Download Tenth Grade Unit: The Bugs of Ancient Egypt Lesson One

Tenth Grade Unit: The Bugs of Ancient Egypt
Lesson One: Informational Text
From “Insects and Other Arthropods” Website; Secondary Source
CCSS: RI 3, RI 4, RI 5, RI 10, RH 4, RH 5, and RH 10
Close Reading Directions:
As we study the everyday lives of ancient Egyptians, let’s focus on the types of bugs they would have seen. In the
following article, Sacred Insects of Ancient Egypt:
a. Highlight terms specific to ancient Egyptians.
b. Place an H next to sentences that tell how Egyptians honored insects.
c. Place a D next to the sentences that describes the insect.
Text Dependent Questions for Discussion:
1. Choose the insect that most deserved respect by the Egyptians and explain what makes that bug most
deserving.
2. From what you’ve learned about the insects that Egyptians worshipped, summarize their values and goals in life.
Sacred Insects of Ancient Egypt
SCARAB (DUNG) BEETLE
It is generally accepted that the sacred scarab beetle of Egyptian mythology originated from the species
Scarabaeus sacer, although the ancient worship of this beetle was eventually extended to all members of the scarab or
dung beetle family. The scarab was personified by Khepri, a sun-god associated with resurrection and new life. The
ancient Egyptians believed that the scarab beetle came into being of itself from a ball of dung (the idea of self-creation). It
was worshipped under the name of Khepri, which means 'he who has come into being' or 'he who came forth from the
earth'. The god Khepri was associated with the creator-god Atum and was regarded as a form of the sun-god Ra. Just as
the beetle pushed its ball of dung over the ground, so Khepri in the form of a scarab beetle, it was thought, rolled the solar
disc across the sky each day.
Typical scarab beetle (Geotrupes), similar to the sacred scarab (Scarabaeus)
The scarab was a common type of amulet, seal, or ring found in Egypt from the 6th Dynasty (c.2345 BC) until the
Ptolemaic period (c.30 BC). The earliest were purely amuletic and uninscribed; it was only during the Middle Kingdom
(2055-1650 BC) that they were used as seals. The flat underside of the scarab, carved in stone or molded in faience (a type
of glazed pottery) or glass, was usually decorated with designs or inscriptions, sometimes incorporating a royal name.
Two examples of scarab amulets or seals inscribed on the underside with hieroglyphs, including a scarab glyph (bottom left) and a
flying-scarab glyph (bottom right). The scarab on the left (11 mm long) is from the Late Period (c.500 BC), whereas that on the right
(25 mm long) is much older and from the reign of Rameses II (1279-1213 BC). Both these amulets are pierced long ways to hang on a
necklace, as typical of many scarab amulets.
There were also a number of funeral type amulets, such as the 'winged scarab' (nearly always made of blue
faience and often incorporated into the bead net used to cover mummies), and the 'heart scarab' (sometimes inscribed with
Chapter 13b of The Book of the Dead and usually placed on the chest of a mummified body under the cloth wrappings).
These were included in burials from the 13th Dynasty (1795-1650 BC) onwards.
Two examples of funeral scarabs: 'winged scarab' (left) made of blue faience with pierced holes for attachment to the outer covering of
a mummified body (age unknown, span 150 mm); 'heart scarab' (right) carved in stone, this example uninscribed and unpierced, and
would be placed on the chest of a mummified body under its coverings (c.900 BC, 45 mm long).
The term 'scaraboid' is often used to describe a seal or amulet which has the same ovoid shape as a scarab, but
may have its back carved in a form other than that of a scarab beetle. The scarab and flying-scarab hieroglyphs were used
in Egyptian texts to represent the name of the creator-god, Khepri, and also to represent the word kheprer - meaning
'flying beetle' or 'sacred scarab' - and the word kheper - meaning 'become' or 'manifestation of '.
BUPRESTID (JEWEL) BEETLE
Scarabs were not the only beetles to capture the imagination of the ancient Egyptians. The buprestid or jewel
beetle is another type frequently found in tombs and modeled as amulets for hanging on necklaces. The name 'jewel
beetle' comes from the vivid metallic coloring of many species, displayed in subtle shades of bright iridescent greens,
golds and purple-reds. Keimer (1938) suggested that the buprestid most likely depicted on artifacts by the ancient
Egyptians was a species called Steraspis squamosa, a large beetle about 35 mm long as an adult, with a wood-boring
larval stage that feeds on the tamarisk tree.
