Download Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt
Internet Lesson Plan
Grade level: 4-6
Teacher Activities
Goal:
To use Internet resources to explore interesting topics related to ancient Egypt.
Objectives:
At the end of the unit, the participant will be able to:
• Locate the following on a world map: Africa, Egypt, Egypt's bordering
countries and large bodies of water near Egypt.
• Discuss the role of an Egyptian pharaoh.
• Describe what ancient Egyptians ate and wore.
• Compare and contrast ancient Egypt and current day Egypt.
• Discuss the important roles the Nile River played in ancient Egypt.
• List Egypt's natural borders.
• Discuss why the Nile was important to trade.
• Discuss flooding and how it affected farming in ancient Egypt.
• Describe the silting process.
• Define hieroglyphics.
• Write his/her name in hieroglyphics.
• State the importance of the Rosetta Stone.
• Define mummy.
• Identify who was mummified in ancient Egypt.
• Describe the mummification process.
• State why pyramids were built and what their purposes were.
• Identify and describe the three different kinds of pyramids.
• Name a pyramid in Egypt.
• Design an interior plan of a pyramid.
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Duration:
Two to three weeks, with ½ to 1 hour online time each day.
Instructional Strategy:
Students should work in pairs or small groups and use the Internet stations to
locate information pertinent to the topics. They can also print out pages
necessary to complete off-line activities. These activities provide an opportunity
for older students with Internet experience to serve as mentors or tutors for the
younger student groups, giving assistance with advanced vocabulary on Internet
sites. Students can keep research information on ancient Egypt in folders and
should be encouraged to do additional reading and research both on-line and
off-line. These activities are designed to be interdisciplinary in order for students
to discover connections between all subject areas.
Prerequisite:
An introduction to the Internet, specifically the World Wide Web, on obtaining
information using specific addresses as well as how to use a web browser.
Students should also be familiar with the concept of "hypertext" so that they can
do research at several levels. If students do not have an extended period of time
to complete their research, bookmarks can and should be used.
Other Projects:
Projects that can be coordinated with this Internet activity are:
Activity #1: Life in Ancient Egypt
• Find the following on a world map: Africa, Egypt, Egypt's bordering
countries and large bodies of water near Egypt.
• The ancient Egyptians were the first to have cats as pets. Pretend you are
an ancient Egyptian. Write a story about your pet cat. Be sure to give it a
name. Illustrate with markers.
• The ancient Egyptians used their forearm as a unit of measurement.
Measure various objects using your forearm. How could this be a problem?
• Pretend you live in ancient Egypt. Write about your life. Illustrate it.
• Using items around your house, dress up like an ancient Egyptian.
• Religion was an important part of life for ancient Egyptians. Find out more
about their gods and goddesses at "ThinkQuest: Ancient Egypt: Ancient
Egyptian Gods" at http://tqjunior.advanced.org/4368/gods.html.
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• Most of the information we have on ancient Egyptian life has been given to
us by archaeologists. Figure out the answers to some fun questions
involving archaeology. Go to "SeaWorld: Egypt Fun Guide:
Archaeologist's Challenge" at
http://www.seaworld.org/Egypt/challenge.html. Check yourself by clicking
on "Answers."
• Find out more about the famous Cleopatra at "Mr. Dowling's Virtual
Classroom: Ancient Egypt: Cleopatra" at
http://www.mrdowling.com/604-cleopatra.html. Be sure to click on all the
links.
• Play "Who Am I?" at "ThinkQuest: Ancient Egypt: Who Am I?" at
http://tqjunior.advanced.org/4368/WhoAmI.html. Research the life of King
Tut.
• Teacher: Create a vocabulary bulletin board on ancient Egypt. Include
words like Nile River, hieroglyphics, Rosetta Stone, cartouche, floods,
farming, archaeologist, pharaohs, gods and goddesses, temple, amulet,
scribes, mummy and pyramid. Arrange the words in the shape of a
pyramid.
• Teacher: Discuss the use of the Egyptian calendar. Compare it to our
calendar.
