Ancient Egypt

Raegan Stead
EDU 300
Fall 2016

A 5th grade unit centered on the geography of

Ancient Egypt. This unit includes a language arts,
math, and science lesson, along with necessary
resources.

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 Table of Contents
Rationale……………………………………………………………..Page 3

Concept Map…………………………………………………………Page 4

Content Outline………………………………………………………Page 5

Lesson Plans…………………………………………………………Page 6

Science……………………………………………………Pages 7-10

Language Arts………………………………………..…Pages 11-13

Math…………………………………………………..…Pages 14-16

Appendix…………………………………………………………….Page 17

Teacher Resources…………………………………….Pages 18-22

Student Resources……………………………………..Pages 23-28

Glossary………………………………………………………Page 29

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 Rationale

In this unit, students will begin to understand the geography of ancient Egypt

through learning about its regions, landforms, climate, population, and culture. This will

be done using a science, language arts, and math lesson. The science lesson will help

students understand ancient Egypt’s ecosystem and how humans interacted with it. By

doing the papyrus experiment, students will see how ancient Egyptians used their

environment to create every day items. They will also be able to compare their

civilization to ours through the use of the City Model Gizmo.

The language arts lesson will help students imagine what it was like to live in

ancient Egypt. They will pretend to live there and write a friendly letter to a friend

describing the events that took place during the day. The math lesson will help students

understand the differences between two-dimensional figures and help them notice them

in their daily lives. They will outline two-dimensional figures in pictures of landforms and

art from ancient Egypt. At the end of the unit, the class will take a field trip to the

Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This will help students better understand the unit

by seeing what they have been learning about in person.

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 Unit on Ancient Egypt Concept Map





Language
Science Math
Arts

Papyrus Friendly letter Classifying

experiment about daily two-
and city life in ancient dimensional
Egypt figures
model gizmo

Conclusion: Field trip

to Carnegie Museum
of Natural History

4
 Unit on Ancient Egypt Content Outline
I. Science Lesson

A. This lesson will introduce the students to the ecosystem in which ancient
Egyptians lived. They will compare ancient Egyptians daily live to their own.
They will also learn how Egyptians used their environment to create every day
items.

A. City model gizmo will be introduced.

A. Papyrus experiment will be conducted.

I. Language Arts Lesson

A. This lesson will introduce students to the daily lives of ancient Egyptians.

A. Students will pretend to live in ancient Egypt and write a friendly letter to a
friend.

a Students will create a draft of their letter then complete a final draft to turn-in.

I. Math Lesson

A. This lesson will help students understand the differences between two-dimensional
shapes.

A. Students will locate figures within pictures of ancient Egypt.

A. Students will complete a worksheet on which they will label two-dimensional

figures.

I. Conclusion of Unit

A. The class will take a field trip to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

a. Parents will be asked to attend the field trip as chaperones.

a. After field trip, we will discuss what we learned about ancient Egypt.

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Lesson Plans

6
Raegan Stead

EDU 300

Early Childhood Dual Licensure

11/18/16

Ancient Egypt

1. Objective: The student will be able to understand how the Ancient Egyptians used their
ecosystem in their every day lives.

2. Content Standard (s) Common Core if applicable: 5th grade, science, students will be able to
understand how the Nile is a large part of the Egyptian ecosystem by using the gizmo and
completing the experiment

Social Studies Standard:

Ohio Education Standard

Theme: Regions and People of the Western Hemisphere

Strand: Geography

Content Statement: Regions can be determined using various criteria (e.g., landform, climate, population,
cultural, economic).

Science Standard:

Ohio Education Standard

Topic: Interconnections within Ecosystems

This topic focuses on foundational knowledge of the structures and functions of ecosystems.

Content Statement: Organisms perform a variety of roles in an ecosystem.

3. Motivation: Students will use the city model gizmo and prior knowledge of ancient Egypt to
compare and contrast our civilization with theirs. We will discuss how ancient Egyptians utilized
their ecosystem to create every day items. Students will be introduced to the experiment that they
will be conducting.

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 4. Instructional materials:

1 cup flour (for each group)

2 cups water (for each group)

bowl (for each group)

ivory colored unlined paper

foil

rolling pins

rectangular foil pans

scissors

sheet of each letter and the hieroglyphics symbol that goes with each

city model gizmo

markers and writing utensils

5. Procedures:

• Students will sit at their desks and be introduced to the city model gizmo

• The gizmo will be used to begin the discussion on the differences between cities today and cities in
ancient Egypt

• The river on the gizmo will be compared to the Nile River of ancient Egypt

• Next the class will discuss how cities today use bodies of water and how ancient Egyptians used them

• Ancient Egyptians had to use the Nile for more than just its water and the class will come up with ways
that could be done

• Students will be told that there are plants that grow along the Nile’s banks

• The experiment will be introduced and explained

• Students will work in pairs to create their own papyrus, which was created by ancient Egyptians using
the cyperus plant which grows along the banks of the Nile

• Students will be paired up by drawing names

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• There will be stations set up in the back of the room for each pair

• Each pair will have flour, water, ivory paper, foil, a rectangular foil pan, scissors, a bowl and a rolling
pin

• Students will mix the flour and water in a bowl to make a paste

• Students will cut the paper into one inch-wide strips then soak them in the flour mixture

• While the strips are soaking, the students will spread out a piece of foil

• The strips will be laid on the foil next to each other horizontally

• Then a layer of strips will be added vertically

• A piece of foil will be placed on top and the students will use the rolling pin to flatten the layers
together

• Then the top foil layer will be peeled off

• Students will place the finished papyrus on a table to dry

• After the papyrus is dried, the pairs will each be able to draw their name in hieroglyphics on the paper

• The class will go back to their seats and discuss other ways items that papyrus could be used to make
(ex. mats, baskets, boats, ropes, and sandals)

• They will also discuss how ancient Egyptians used their ecosystem to thrive

6. Classroom Discussion: After watching the explanation of the city model gizmo, we will discuss
how the Egyptians’ civilization compares to our own. We will also discuss how papyrus grew
along the banks of the Nile River and was utilized by the Egyptians to make paper, mats, baskets,
boats, ropes, and sandals. It is important for the students to understand that the ancient Egyptians
daily lives were very different from our and that they had to use their ecosystem to create every
day items. Students will be informed that ancient Egyptians created ink from berries, but for the
sake of time we will be using markers to draw the hieroglyphics on the papyrus.

7. Academic vocabulary: When students receive the sheet of hieroglyphics, we will discuss how
the Egyptians used them to write on the papyrus and how the ecosystem that they lived in allowed
them to create the paper and ink to write on it.

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 8. Assessment and Evaluation: I will be looking for the students direction following skills and
ability to perform the experiment. They will receive a participation grade of 10 points for
completing the experiment.

9. Value Added: Hieroglyphics sheet

This will be used to further the students knowledge of the culture of ancient Egypt and show them how
the ancient Egyptians actually used the papyrus.

Universal Design for Learning:

Students who have orthopedic impairments:

Students can work with teacher on experiment so that the student can be more involved in it

Students can work at their desks if they are not able to go to the back of the room

Gizmo can be brought to the student so that they can interact with it

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Raegan Stead

EDU 300

Early Childhood Dual Licensure

10/28/16

Ancient Egypt

1. Objective: The student will be able to gather all facts learned about Ancient Egypt and imagine
that they are living in ancient Egypt. They will write a letter to a friend describing their daily life
there.

2. Content Standard (s) Common Core if applicable: 5th grade

Social Studies Standard:

Ohio Education Standard

Theme: Regions and People of the Western Hemisphere

Strand: Geography

Content Statement: Regions can be determined using various criteria (e.g., landform, climate, population,
cultural, economic).

Language Arts Standard:

Ohio Education Standard

Strand: Writing

Topic: Text Types and Purposes

Content Statement: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

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 3. Motivation: (Engagement) The students would have a basic knowledge of Ancient Egypt which
will be furthered during class. They will be ask to write a letter to a friend describing their life in
ancient Egypt.

4. Instructional materials: Smart board, computer with internet access, writing utensils, paper,
portable laptops, letter outline, rubric, printer

5. Procedures: (Explanation)

• Students will come into class and sit at their desks

• Begin by watching the video on National Geographic

• Next go on a virtual field trip of Ancient Egypt on PBS

• Discuss what was learned about the culture, landforms, climate, and population of ancient Egypt
based on the video and virtual field trip and write them on the board

• Ask students whether they would enjoy living in ancient Egypt. Why or why not? (Elaboration)

• Students will take notes based off of the classroom discussion

• After students have a good understanding of life in Egypt, the assignment will be introduced

• Students will be encouraged to pretend that they are living in ancient Egypt and are writing letters to a
friend that wants to know what daily life there is like (Explore)

• Each student will receive a letter outline and a rubric to complete the assignment

• Students will write a draft of their letter on the outline sheet and turn it in

• After the outlines are checked and corrected, they will be handed back to the students

• Each student will get a portable laptop to type the final draft of their lesson

• The final drafts will be printed out and turned in, along with the outline

• Students will be graded on quality of work and utilizing the outline and rubric

6. Classroom Discussion: The students will discuss what they learned about ancient Egypt and
whether they would enjoy living there. They will also discuss aspects of daily life they would and
would not enjoy in ancient Egypt.