Although the symbolism of bupestid amulets and other artifacts remains obscure, Kritsky (1991) suggested a
possible religious significance because the wood-boring habit of the beetles could be linked to the Osiris myth. According
to this myth, Osiris (lord of the underworld and afterlife) was tricked by his brother Seth and became trapped inside a
tamarisk tree, eventually to be released and brought back to life when the tree was split open by Isis. In much the same
way, ancient Egyptian carpenters may well have found buprestid beetles when they split logs and prepared boards for
coffins, and so linked the emergence of these beetles from split logs to the myth. Thus, the buprestid amulets may have
symbolized the rebirth of Osiris.
HONEY BEE
According to one Egyptian myth, honey bees (scientific name Apis mellifera) were the tears of the sun god Ra.
Their religious significance extended to an association with the goddess Neith, whose temple in the delta town of Sais in
Lower Egypt was known as per-bit - meaning 'the house of the bee'. Honey was regarded as a symbol of resurrection and
also thought to give protection against evil spirits. Small pottery flasks, which according to the hieratic inscriptions on the
side originally contained honey, were found in the tomb of the boy-king, Tutankhamun.
Honey bee (Apis mellifera)
Throughout ancient Egyptian history the bee has been strongly associated with royal titles. In Predynastic and
early Dynastic times, before the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, the rulers of Lower Egypt used the title bit - meaning
'he of the bee', usually translated as 'King of Lower Egypt' or 'King of North', whereas the rulers of Upper Egypt were
called nesw - meaning 'he of the sedge', translated as 'King of Upper Egypt' or 'King of the South'. In later times, after the
union of Upper and Lower Egypt, the pharaoh rulers used the title nesw-bit - meaning 'he of the sedge and the bee', which
is conventionally translated as 'King of Upper and Lower Egypt' or 'King of the South and North'.
Hieroglyph inscription nesw-bit ('he of the sedge and the bee'), which was part of royal titles from the 1st Dynasty onwards and
translated as 'King of Upper and Lower Egypt'. It was used as a prefix to the throne name (prenomen) of the pharaoh king.
Bee glyph carved on a stone scarab amulet (c.1700 BC)
Bee-keeping is depicted in Egyptian temple reliefs as early as the 5th Dynasty (2445-2441 BC). These show that
apiculture (bee-keeping) was well established in Egypt by the middle of the Old Kingdom. Records from at least one tomb
workers' village during the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) indicate that the workmen there kept bees and this was
doubtless true of other communities throughout Egyptian history. Bee-keeping is also depicted in some 18th and 26th
Dynasty tombs. Bees were certainly of great importance in providing honey, which was used both as the principal
sweetener in the Egyptian diet and as a base for medicinal ointments. The Egyptians also collected beeswax for use as a
mold-former in metal castings and also for use as a paint-varnish.
FLY
It is generally thought that the fly in Egyptian mythology gave protection against disease or misfortune.
Typical flies (blow-flies and flesh-flies) attracted to carrion and meat; similar flies must have
been very familiar to the ancient Egyptians, much as they are commonly seen today around
the food waste and household refuse of most human settlements
Although the precise symbolism of early fly amulets remains obscure, their significance during the later New
Kingdom period (1550-1069 BC) is better documented. At this time the military decoration known as the 'order of the
golden fly' (or 'fly of valor') was introduced and awarded for bravery in battle. The fly was perhaps used in this way
because of its apparent qualities of persistence in the face of opposition. One of the best known examples is a gold chain
with three pendants in the form of 'flies of valor' from the tomb of Queen Ahhotep I (c.1550 BC) and now in the Egyptian
Museum Cairo.
A fly amulet from the Late Period (c.250 BC).
This example (29 mm long) is carved from pink agate and
has a suspension loop at the top to hang on a necklace.
Stone amulets in the form of flies were being made in Egypt as early as 3500 BC or thereabouts. In the Old and Middle
Kingdom periods (2686-1650 BC), the fly was also depicted on various ritual artifacts, including the so called 'magic
wands' often carved from hippopotamus ivory and probably intended to protect the owner from harm. The fly hieroglyph
was used to represent the word aff - meaning 'a fly' - or in later times (c.1550 BC onwards) as a symbol of bravery.