• Teacher: As a class, create a mural of an ancient Egyptian community.
Include: hieroglyphics, the Sphinx, the Nile River, houses, people,
pharaoh, farming along the Nile, building of pyramids, hunting, papyrus,
craftsmen, gods and goddesses, animals and mummies.
• Teacher: Discuss what ancient Egyptians ate (mainly bread, beer and
onions). They grew vegetables and fruits. They ate fish from the Nile, but
meat was a special treat.
• Teacher: Discuss and demonstrate bartering, as the ancient Egyptians did
using jugs of beer, loaves of bread, and sacks of grain.
• Teacher: Egyptians used a shadow stick to measure time by the hour. As
a class, make a shadow stick. Compare the time of your classroom clock
with that of the shadow stick.
• Teacher: Teach about the government in ancient Egypt. Do a role play
using students about how Egypt was run politically.
• Teacher: Egyptians counted on their ten fingers and developed our
base-ten counting system. Let each student make prints of his/her hands.
Number each finger one to ten. Allow students work together to make
multiples of ten.
Activity #2: The Nile River
• Find the Nile River on a world map. Where does it begin? Into what body
of water does it flow?
• The Nile is the longest river in the world. Make a scale, using the
measurement of your choice. Draw its length on a piece of butcher paper.
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• Go to "SeaWorld: Secrets of the Nile" at
http://www.seaworld.org/Egypt/irrigation.html. Read the facts about the Nile
River and print out the map of Egypt. Follow the directions to complete the
activity at this site.
• See an ancient Egyptian boat that traveled the Nile River by going to
"Carnegie Museum of Natural History: Life in Ancient Egypt: The Carnegie
Boat" at http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/tours/egypt/carnegieboat.html. Create
a picture of you in a boat floating down the Nile in ancient Egypt using
watercolors.
• Read more about the Nile River at "Journey to Ancient Egypt: Journey
Down the Nile River" at
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Meadow/1934/Nile.htm. Click
on all the links.
• Plant a seed in rich soil. Put it in a warm, sunny place. Keep it watered.
What happens? How is this like the plants in ancient Egypt?
• Plant a seed in sand. Put it in a hot, dry place. What happens? This is like
it was to farm in the desert. How does this compare to the seed you
planted in the rich soil?
• See see what happens in a flood, place a small pan inside a larger pan.
Fill inner pan with water until it overflows into outer pan.
• Teacher: Discuss the important roles the Nile River had in ancient Egypt.
Discuss its flooding and the silt on its banks for ten miles on each side.
• Teacher: Discuss how the weather and climate of ancient Egypt affected
people's daily lives and work.
• Teacher: Discuss flooding and how it affected the farming in ancient
Egypt.
• Teacher: Discuss how farming civilized the ancient Egyptians.
Activity #3: Hieroglyphics and Art
• Make a small scale Egyptian city using modeling clay. Make a chart
showing the Egyptian symbols for numbers.
• A cartouche is your Egyptian nameplate. Make your own cartouche.
• Write a short story using hieroglyphs.
• Create several simple math equations using hieroglyphs. Give them to a
friend to solve.
• Draw a scene of ancient Egyptian life only using the profiles of objects in
your picture, as ancient Egyptians did in their art.
• View pictures of the Rosetta Stone by visiting "The Rosetta Stone" at
http://www.cimmerii.demon.co.uk/therosettastone/.
• If you were pharaoh, what would you have had written on the Rosetta
Stone? Write your own message.
• Make your own mask of a pharaoh, follow the directions at "The Cleveland
Museum of Art: Rosetta Stone: Build a Pharaoh" at
http://www.clemusart.com/archive/pharaoh/rosetta/rose3d.html.
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• Teacher: Discuss papyrus reed and how the ancient Egyptians used it to
make paper. Make paper as a class.
• Teacher: Discuss and show how ancient Egyptians used symmetry,
patterns, points and lines in their art.
• Teacher: Talk about and illustrate how the ancient Egyptians showed
movement of body parts by segmenting limbs. Let students draw their own
pictures using this method.
