Ancient Egyptian

 

Description

Mysterious and alluring, ancient Egypt has attracted and fascinated people for centuries; not only the people and the landscape, but the incredible stories of tall pyramids, decorated mummies, and sweeping hot dessert sands have enticed and lured travelers to her. Join me on a fieldtrip/adventure where we’ll learn about life in Egypt, the people’s Egyptian gods and goddesses, their temples, writing, pharaohs, and trades. We’ll also study the country’s geography by viewing maps and take a glance at Egyptian history as a whole by looking at a timeline. You won’t want to miss this trip!

 

 

Goals

The goals and objectives of this fieldtrip are to: become more familiar with Ancient Egypt by learning about the life of her people, the geography, gods and goddesses, pharaohs, pyramids, temples, trades, writing, and to look at an Egyptian timeline. 

 

 

Research

(Source: The Ancient Egypt website and the World Book Encyclopedia website)

 

Egypt has fascinated and lured travelers for centuries: pyramids and mummies, hieroglyphics and legends. For those brave enough to look deeper and dig farther, Egypt, located in the northeastern corner of Africa, offers vast amounts of rich knowledge.

 

The World Book Encyclopedia writes: “The mighty Nile River was the lifeblood of ancient Egypt. Every year, it overflowed and deposited a strip of rich, black soil along each bank. The fertile soil enabled farmers to raise a huge supply of food. The ancient Egyptians called their country Kemet, meaning Black Land, after the dark soil. The Nile also provided water for irrigation and was Egypt's main transportation route. For all these reasons, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt ‘the gift of the Nile.’

 

The ancient Egyptians made outstanding contributions to the development of civilization. They created the world's first national government, basic forms of arithmetic, and a 365-day calendar. They invented a form of picture writing called hieroglyphics. They also invented papyrus, a paper-like writing material made from the stems of papyrus plants. The Egyptians developed one of the first religions to emphasize life after death. They built great cities in which many skilled architects, doctors, engineers, painters, and sculptors worked.

 

The best-known achievements of the ancient Egyptians, however, are the pyramids they built as tombs for their rulers. The most famous pyramids stand at Giza. These gigantic stone structures—marvels of architectural and engineering skills—have been preserved by the dry climate for about 4,500 years. They serve as spectacular reminders of the glory of ancient Egypt.”

 

Lesson Plans:

 

1) Go to the Ancient Egypt website (www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html). From time to time, the links on the web site do not work. Either skip the question below or the page you’ve been directed to and go on. When navigating a site, you may want to use your forward and back arrows, or click on the icon (link) buttons. The back arrow is the best way to get from a particular screen back to the main screen.

2) Click on “Egyptian Life” (on the left) and read about it (you may click on Egyptian Life on the second screen to get the third screen quicker. That works for all the screens). Then, using your back arrow, go back to the main screen (you might want to click twice to get to the main screen faster).

3) Click on “Geography” and read about it. Click on Explore to look through some maps of Egypt. Using your back arrow, go back to the main screen.

4) Click on “Gods and Goddesses” and read about it. Then, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on the two questions to read the answers (How did people worship the gods and goddesses, etc.). Go back to the main screen.

5) Click on “Pharaoh” and read about him (“Mummification” is being skipped because of graphic content). Click on the underlined pharaoh in the first sentence and read the definition. Go back to the main screen.

6) Click on “Pyramids” and read about them. Then, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and read the answers to all nine questions. Go back to the main screen.

7) Click on “Temples” and read about them. Go back to the main screen.

8) Click on “Time” and read about it. Click on Explore to investigate the time lines of ancient Egypt. Go back to the main screen.

9) Click on “Trades” and read about it. Go back to the main screen.

10) Click on “Writing” and read about it. Than go to the bottom of the screen and click on The Rosetta Stone and read about it.

 

11) While not part of this fieldtrip, you may want to check out the Story, Explore, and Challenge sections (of Egyptian Life, etc.) located in the website.

 

Scavenger Hunt Questions

 

Grades K-3

1) What kind of leader was a pharaoh?

2) Was the yearly flooding of the Nile good for the land?

3) How long did the civilization of Ancient Egypt last?

4) True or false: Craftsmen in ancient Egypt were not respected in the community and had a very poor lifestyle.

5) What is the most famous of all ancient Egyptian scripts?

6) What kind of homes did the Egyptian people build?

7) Who were some of the official gods and goddesses? Who were some of the gods/goddesses worshipped by the ordinary people?

8) What was the purpose of a pyramid?

9) What is the Rosetta Stone?

10) Who did ancient Egyptians believe that a temple was home to?

 

 

Grades 4-8

1) What did the barren desserts, or red land, provide for the Egyptians?

2) Why was the black land, or the fertile land on the banks of the Nile the only land in ancient Egypt that could be farmed?

3) Where are the three largest and best-preserved pyramids located? When were they built?

4) When was the Rosetta Stone made?

5) Why did the Egyptians believe it was important to worship the gods and goddesses?

6) Why was the goddess Sekhmet sometimes shown with the head of a lioness?

7) What were the different groups of people that made up Egypt?

8) How was the Rosetta Stone found?

9) What kind of power did the pharaoh’s two titles, “Lord of the Two Lands” and “High Priest of Every Temple” give him?

10) Why is the Rosetta Stone written in three different scripts?

 

 

Highschool

1) The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into what two types of land? What was each kind of land like?

2) Identify the Egyptian periods in which the following events occurred: (a) pyramids of Giza built, (b) Rosetta Stone carved, (b) last use of hieroglyphic writing, and (d) first stone pyramid built.

3) What were the Egyptians trying to preserve through their script? On what sort of surfaces did they preserve it on?

4) What is the meaning of the word Pharaoh?

5) How many known pyramids are left today from Ancient Egypt?

6) What was the earliest kind of royal burial in Egypt?

7) What is the purpose of the Great Sphinx?

8) What did a proper burial ensure an ancient Egyptian?

9) What is the Valley of the Kings? Who was buried there?

10) Why was the Rosetta Stone a significant find?

 

Further Activites

 

*Get some books from the library about the various Egyptian gods and goddesses. How do they compare to Roman and Greek gods and goddesses? Are they at all alike?

 

*Egyptologists have developed many theories about why the tombs of the early pharaohs were built in the pyramid shape. Which one of their theories do you think is correct? (Do you have your own theory?)

 

*Find pictures of pyramids (books, magazines, Internet) and using Legos or K’nex, build a pyramid.

 

*Get out some colored pencils, a black pen, and an atlas and…draw Egypt! After your outline is done, label the country’s prominent cities, rivers, and mountains and color it in.

 

*Make your own Egyptian timeline, use facts and dates from the Ancient Egypt website’s timeline and then add additional facts and dates.

 

*Find a book from the library on hieroglyphics. Using a black felt-tipped pen, try copying some of it. How would you enjoy writing letters, papers, or anything using hieroglyphics?!    

 

*Do some additional research on the Rosetta Stone and write a 1-2 page paper on it that answers some of the following questions: Just how important was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone? Where is the stone today? How did Jean-François Champollion finally decipher hieroglyphics? What three scripts are engraved on the stone?

 

* Read a book about mummification. Are Egyptians the only people who mummified their dead? If not, what other countries did so too?

 

*Pretend you are an Egyptian tour guide. You may show tourists only three places in Egypt; what three places would they be? Why? Draw a colorful, creative pamphlet advertising your three chosen locations.   

 

* Read one (or all!) of the following books to gain an even better appreciation and knowledge of Egypt and her people: Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton, The Golden Goblet by Jarvis McGraw, and Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Jarvis McGraw.