BUTTERFLY
The butterfly is thought to be an example of the ancient Egyptian use of an insect motif purely for its own beauty
rather than as a symbol of religious or mythological significance. Butterflies were often depicted in tomb paintings of
river-bank scenes throughout the Old and New Kingdom periods (2686-1069 BC). Some of these reliefs and paintings
show great attention to detail so that particular species of butterflies still represented in the present-day fauna of the region
can be easily recognized. The species most often depicted on these ancient reliefs is a large and impressive butterfly called
Danaus chrysippus, which is a close relative and very similar in appearance to the familiar monarch or milkweed butterfly
(Danaus plexippus) of North America (occasionally also found in parts of northern Africa and Europe).
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
The butterfly motif was also used in jewelry design, such as found on several 4th Dynasty bracelets recovered
from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres and now in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston USA. In addition, several amuletic
artifacts resembling butterflies have been found in excavations at the royal necropolis and pyramid complex at Lisht on
the banks of the Nile.
LOCUST (GRASSHOPPER)
The particular grasshopper species used as a motif by the ancient Egyptians was probably the locust, either the
desert locust (Schistocera gregaria) or the migratory locust (Schistocerca migratoria), both of which were probably
common sights in the rich agricultural land bordering the Nile. Sudden plagues of these insects in ancient times no doubt
caused much destruction of grain and other food crops, just as they do today.
Desert locust (Schistocerca) at the 'hopper' stage without fully formed wings
Most of the locust (or grasshopper) amulets and seals so far discovered are similar to those depicting scarab
beetles, with a flat base usually inscribed and pierced through for threading on string or wire so that they could be worn.
Possibly these amulets were thought to ward-off locust plagues. Locusts (or grasshoppers) were also depicted in tomb
reliefs and paintings, as elements of wildlife along the Nile.
The locust or grasshopper hieroglyph quite simply refers to the insect itself, although in certain contexts it appears
to mean 'great numbers of individuals', for example on a wall in the temple at Medinet Habu near modern-day Luxor there
is an inscription which reads: 'battalions will come like the locusts'. The locust (or grasshopper) appears in hieroglyphic
texts, for example, as a determinative to the word snehem - meaning 'locust' or 'grasshopper' - as illustrated below.
The hieroglyph inscription snehem
SCORPION
Although not an insect, this arachnid deserves mention because, like the serpent, it became the object of many cults and
spells from the earliest times in Egyptian history, doubtless due to the fear of its sting. Two types of scorpions are found
in Egypt: the paler, more poisonous members of the family Buthridae and the darker, usually less harmful members of the
family Scorpionidae.
Statue of the goddess Serket
with a scorpion on her head*
Typical scorpion (Arachnida)
The scorpion ideogram, one of the earliest known hieroglyphic signs, was depicted on wooden and ivory labels found in
the late-Predynastic and Early Dynastic royal cemetery at Abydos and also among the cache of cult equipment in the
Early Dynastic temple at Hierakonpolis. The goddess Serket was the principal divine personification of the scorpion and
was usually depicted with a scorpion perched on her head (see picture above). She was one of the four protector goddesses
of coffins and conopic jars, together with Isis, Neith and Nephthys - the four godesses were often represented on canopic
chests. Isis was also said to have been protected from her enemies by seven scorpions.
One of the predynastic pharaoh kings of Upper Egypt (c.3150 BC) has been given the name Scorpion (also named
Zekhen in some lists). He was identified from a ceremonial mace-head found at Hierakonpolis which depicts a king
wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt with the glyph of a scorpion next to his face. He appears to have been a warriorking involved in the early struggles to unite Upper and Lower Egypt. From the Late Period (c.750 BC) onwards, images
of scorpions were also depicted on so called cippi, which were types of amulets or stele used to ward off, and provide
healing powers against, scorpion stings and snake bites.
The scorpion hieroglyph was symbolic of the scorpion itself, and of the goddess Serket and the pre-dynastic king
Scorpion. It was also used in hieroglyphic texts, for example, as a determinative to the word serk - meaning 'scorpion' and
also 'to breathe' or 'to sniff the wind' - as illustrated below.
The hieroglyph inscription serk
Lesson Two: Narrative Fiction
CCSS: RL 2, W 3 (a, d, and e), W 4, W 9b, and RH 1
Step One: Close Reading Directions:
Now that you know more about the role of insects and arthropods in the life of an ancient Egyptian, let’s learn more
about the way children lived.
a. Highlight examples of everyday life that may be similar to the lives of modern children.
b. Underline examples of everyday life that may be different to the lives of modern children.
