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The Nile River
Katie McCarthy, Laura Smith, Jennifer Gobiel
Background for the Lesson
The Nile River is the longest river in the world, stretching over four-thousand miles
north from Northeast Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is unique because the water
flows upward, placing Upper Egypt under Lower Egypt. The Nile River Valley was one of
the earliest forms of civilization, beginning around 3150 BC and lasted until 332 BC. This
civilization of Ancient Egypt surrounded the Nile River, the source for irrigation and trade.
The Nile River Valley was significance due to their social and religious aspects, as well as
their advances in technology and writing.
Religion was extremely important to individuals in the Nile River Valley. This
civilization was a polytheistic civilization, meaning they worship more than one god. The
Egyptians had as many as 2000 different gods that they would worship. The Ancient
Egyptians lived their lives in preparation for their next life. When a person died the priest
came to recite prayers in an attempt to revive the deceased. The body was first washed and
purified. Next, the body was cut on the left side and the organs were taken out and put in
canopic jars. The body was then packed with salt, natron, for 40 days. Next, the body was
then filled with linen, sawdust, natron, and resin, wrapped in linen with jewelry and amulets
between each layer. Portrait mask placed over the head. The mummy was then put in a
coffin, Egyptians saw death as a transitional stage to a better life in the next world.
Guiding Question(s)
- Why religion was so important for individuals in the Nile River Valley?
- Why did mummification and Egyptian burial rituals occur?
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to understand the purpose of mummification and Egyptian burial
rituals.
- Students will be able to understand the importance of the afterlife to the Ancient
Egyptians.
- Students will write narratives to develop imagined experiences of the burial process.
Common Core Objectives
-CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Preparation Activities
- Students will be shown a powerpoint presentation on the Nile River Valley civilization,
specifically discussing the importance of the afterlife and how the Ancient Egyptians
believed that was achieved.
-Students will have a growing understanding of Ancient Egyptian beliefs and ways of life
through previous lessons.
-The teacher should gather materials such as paper, gems, glue, colored pencils, and
crayons for each student. The teacher should also have previously cut and prepared
sarcophagi.
-The teacher should also have extensive knowledge about what was put into the tombs and
the burial process in Ancient Egypt. Then, the teacher should create a visual example that
can be referenced during the lesson to support students with questions.
Lesson Activity
- Students will be invited to the rug to discuss religion in the Nile River Valley. Students will
discuss how preparing for the afterlife was extremely important for individuals in this
civilization. The process of mummification as well as the Egyptian burial process will be
discussed.
- After learning about how individuals in this time prepared their tombs for the afterlife,
students will be invited to create their own tombs. While explaining the directions of this
activity, students will be shown an example created by the teacher to be used as a
reference as well as inspiration. Students will be asked to include material things from their
current lives that they would want to carry over to their next life. Here, students can draw a
picture, write ideas, or glue objects from the crafts area of the classroom. Students will have
to glue a sarcophagus in the center of their burial ground and surround this with the material
things that they chose. The closer to the sarcophagus, the more likely that item will be
carried over to their next life. This will establish what is most important to the student, and
what is not as important.
- Following the creating of their burial sites, students will be asked to write a short open
response describing the material things that they have chosen to include in their burial site.
Students will be asked to explain why they chose the items they did, as well as how they
chose what items they wanted closest to the sarcophagus.
- The class will submit their response and burial tomb, which will be put together into a class
book.
Assessment
-INFORMAL: While creating their burials, the teacher should circulate to see students’
thought process, effort, and ideas. This should then influence the wrap-up discussion and
extensions, as well as future learning experiences.
-INFORMAL: While the students are gluing their objects to their burial site, the teacher
should take note of what the students put close to their sarcohpagus, informing the teacher
of the interests of the students for future instruction.
-FORMAL: Students will write an open response in reaction to their burial creations. The
assessment will be inspired off of their hands-on exploration of their tombs, and will require
an explanation of the placements of objects and their importance to the student. Students’
grades will be based on effort, their reflection, and the relevance to Ancient Egyptian life.
