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Ancient Egypt
Abstract: In this lesson, the students will use the STAD method to learn about ancient Egypt.
Goals:
1. The student will be able to analyze why the Nile River was so important to the growth of
Egyptian civilization.
2. The student will be able to discuss how pharaohs, pyramids, and religious beliefs
influenced the Old Kingdom.
Materials:
1. Student textbooks
2. Students’ individual notebooks
3. Team summary sheets
4. Teacher-made worksheet
5. Teacher-made quiz
Procedures:
1. Write the words ancient Egypt on the board and have the students copy the words into
their notebooks.
2. Ask the students to write words or phrases that come to mind when they think of ancient
Egypt.
3. Call on volunteers to share their ideas on ancient Egypt. Write student responses on the
board.
4. Circle the responses that are stated the most frequently. Have students write down any
words or phrases that were not in their notebooks.
5. Tell the students that they will learn the historical significance of these terms in this unit.
6. Have the students read the chapter focus on page 67. Discuss any questions students may
have.
7. Have students read silently and take notes on section one (p.67-68).
8. Check for student understanding by asking questions
– What is a delta? – fan-shaped area of fertile land
– What was the significance of the Nile River delta in ancient Egypt? – because it
was so fertile, most ancient Egyptians lived there
– What are cataracts? – waterfalls
– What purpose did they serve? – helped protect the Egyptians from foreign
invasions
– What happened to the Nile River every year? – flooded
– What was the significance of this? – the flood waters left behind rich soil that was
good for growing crops
– What were basins and what was their purpose? – bowl-shaped holes that were
filled with water from the Nile to water the crops during the dry season
9. Have students read silently and take notes on section two (p.69-72).
10. Check for student understanding by asking questions
– Who united Upper and Lower Egypt? – Narmer
–
How did he do it? – conquered Lower Egypt and marred one of its princesses; set
up a new capital at Memphis, a city on the border of Upper and Lower Egypt
– Who lived in the cities? –kings, priests, government officials, and artisans
– Where did most Egyptians live? – on large estates along the banks of the Nile
– What were Egyptian rulers called? – pharaohs
– What does pharaoh mean? – great house
– What did the Egyptians consider a pharaoh to be? – a ruler, priest, and god; he
was the center of Egyptian life and ruled on Earth as gods ruled in heaven
– What were some of the duties of the pharaoh? – saw that dams and irrigation
canals were built and repaired; built granaries, chose government officials;
oversaw tax collection and trade with other lands; carried out certain rituals
– For what were the pyramids designed? – pharaoh tombs; protect pharaohs’ bodies
and personal belongings from floods, wild animals, and robbers
– When were the pyramids built? – the three summer months when the fields were
flooded
– Who were the two most important gods? – river god Hapi and sun god Re
– Why were they the most important gods? – Egyptians depended on the river for
water and fertile soil and the sun to make crops grow
– How did an Egyptian earn life after death? – the god and goddess of the dead
weighed each person on a scale after their death. If the person had led a good life
and knew certain magic spells, the scale balanced and the person would get life
after death
– How did Egyptians learn the proper spells? – by studying the Book of the Dead
– How were bodies preserved? – embalming
– Why were bodies of pharaohs embalmed? – Egyptians thought that the soul could
not live without the body. It was important for a pharaoh’s soul to live after his
death so he would continue to take care of Egypt
11. Have students break into their study teams. Give each team two worksheets with the
above questions and two answer sheets. Give them the class period to study together to
master the material for tomorrow’s quiz
12. Have students take the quiz individually.
13. Score the quizzes and determine individual improvement scores and team scores.
14. Return quizzes and review correct answers.
15. Recognize the teams as a Good Team (15 points), Great Team (20 points), or a Super
Team (25 points).
Cooperative Lesson Basic Elements
The Student Teams Achievement Divisions format includes the elements necessary to a
cooperative lesson. The group forms positive interdependence because the team needs every
member to achieve in order to obtain the group reward and improve their grade. There is
individual accountability because each student must take the quiz on his or her own and earn a
grade. Social skills and face-to-face interactions are very evident in the team study portion of
the lesson. The STAD method uses heterogeneous grouping in each study team. Evaluation is
done via the individual quizzes. There is an element of processing of the material through
returning the quizzes and reviewing the correct answers. There is also processing in the group
process though the team recognition.
When assigning students to teams, one must take into account not only different academic ability
levels of individual students, but also the classroom climate. According to Schmuck and
Schmuck (p.46) “if the members of a class have never developed the capacity for interpersonal
trust and closeness, they will have difficulty dealing with more advanced sorts of group work,
such as working on projects together and taking successful field trips with one another.” It is
important to have a friendly and safe classroom climate to have successful group work. There
are many suggestions for different activities to build a positive classroom climate in the SaponShevin book.
Another consideration is expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies. Students will have different
expectations for their group members. These can be positive or negative. Students must be in a
group that allows them to break out of negative expectations. Teachers must also be aware of
their own expectations and make sure that they are not influencing negative student behavior
through self-fulfilling prophecies. Teachers place students in teams based on how they expect
each student to perform. Teachers need to keep an open mind about individual students’ “level”
and realize that students may make great improvements.
Leadership takes an important role in STAD. Teachers using this method are demonstrating a
more democratic type of leadership, and hopefully this style will carry into the teams. Students
have the chance to showcase their different psychological bases of influence and power.
Students in a STAD team would have a choice to display expert and referent power. While
teachers are usually viewed as having reward power, in a team all students can have this power.
Everyone has the potential to contribute to the team score. These teams can also foster
connection power that can benefit students in the small teams and in the general classroom
setting.
Conflict could be an issue in the STAD model if the students do not have a positive relationship.
There could be conceptual conflict as well as interpersonal conflict. However, if there is a
cohesive classroom environment, the likelihood of conflict is greatly reduced.
While there are some risks using the STAD method or any cooperative learning model, there are
many benefits. Friendships are made and interpersonal power and skills are increased. Every
person is valued as an important member of the group as everyone has an equal chance of
bringing points to the group. The classroom becomes desegregated and children of different
backgrounds and abilities are accepted.
Team Study Worksheet
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
What is a delta?
What was the significance of the Nile River delta in ancient Egypt?
What are cataracts?
What purpose did they serve?
What happened to the Nile River every year?
What was the significance of this?
What were basins and what was their purpose?
How was the Nile River important in ancient Egypt?
9. Who united Upper and Lower Egypt?
10. How did he do it?
11. Who lived in the cities?
12. Where did most Egyptians live?
13. What were Egyptian rulers called?
14. What does pharaoh mean?
15. What did the Egyptians consider a pharaoh to be?
16. What were some of the duties of the pharaoh?
17. Why was the pharaoh important in ancient Egypt?
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
For what were the pyramids designed?
When were the pyramids built?
Who were the two most important gods?
How did an Egyptian earn life after death?
How did Egyptians learn the proper spells?
How were bodies preserved?
Why were bodies of pharaohs embalmed?
Why were the pyramids significant in ancient Egypt?
Team Study Answer Sheet
1. fan-shaped area of fertile land
2. because it was so fertile, most ancient Egyptians lived there
3. waterfalls
4. helped protect the Egyptians from foreign invasions
5. flooded
6. the flood waters left behind rich soil that was good for growing crops
7. bowl-shaped holes that were filled with water from the Nile to water the crops during the dry
season
8. The Nile River provided fertile land, water for crops, and protection from foreign invasions.
9. Narmer
10. conquered Lower Egypt and marred one of its princesses; set up a new capital at Memphis, a
city on the border of Upper and Lower Egypt
11. kings, priests, government officials, and artisans
12. on large estates along the banks of the Nile
13. pharaohs
14. great house
15. a ruler, priest, and god; he was the center of Egyptian life and ruled on Earth as gods ruled in
heaven
16. saw that dams and irrigation canals were built and repaired; built granaries, chose
government officials; oversaw tax collection and trade with other lands; carried out certain
rituals
17. The pharaoh was the center of Egyptian life and was considered a god. He was in charge of
many aspects of Egyptians’ daily lives.
18. pharaoh tombs; protect pharaohs’ bodies and personal belongings from floods, wild animals,
and robbers
19. the three summer months when the fields were flooded
20. river god Hapi and sun god Re
21. the god and goddess of the dead weighed each person on a scale after their death. If the
person had led a good life and knew certain magic spells, the scale balanced and the person
would get life after death
22. by studying the Book of the Dead
23. embalming
24. Egyptians thought that the soul could not live without the body. It was important for a
pharaoh’s soul to live after his death so he would continue to take care of Egypt
25. The pyramids protected the body and belongings of the pharaoh so he could continue to
protect Egypt even after his death.
Ancient Egypt Quiz
Name
Date
A-
Matching:
___1. Fan-shaped area of fertile land
A. Narmer
___2. He united Upper and Lower Egypt
B. pharaoh
___3. waterfalls
___4. bowl-shaped holes used for irrigation
___5. great house
C. delta
D. cataracts
E. basins
Multiple Choice:
6. When were the pyramids built?
A. in the winter
B. in the summer when the fields were flooded
C. in the fall
7. What is the name of the process of preserving bodies?
A. embalming
B. mummy
C. sealing
8. What was the book that had the spells Egyptians needed to know for the after-life?
A. The Bible
B. The Book of the Dead
C. The Book of Spells
9. What was the purpose of the pyramids?
A. To guard against foreign invasion
B. To shade fields from the sun
C. To be pharaohs’ tombs
10. Who lived in cities?
A. kings, priests, government officials, and artisans
B. the poorest people in the kingdom
C. farmers
Short Answer:
11. How was the Nile River important in ancient Egypt? (hint – what did it provide for people?)
12. Why was the pharaoh important in ancient Egypt? (hint – what did people consider him?
Of what was he in charge?)