part series of articles considering the pros and cons
of constructing the Aswan High Dam
First article will be written from the point of view of the construction
company and the local farmers giving reasons for dam erection (include
irrigation, trade, and fishing benefits along the Nile)
Second article will be written from the point of view of archeologists,
museum director, and the head of Egypt’s head of tourism department giving
reasons to stop dam erection (include destruction of antiquities as well as
human and animal habitats)
Third article will be written from the point of view of the government
agency making a final decision on the Aswan High Dam project. This
article must offer a comparison between Egypt’s current situations with that
of the Three Rivers Gorge Dam in China. Pros and Cons of China’s
construction must be considered and elaborated in decision making process,
including micro and macro management.
TEKS: (5) Geography: the student understands how political, economic, and
social processes shape cultural patterns and characteristics in various regions
(A)Analyze how the character of a place is related to political, social, and
geographic characteristics. Make connections among economic
development, urbanization, population growth, and environmental
change.
(B) Compare ways humans depend on, adapt to, and modify physical
environment
(C) Describe the impact of and analyze the reaction of the environment to
abnormal conditions
(D) Analyze data to infer the effects of physical and human processes on
patterns of settlement, economic and political conditions, and
resource distribution
Local News- Choose a city in Egypt and compare the life of the average
male citizen to that of the average female citizen. Include daily
responsibilities, duties in the home, jobs, position in the community and
religious sector, level of education, as well as recreational and leisure
activities.
TEKS: (17) The student understands the distribution, patterns, and
characteristics of different cultures
(A) Describe and compare patterns of culture such as language,
religion, and land use, systems of education, and customs that
make specific regions of the world distinctive
(B) Compare economic opportunities in different cultures for women
in selected regions
Historical Perspective – Students will construct a pictorial timeline
featuring the major architectural and technological achievements during the
reign of the Pharaohs. Each entry will be written up in terms of how the
technology shaped the physical and cultural landscape, the work force (paid
and slave labor), as well as Egypt’s worldwide contribution
TEKS: (19) Science, technology and society. The student understands the
impact of technology and human modification on the physical environment.
(A) Evaluate the significance of major technological innovations and
how they modified the physical environment
(B) Analyze ways technological innovations have allowed humans to
adapt to places shaped by processes such as floods
(20) Science, technology, and society. The student understands how
technology affects use of resources
(B) Analyze the role to technology in agriculture and other primary
activities and identify the environmental consequences of the
changes that have taken place.
Travel and Leisure – Students will create a section for tourists highlighting
local and cultural events of note. This section must include two different
week long travel plans for families arriving at Egypt’s bustling capital,
Cairo, and in a rural Nubian village. Find transportation from the airport to
sleeping quarters; locate restaurants, museums, historical landmarks, bazaar
shopping, camel rides, and any other family friendly activities.
Students must include monetary conversion charts and a local temperature
graphs for monthly highs and lows in each of the three regions to better
prepare the travelers. Students will complete the section with a comparative
analysis of the two regions.
TEKS: (9) Geography: the student understands the concept of region as an
area of Earth’s surface with unifying geographic characteristics
(B) Identify the differences among formal , functional, and perceptual
regions
Other possibilities include:
Religion Section – Trace the spatial diffusion of Sunni Islam
Entertainment News – may have crossword puzzle with definitions to
vocabulary terms as clues and terms appearing as answers in the grid,
various scrambles or word games, timeline to be completed, cartoons
Sports Section – state sponsored, national pride
s
Political/Editorial Section – letters to the editor, op ed pieces, political
cartoons