Project starter: exploring ancient Egypt.From the Classrooms of: John K. Trammel, social studies and special education, Hanover county, Virginia Hanover County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 86,320. A 2007 estimate shows the county's population has grown to 100,721[1]. Its county seat is Hanover Courthouse6. ; Tracey Goldman, fifth-grade teacher, Parklawn Elementary School elementary school: see school. , Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,284. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) south of downtown Washington, DC. ; Pam Tognetti, sixth-grade teacher, Brownell Fundamental School, Gilroy, California Gilroy (IPA: /ˈgɪlrɔɪ/) is the southmost city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. According to the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 41,464. ; and Angelique Acevedo, art specialist, Colorow Elementary School, Littleton, Colorado Topic: The history and culture of Ancient Egypt Subjects Integrated: Social studies (ancient civilizations, geography, civics civics, branch of learning that treats of the relationship between citizens and their society and state, originally called civil government. With the large immigration into the United States in the latter half of the 19th cent. ), art, language arts (decoding), science (simple physics) Time Frame: One week to several months Why This Topic? "I find ancient Egypt to be one of the richest hunting grounds for fundamental questions," says John Trammel. "In Egypt one can examine all of the great threads that run through time: art, religion, mysticism, science, language, architecture, medicine, social class, agriculture, government--the list is almost endless." Students' Research Questions: * How did the Egyptians build the pyramids? * How can we understand hieroglyphics? * What's so important about sarcophagi and mummies? * What would it be like to live in Ancient Egypt? Special Resources: Plenty of art supplies (cardboard, butcher paper, plaster bandages, clay, etc.) and building materials (including milk cartons, marshmallows, pipe cleaners, and so on); photos of or actual museum displays of artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. Examples of Kids' Activities * The class explores and discusses what Egyptians believed about death and the afterlife. * Students make papyrus books and translate their favorite English stories into middle-kingdom hieroglyphics. * Teams make student-sized mummies (with canopic jars for corpses' organs) and sarcophagi from plaster or paper; decorate sarcophagi with carefully chosen hieroglyphics. * The class builds a careful tabletop or walk-in model of the pyramid complex at Giza. * Students reenact the discovery of King Tut's tomb as a shadow puppet play. * Kids cultivate a crop of garlic using ancient irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. and farming techniques. Grand Finale * The class brings its work together as a hands-on Egypt museum for the whole school. * Students stage a "Day at the Bazaar" simulation, playing the parts of crafts-people, entertainers, merchants, and so on. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion