Ancient Egypt:

We have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming weeks.  Our until begins with a visualization and a chance for the kids to “graze” through many books.  We have a lot!  After labeling and illustrating individual maps the students will participate in two other geography lessons.  The first introduces five important structures or people that relate to five important locations on the Nile River.  The second reviews the above information and then explains why Lower Egypt was called Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt was called Upper Egypt.  

After geography we concentrate on learning facts about Egyptian history.  This information is broken down into three parts:  Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom.  We read and discuss information from these time periods over the course of a couple weeks.  During these lessons the children will also strengthen their ability to take notes from nonfiction text.  As a class we will list note taking strategies and practice using these strategies in small groups and individually.  

In December, we will focus on the ancient Egyptian’s religious beliefs.  In class we will spend a couple of weeks learning about how their beliefs affected the way they lived and the way they prepared for death.  The children will learn about the process of mummification, tombs, gods and goddesses, and the journey to the afterlife.  The children will also learn about the ancient Egyptian writing system and practice decoding and writing using hieroglyphs. 

During this unit we will visit the M.F.A. to see their amazing Egyptian exhibits!

In January, the children will choose from a variety of topics and research information independently.  Before selecting topics we will give them time to graze again with these topics in mind.  Then, we’ll encourage them to talk with parents about their choices.  In school, we will begin by brainstorming and questioning.  We will research, take notes, and make bibliography entries in class over the course of a week or two.  Then, we will organize our notes and begin writing our papers.  All of the researching and writing will take place IN school.  Children will complete projects to accompany their reports OUT of school.  We will share reports, projects, and a variety of other Egypt assignments with parents at a February breakfast.