Step Two: Prose Constructed Response Directions:
After you have read the narrative text, think about what you learned from the article, Sacred Insects of Ancient Egypt.
Now, write the next chapter of “If I Were a Kid in Ancient Egypt”, titled Relationship with Bugs following the same style
and voice of the author. Use evidence from the informational article about Egyptian culture, so the chapter is
historically accurate.
If I Were a Kid in Ancient Egypt
Edited by Lou Waryncia and Kim Sheldon
Imagine you are growing up in Ancient Egypt during the age of the Pyramids, about 4,500 years ago. What is your life
like? You probably spend a lot of time with your family. Most children don’t go to school, since only a few people know
how to read and write.
Your head is likely shaved, except for one lock of hair worn over the right ear. And you don’t worry about clothes,
because you don’t wear any!
Whether you are rich or poor, your house is probably made of mud bricks. The size of your house will depend on your
father’s job. Is he the king of Egypt, known as the pharaoh? Then your home is a palace with many rooms, though still
made of bricks. Is he a nobleman or a scribe (one of the few people who could write)? In that case, your house may have
a private courtyard with flowers and fish pond.
If you live in the capital city of Memphis, your father or mother might be a weaver who makes cloth. Maybe they work
in a bakery, making bread. In that case, you live in a small house, close to others like yours with doors that open to a
dusty, narrow street.
Life On a Farm
But, most likely, your father is a farmer. If he is a rich farmer, you may live on a huge farm along the Nile River. If he has
a small farm, you may live in a tiny town near the fields.
All the houses have flat roofs. Because of Egypt’s hot weather, your family often goes to the roof in the evening to get
cool. You may even sleep on the roof.
Wherever you live, it is on the sand. Except for a narrow strip of land along the Nile, everyplace is sand. The green land
along the river is too precious to build houses on. It’s the only place to grow all of the food for the country. Because
growing crops is so important, most families farm. At harvest time, everyone helps. Your job may be to tie up the shafts
of wheat and put them into bundles.
If your father is a farmer, he does not work from June to September. The Nile floods its banks then, and all of the
farmland is covered with water. At that time, the Pharaoh may order your father to work for him. If not, you have
vacation time.
Then, you might take a boat trip down the Nile with your family. Or, you might walk to the next village for a visit, with a
donkey carrying your supplies.
Whatever the season, religion is an important part of your life. You probably believe in many gods and wear an amulet
or figure of one of them on a necklace. Your parents say this protects you from evil and illness.
Childhood is carefree and happy, but it is short. By the time you are a teenager, you’ll be married. After that, you’ll be
expected to live your life just as your parents have lived theirs.
Relationship with Bugs
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Prose Constructed Response Rubric
Lesson Three: Primary Source
Wall Painting on an Egyptian
CCSS: RI 7, RH 7, and RH 9
Close Reading Directions:
a. Use the ‘Becoming an Art Critic’ worksheet to evaluate the wall painting.
b. In this wall painting, Egyptians are portrayed with fish, birds, cats, and butterflies. Using the clues from the
painting, explain the Egyptian relationship with each of the animals depicted in the art.
fish (example): they fish the Nile and eat fish as food___________________________________
birds: _________________________________________________________________________
cats: _________________________________________________________________________ _
butterflies: _____________________________________________________________________
Becoming an Art Critic
Who or what do you see in this artwork?
What colors are in the artwork?
Where do you think this scene is taking place? Explain your answer.
Why do you like or dislike this artwork?
When do you think this artwork was made?
Why do you think this artist made this artwork?
How do the people in the painting seem to be connected?
Lesson Four: Multimedia Sources
CCSS: RI 7, RH 7, and SL 2
Close Reading Directions:
a. Watch both videos.
b. List ways that the anatomy of a fly helps it to be both a hindrance and a help to humans.
World's Weirdest: Flies and Maggots
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/animals/bugs-animals/other-bugs/weirdest-housefly-maggots/
How the Fly Avoids the Swatter Video
http://www.sciencefriday.com/video/08/29/2008/how-the-fly-evades-the-swatter.html
Lesson Five: Informational Text
CCSS: RI 3, RI 4, RI 10, RH 2, RH 4, RH 5, RH 10, and RST 2
Smithsonian Science, A Plague of Locusts Descends Upon the Holy Land, Just In Time for Passover, March 6, 2013
Close Reading Directions:
Now that you know more about the role of insects and arthropods in the life of an ancient Egyptian, let’s learn more
about the way children lived.
a. Highlight evidence that locusts are harmful to the environment.
b. Underline evidence that locusts are harmful to the economy.