• Teacher: Discuss the history of the three crowns of ancient Egypt: the red
crown, the white crown and the double crown. Make and decorate them
using poster board, scissors, markers and a stapler.
• Teacher: Teach about the role of craftsmen in ancient Egypt.
Activity #4: Mummies
• Write a story about the journey a person takes after he or she is
mummified.
• Make a chart of the mummification process.
• Create paper mache mummies using crushed newspaper. Use newspaper,
masking tape, paper mache paste and trinkets to wrap in the mummies.
• Create a sarcophagus using a shoebox.
• Visit a museum to see mummies and the items found in their tombs and
pyramids.
• Wrap a small doll or animal with gauze like a mummy.
Activity #5: Pyramids
• Make a pyramid using blocks or sugar cubes.
• How do you think the ancient Egyptians built those giant pyramids without
any machinery? Write about your ideas.
• Pretend you are a newspaper reporter at an excavation sight of a pyramid.
Write your story.
• Form your own Sphinx out of modeling clay.
• Teacher: Teach and display geometric solids.
• Teacher: Discuss the riddle of the Sphinx. Have students create their own
riddles.
• Teacher: Divide the class into two groups. Have one team argue why
slavery was necessary to complete the pyramids. Have the other team
argue why slavery was unnecessary to build the pyramids.
Software Connections:
• Writing and More: Observing People, Places, and Things
Students can study and write about ancient Egypt and the people and
animals that lived there. They can also study and write about
archaeologists.
• Writing and More: Telling About a Character's Actions
Students can choose to write about what the pharaoh did. They can also
write about what archaeologists do.
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• Writing and More: Reporting an Event
Students can act as reporters witnessing an excavation of a pyramid.
• Writing and More: Describing an Event
Students can describe the mummification process.
Materials Needed by Teacher:
Internet activities:
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2-pocket folders
pencil, paper
crayons, markers, colored pencils
plain white paper
soil, water, clear jar with lid
poster board
Other activities:
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pencil, paper
crayons, markers, colored pencils
construction paper
scissors
world map
items to dress like ancient Egyptians
sticks
watercolors
butcher paper
tempera paint
potting soil, bean seeds, cups, water
water, small pan, larger pan
poster board, scissors, stapler, markers
modeling clay
newspaper, masking tape, paper mache paste, trinkets
shoebox
small doll or animal, gauze
blocks, sugar cubes
Teacher Notes:
The culture of ancient Egypt provides students with a vast amount of interesting
topics to study. Only a few have been chosen for this unit. Other areas a
teacher might want to include in a more in-depth study of ancient Egypt include:
archaeology, inventions, government, cities, daily life, geography and math.
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Ancient Egypt
Student Activities
Activity #1: Life in Ancient Egypt
1. Just what do you already know about ancient Egypt? Find out by taking a
quiz at "The Cleveland Museum of Art: Rosetta Stone: Kid Quiz" at
http://www.clemusart.com/archive/pharaoh/rosetta/rose10.html.
How did you do?
2. Complete the crossword puzzle about ancient Egypt at "SeaWorld: Egypt
Fun Guide: Crossword Clues" at
http://www.seaworld.org/Egypt/crossword.html.
If you do not know all the answers yet, fill them in as you progress through
this unit.
3. Learn more about daily life in ancient Egypt at "The Cleveland Museum of
Art: Rosetta Stone: Daily Life" at
http://www.clemusart.com/archive/pharaoh/rosetta/roseff.html#food.
ü What did they eat?
ü What did ancient Egyptians wear?
4. See several photographs from structures from ancient Egypt at "St.
Petersburg Times.com: Egypt Old" at
http://www.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptG.1EgyptOld.html.
Click on "Next" to view all the images.
Now see pictures of what Egypt looks like today at "St. Petersburg
Times.com: Egypt Today" at
http://www.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptG.2EgyptToday.html.
Click on "Next" to view all the images.
ü How are the pictures of Egypt the same?
ü What is different between the old and current pictures?