Differentiation
-The lesson will be differentiation to incorporate a variety of learning styles, keeping the
students engaged and focused. Beginning with a group discussion, auditory learners will
receive the information and explanation of the learning experience. Visual learners will
interpret the directions through the scaffolded instruction of the example on the board of a
burial creation from the teacher. By the class creating their own burial creations, hands-on
opportunities will provide differentiation for kinesthetic learners. Following the experience,
students will come back as a group to discuss findings, which will provide support for
students who still have questions.
Extensions
-The following day, students will collectively create a pyramid made of popsicle sticks, sugar
cubes, etc. Each of their burial creations will be placed inside of the classroom pyramid,
representing the authentic nature of pyramids in Ancient Egyptian culture, as well as the
importance of group collaboration and teamwork. This will allow for civic and social growth
within the classroom, as well as a constructing parallels between the past and the present.
Facets
Social - Pharaoh: Head ruler of the ancient Egyptian Civilization because he was believed
to be a god. He was the highest class in the Nile River Valley. Some of the pyramids
were built as a sign of respect for the Pharaoh.
- Nobles: Included the wealthy, priests, engineers, architects, and doctors. They
lived in much more comfortable living quarters than the average peasant. Scribes
and officials made up the “white kilt class”. Engineers were held responsible for
designing the pyramids but did not actually build them
- Scribes: Wrote letters, recorded harvests, kept the accounts for the egyptian army,
and wrote hieroglyphics. They were extremely important because not everyone knew
how to write hieroglyphics very well.
- Villagers: Tomb builders, Farmers, and peasants. These villagers were the basic
population and lived in the large cities. Farmers made up a large part of this
population. Their houses were made from brick and mud, showing their lower status
to the Pharaoh’s whose tomb was made of stone.
- Slaves: Slaves made up the lower class below the peasants. Slaves were prisoners
of war and were forced to work and build the monuments like temples and pyramids.
Political - Egypt was united under one central government.
- The egyptians believed that the king (pharaoh) was a god, which helped keep
order.
- Religious myths reinforced this belief.
- The government was centralized and controlled all of the resources of the state.
Religious - Polytheistic: multiple gods
- Egyptians had as many as 2000 gods and goddesses
- Some gods were worshipped throughout the whole country while others
were
more local
- The Egyptians believed that the world began due to acts of their gods
- The sun god Re rose up on a mound of dry land from the dark ocean
and
created light and all things
- Embalming
- When a person died the priest came to recite prayers in an attempt to revive
the
deceased
- The body was washed and purified
- The body was cut on the left side and the organs were taken out and put in
canopic jars
- The body was packed with salt, natron, for 40 days
- The body was then filled with linen, sawdust, natron, and resin
- Wrapped in linen with jewelry and amulets between each layer
- Portrait mask placed over the head
- The mummy was then put in a coffin
- Egyptians saw death as a transitional stage to a better life in the next world
Intellectual - Produced a 365-day calendar based on astronomy
- Created hieroglyphics and carved the symbols into tablets for communication
- 3 types of glyphs: phonetic glyphs, including single-consonant characters
that function like an alphabet; logographs, representing morphemes, and
determinatives, which narrow down the meaning logographic or phonetic words
- Historians believe that Egyptian Hieroglyphics were influenced by Sumerian
cuneiform however there is no direct evidence
Technological -
-developed an early geometric system used for creating fields
-created canals to support travel and farming
-created early medical advances, such as the prosthetic toe
-used irrigation for the floods from the Nile River to supply
Egyptians with water
-used Nile as means for transportation, especially in the
creation of the pyramids
-developed dams and dikes to contain flooding
-houses were made out of mud with small windows to protect Egyptians from the
flooding
-pyramids were constructed as a grave for the deceased pharaohs, made of mud
and
limestone from the Nile River Valley
Economic -most trade and travel happened around the river
-exported gold, silver, pottery, jewelry, and natural resources
-imported oil, giraffe tails, monkeys, eggs, horses, and skins
-used the Nile as a trade route to get to the Mediterranean Sea
-mostly traded with Mesopotamia and Syria
-barley was a form of payment in Ancient Egypt
-imports half of their food, especially in months the Nile did not flood
-produces a lot of cotton
-used donkeys as a means of transportation before horses arrived
Handouts