Culminating Research Simulation Task Directions:
After you have completed lessons one through five, write an argument (using evidence from the sources you have
analyzed) to prove that the ancient Egyptians probably looked at insects as a hindrance or as a help to their everyday
lives.
Dead locusts litter Israel’s Negev desert after being sprayed with pesticide on Wednesday. Photo: Rachel Nuwer
Locusts have plagued farmers for millennia. According to the Book of Exodus, around 1400 B.C. the Egyptians
experienced an exceptionally unfortunate encounter with these ravenous pests when they struck as the eighth Biblical
plague. As Exodus describes, “They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all
the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor
plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.”
Locusts attacks still occur today, as farmers in Sudan and Egypt well know. Now, farmers in Israel can also join this
unfortunate group. Earlier today, a swarm of locusts arrived in Israel from Egypt, just in time for the Jewish Passover
holiday which commemorates Jews’ escape from Egyptian slavery following the ten Biblical plagues. “The correlation
with the Bible is interesting in terms of timing, since the eighth plague happened sometime before the Exodus,” said
Hendrik Bruins, a researcher in the Department of Man in the Desert at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.
“Now we need to wait for the plague of darkness,” he joked.
With the help of the Lord, Moses delivers a plague of locusts upon the Egyptians, seen in the photo of a Bible page above. Photo via
New York Public Library, Renaissance and medieval manuscripts collection
While the timing is uncanny, researchers point out that–at least in this case–locust plagues are a normal
ecological phenomenon rather than a form of divine punishment. “Hate to break it to you, but I don’t think there’s any
religious significance at all to insects in the desert, even a lot of them, even if it seems reminiscent of a certain Biblically
described incident,” said Jeremy Benstein, deputy director of the Heschel Center for Sustainability in Tel Aviv.
In this region of the world, locusts swarm every 10 to 15 years. No one knows why they stick to that particular cycle, and
predicting the phenomena remains challenging for researchers. In this case, an unusually rainy winter led to excessive
vegetation, supporting a boom in locust populations along the Egyptian-Sudanese border. As in past swarms, once the
insect population devours all of the local vegetation, the hungry herbivores take flight in search of new feeding grounds.
Locusts–which is just a term for the 10 to 15 species of grasshoppers that swarm–can travel over 90 miles in a single day,
carried by the wind. In the plagues of 1987 and 1988 (PDF)–a notoriously bad period for locusts–some of the befuddled
insects even managed to wash up on Caribbean shores after an epic flight from West Africa.
When grasshoppers switch from a sedentary, solo lifestyle to a swarming lifestyle, they undergo a series of
physical, behavioral and neurological changes. According to Amir Ayali, chair of the Department of Zoology at Tel Aviv
University, this shift is one of the most extreme cases of behavioral plasticity found in nature. Before swarming, locusts
morph from their normal tan or green coloring to a bright black, yellow or red exoskeleton. Females begin laying eggs in
unison which then hatch in synch and fuel the swarm. In this way, a collection of 1 million insects can increase by orders
of magnitude to 1 billion in a matter of months.
From there, they take flight, though the exact trigger remains unknown. Labs in Israel and beyond are working
on understanding the mathematics of locust swarming and the neurological shifts behind the behaviors that make
swarming possible. ”If we could identify some key factors that are responsible for this change, we could maybe find an
antidote or something that could prevent the factors that transform innocent grasshoppers from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll,”
Ayali said. “We’re revealing the secrets one by one, but there’s still so much more to find out.”
A swarm of locusts will consume any green vegetation in its path–even toxic plants–and can decimate a farmer’s
field almost as soon as it descends. In one day, the mass of insects can munch its way through the equivalent amount of
food as 15 million people consume in the same time period, with billions of insects covering an area up to the size of
Cairo, Africa’s largest city. As such, at their worst locust swarms can impact some 20 percent of the planet’s human
population through both direct and indirect damages they cause. In North Africa, the last so-called mega-swarm invaded
in 2004, while this current swarm consists of a measly 30 to 120 million insects.
Estimating the costs exacted by locusts swarms remains a challenge. While locust swarms reportedly cause more
monetary damage than any other pest, it’s hard to put an exact figure on the problem. Totaling the true crost depends
on the size of the swarm and where the winds carry it. To be as accurate as possible, costs of pesticides, food provided
to local populations in lieu of wrecked crops, monitoring costs and other indirect effects must be taken into account. No
one has yet estimated the cost of this current swarm, though the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) allots $10 million per year solely to maintain and expand current monitoring operations.