5. Take a tour of various sights in Egypt. Go to "Color Tour of Egypt" at
http://www.memst.edu/egypt/egypt.html. Visit at least five sights. Write
about your favorite sight. Sketch it with colored pencils.
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6. Who were the pharaohs? And what made them so special? Find out at
"Mr. Dowling's Virtual Classroom: Ancient Egypt: The Pharaoh" at
http://www.mrdowling.com/604-pharaoh.html. Choose one memorable
pharaoh. Why was he/she important? Write about him/her.
7. Bonus activity: Print out and complete a word search using ancient
Egyptian words at "ThinkQuest: Ancient Egypt: Word Search" at
http://tqjunior.advanced.org/4368/wordsearch.html.
Activity #2: The Nile River
1. Most of Egypt is a dry desert. But the area surrounding the Nile River is
fertile and rich. What is so special about the Nile? Find out at "Mr.
Dowling's Virtual Classroom: Ancient Egypt: The Nile River" at
http://www.mrdowling.com/604-nile.html.
ü Why is it so special?
ü Read about Egypt's natural borders at this site also. What are they?
2. The desert and mountains are seldom out of view from the Nile. To see a
current day picture of the Nile, go to "Color Tour of Egypt: Luxor: View of
Nile" at http://www.memst.edu/egypt/img0001.htm. Notice the sugar cane
fields, date palm trees, farmer, and donkey in the photograph.
3. Find the answers to the following questions at "Carnegie Museum of
Natural History: Life in Ancient Egypt: The Natural World" at
http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/tours/egypt/natural.html.
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What is the most important geographical feature in Egypt?
What was the main method of travel in ancient Egypt?
Why was the Nile important to what the ancient Egyptians ate?
What is the flood plain?
4. Go to "Carnegie Museum of Natural History: Life in Ancient Egypt: Trade"
at http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/tours/egypt/trade.html. Why was the Nile
important to trade?
5. Bonus activity: Read about the Nile's flooding at "Carnegie Museum of
Natural History: Life in Ancient Egypt: The Inundation" at
http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/tours/egypt/inundation.html.
See how the silting process works. Combine soil and water in a clear jar.
Put its top on and shake it. What happens?
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Activity #3: Hieroglyphics and Art
What is one of the first things you learned when you started to read? Letters,
right? Well, ancient Egyptians used pictures as letters, called hieroglyphs. Not
everyone in ancient Egypt learned to read and write. In fact, only a few were
taught how to use hieroglyphs. They were called scribes. They had to learn more
than 700 signs for letters and words!
1. Learn about the Rosetta Stone and why it is so important in what we know
about hieroglyphics. Go to "ThinkQuest: Ancient Egypt: Hieroglyphics" at
http://tqjunior.advanced.org/4368/hieroglyphs.html.
ü Why is it important?
ü Scroll down to "Hieroglyphics." Read about what they were.
2. Learn how to write your name in hieroglyphics by visiting the Web site
"SeaWorld: Egypt Fun Guide: Hieroglyphics" at
http://www.seaworld.org/Egypt/hiero.html. Using the chart, write your name
using hieroglyphics.
3. Find out more about the Rosetta Stone and hieroglyphics at "Mr. Dowling's
Virtual Classroom: Ancient Egypt: The Rosetta Stone" at
http://www.mrdowling.com/604-rosettastone.html.
4. Who was Jean Champollion? Why was he important? Read more about
Champollion at "Old News: Young Scholar Attempts to Decipher
Hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt" at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/oldnews/champoll.htm.
Create a brief bibliography about him.
5. The art produced by ancient Egyptians tells a lot about their lives and
beliefs. Go to "Michael C. Carlos Museum: Ancient Egyptian Art" at
http://www.emory.edu/CARLOS/egypt.gal.html#B.
ü Scroll down to look at all of the pieces shown at this site.
ü Double click on five of them to get a closer view.
ü Describe what you saw.
6. Bonus activity: Go to "Mental Mayhem: The Hieroglyph Translator" at
http://www2.torstar.com/rom/egypt/egypt.html. Follow the directions to
send a hieroglyphic note to a friend. You can even e-mail it to your friend.
Activity #4: Mummies
1. Just exactly what is a mummy? Find that out and more, like why people
were mummified and how the mummification process was done by going
to "ThinkQuest: Ancient Egypt: Mummies" at
http://tqjunior.advanced.org/4368/mummies.html.
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2. Find the answers to the following questions at "The Cleveland Museum of
Art: Rosetta Stone: Ask the Mummy" at
http://www.clemusart.com/archive/pharaoh/rosetta/rosefaq.html.
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Where were the pharaohs buried?
What happened to the royal mummies?
What is "the mummy's curse?"
Why do we excavate?
Did Americans excavate in Egypt?
How can we identify the pharaohs?
Who were the artists?
Where did the artists obtain their materials?
Did the ancient Egyptians worship animals?
3. Read more about mummies at "The Cleveland Museum of Art: Rosetta
Stone: Mummies and Mummification" at
http://www.clemusart.com/archive/pharaoh/rosetta/roseff.html#mummies.
4. Did you know the ancient Egyptians mummified animals also? Unscramble
the words to find out what animals they mummified at "SeaWorld: Egypt
Fun Guide: Mummimals" at http://www.seaworld.org/Egypt/animals.html.
5. Bonus activity: Complete the "Mummy Maze" at "SeaWorld: Egypt Fun
Guide: Mummy Maze" at http://www.seaworld.org/Egypt/mummy.html.
Create your own "Mummy Maze."
Activity #5: Pyramids
1. Find the answers to these questions at "ThinkQuest: Ancient Egypt:
Pyramids" at http://tqjunior.advanced.org/4368/Pyramids.html.
ü What happened to the early Egyptian graves?
ü What did they build to prevent this?
ü What did the ancient Egyptians begin building after the mastabas?
2. Learn about the pyramids of ancient Egypt at "The Cleveland Museum of
Art: Rosetta Stone: Pyramids" at
http://www.clemusart.com/archive/pharaoh/rosetta/roseff.html#pyramids.
3. Visit these three sites to discover more information on pyramids:
ü "SeaWorld: Egypt Fun Guide: Pyramid Power" at
http://seaworld.org/Egypt/pyramid.html
ü "Welcome to Ancient Egypt: The Egyptian Pyramids" at
http://www.iinet.net.au/~edubooks/egypt/pyramids.html
ü "Journey to Ancient Egypt: The Great Pyramids of Egypt" at
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Meadow/1934/pyramids.htm
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4. Write three facts about pyramids.
5. Go to "Mark Millmore's Ancient Egypt: Pyramids and Temples Menu" at
http://eyelid.ukonline.co.uk/ancient/pyr-temp.htm. Drag your mouse over
the map for pictures and information on different pyramids.
Study the three different kinds of pyramids. On a piece of poster board,
draw, label and color the three different kinds of pyramids.
6. Visit the pyramids by clicking on the following sites:
ü The Sphinx at "Nova Online Adventure: Pyramids: The Sphinx" at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/sphinxstory.html
ü Menkaure's Pyramids at "Nova Online Adventure: Pyramids:
Menkaure's Inside Story" at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/menkaurestory.html
ü Khafre's Pyramids at "Nova Online Adventure: Pyramids: Khafre's
Inside Story" at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/khafrestory.html
ü Khufu's Pyramids at "Nova Online Adventure: Pyramids: Khufu's Inside
Story" at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/khufustory.html
7. Then answer the following questions:
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Which took the longest to build?
Which pyramid is the largest?
Which one is your favorite?
Which one is the oldest?
8. To see how the Zoser pyramid was organized inside, go to "The Step
Pyramid Complex of Djoser" at
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/arth/zoser/zoser.html. Click on the white arrows
to follow links that show more about each part of the pyramid. Design your
own interior of a pyramid.
9. Bonus activity: Get a view from the top of Khufu's Pyramid without flying to
Egypt or climbing a single step. Go to "Nova Online Adventure: Pyramids:
View from the Top" at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/khufutoplo.html.
Follow the directions.
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