Locusts covering a bush during the 2004 swarm near the Red Sea cost in Israel. Photo: Amir Ayali
This morning, the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture sprayed pesticides on an area of around 1,000 hectares near the
Egyptian border. To quell a plague of locusts, pest managers have to hit the insects while they’re still settled on the
ground for the night and before they take flight at dawn. So far, pesticide spraying is the only option for defeating the
bugs, but this exacts environmental tolls. Other invertebrates, some of them beneficial, will also shrivel under the
pesticide’s deadly effects, and there’s a chance that birds and other insectivores may eat the poisoned insect corpses
and become ill themselves. Researchers are working on ways to develop fungus or viruses that specifically attack locusts,
but many of those efforts are still in initial investigative stages. However, the company Green Muscle developed a
commercially available fungus that affects only locusts.
Even better, however, would be a way to stop a swarm from taking flight from the very beginning. But this
requires constant monitoring of locust-prone areas in remote corners of the desert, which is not always possible. And
since the insects typically originate from Egypt or Sudan, politics sometimes get in the way of quashing the swarm
before it takes flight. “We really want to find them before they swarm, as wingless nymphs on the ground,” Ayali said.
“Once you miss that window, your chances of combating them are poor and you’re obliged to spray around like crazy
and hope you catch them on the ground.”
In this case, Egypt and Israel reportedly did not manage to coordinate locust-fighting efforts to the best of their
abilities. “If you ask me, this is a trans-boundary story,” said Alon Tal, a professor of public policy at Ben-Gurion
University. “This is not a significant enemy–with an arial approach you can nip locusts in the bud–but the Egyptian
government didn’t take advantage of the fact that they have quite a sophisticated air force and scientific community just
to the north.”
Ayali agrees that the situation could have been handled better. He also sees locusts as a chance to foster
regional collaboration. Birders and ornithologists from Israel, Jordan and Palestine often cooperate in monitoring
migratory avian species, for example, so theoretically locusts could likewise foster efforts. “Maybe scientists should work
to bridge the gaps in the region,” Ayali said. “We could take the chance of this little locust plague and together make
sure we’re better prepared for the next.”
For now, the Israelis have smote the swarm, but Keith Cressman, a senior locust forecasting office at the FAO’s
office in Rome warns that there is still a moderate risk that a few more small populations of young adults may be hiding
out in the desert. This means new swarms could potentially form later this week in northeast Egypt and Israel’s Negev
region. His organization warned Israel, Egypt and Jordan this morning of the threat, and Jordan mobilized its own locust
team, just in case.
For those who do come across the insects (but only the non-pesticide covered ones!), Israeli chefs suggest trying
them out for taste. Locusts, it turns out, are the only insects that are kosher to eat. According to the news organization
Haaretz, they taste like “tiny chicken wings,” though they make an equally mean stew. “You could actually run out very
early before they started spraying and collect your breakfast,” Ayali said. “I’m told they’re very tasty fried in a skillet, but
I’ve never tried them myself.”
A swarm of locusts descends upon Israel. Photo by Amir Ayali
Lesson Six: Research Simulation Task
CCSS: RI 1, L 2, L6, W1 (a-e), W 2 (a-f), W 4, and RH 1
Directions: Write an argument using evidence from the sources you have analyzed to prove that the Ancient Egyptians
looked at insects as a hindrance or as a help to their everyday lives.
Research Simulation Task Rubric
Score Point 4
All “3” PLUS:
(EXCEEDS)

Cites more than two items of textual evidence to support analysis

Makes explicit and/or inferential connections between ideas expressed in
text(s) to other text(s) using textual evidence as support
Score Point 3

Response provides as accurate analysis of what the text says explicitly.
(MEETS)

Response provides an accurate analysis of what the text says inferentially.

Cites two items of textual evidence to support analysis

Shows accurate comprehension of ideas expressed in text(s)

Includes 3 of the “Meets” criteria
Score Point 2
(PROGRESSING)
Score Point 1
(task may be repeated after re-teaching)

(BEGINNING)
Score Point 0
(DOES NOT MEET)
Notes:
Includes 2 of the “Meets” criteria
(task may be repeated after re-teaching)

Includes fewer than 2 of the “Meets” criteria
(task may be repeated after re-teaching)