7. Academic vocabulary: Hieroglyphics, pyramids, tomb, sphinx, desert, Nile River

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 8. Assessment and Evaluation: (Evaluation) The grading of students’ letters will be based on a
rubric out of 24 points. They will also receive 6 points for completing and turning in the letter
outline.

9. Value Added: (E-Learning)

http://nationalgeographic.org/video/life-after-death-in-ancient-egypt/

This video will help students see inside of an actual pyramid and understand what ancient Egyptians
believed in when preparing for afterlife. It also shows students how old pyramids are.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/explore-ancient-egypt.html

This virtual field trip will help students visualize the geography of ancient Egypt and how ancient
Egyptians lived.

6E Model

Universal Design for Learning:

Students with visual impairments:

Allow students to sit in the front of the room

Give students a rubric in larger print

Give students a copy of the notes taken on the board

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Raegan Stead

EDU 300

Early Childhood Dual Licensure

11/02/16

Ancient Egypt

1. Objective: The students will be able to identify and explain two-dimensional figures and locate
them in landforms, art, architecture, and pictures from Ancient Egypt. (Stage 1: Identify Desired
Results)

2. Content Standard (s) Common Core if applicable: 5th grade, Math, understanding attributes
and classifying two-dimensional figures.

Social Studies Standard:

Ohio Education Standard

Theme: Regions and People of the Western Hemisphere

Strand: Geography

Content Statement: Regions can be determined using various criteria (e.g., landform, climate, population,
cultural, economic).

Math Standard:

Ohio Education Standard

Content Statement: Understand that attributes belonging to a category of two dimensional figures also
belong to all subcategories of that category.

Classify two-dimensional figures in a hierarchy based on properties.

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 3. Motivation: Students will need to know the names of figures and their attributes. They should
also be able to explain why the figures are different. Students should look for figures in their
every day lives.

4. Instructional materials: chalkboard, smart board, pictures of different shapes, worksheet on

ancient Egypt, writing utensils

5. Procedures: (Stage 3: Design Learning Experiences & Instruction)

• Students will enter the classroom and sit at their desks

• The class will discuss the attributes of different two-dimensional shapes

• Three pictures from ancient Egypt will be posted on the smart board

• Students will be called on to outline two-dimensional shapes located within the pictures and label them

• Then students will be called on to describe the pictures from ancient Egypt

• After going over the figures, each student will receive a worksheet on which they will label the figures
pictured

• When everyone is finished, students will trade papers with a neighbor and we will go over the answers

• Students will mark incorrect answers and write how many answers they got correct over the total
number of questions (16) (ex. 12/16)

6. Classroom Discussion: The class will discuss figures and how to differentiate them. Students
will discuss the figures located within the pictures from ancient Egypt.

7. Academic vocabulary: There will be an emphasis on the name of each figure and the reason
behind it. Triangle, pentagon, hexagon, square, circle, ellipse, octagon, rhombus, parallelogram

8. Assessment and Evaluation: Students will be assessed on their knowledge of two dimensional-
figures and if they can identify and label them within a worksheet of multiple pictures from
Ancient Egypt. They will receive a grade out of 16 points for the figure labeling worksheet.
(Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence of Learning)

Value Added:

Ancient Egyptian Shapes Worksheet

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The worksheets will help students identify two-dimensional objects in their every day lives and help them
get a better understanding of ancient Egyptian landforms, art, and architecture.

Backward Design Model

Universal Design for Learning:

Students with hearing impairments:

Reduce background noise (make sure students raise their hand to answer; do not allow students to shout
out answers)

Allow students to sit in the front of the room so they can hear the instruction better

Allow students to have extra time to complete assignment or take notes

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Appendix

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Teacher Resources

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 City Trek: To Boldly Go…
Purpose of Gizmo
The purpose of this Gizmo is to demonstrate how city layouts affect the flow of
resources and people. This is to relate to the topics given by Franciscan University education
majors. They selected topics including communities, natural features/landforms, rural
compared to urban, water irrigation systems, the Rocky Mountains, and using resources. With
this model of an urban city, the given audience (3rd-5th grade) can see how quickly cities can
become congested, and experiment with the trial and error aspect of engineering as well as
their spatial reasoning.
City Set-Up
This is just one possible arrangement of the models in the city. One variation would be
to make the city recognizable with certain features specific to a famous city, or the city
where the students live.

Apartment
Mall/ Complex
hospital/
public

Railroa
d

River Green space/

(fixed) park (fixed) Assorted single
High-rise homes
buildings

Intended Use and Suggested Alternatives

➢ The intended use of this gizmo is for kids to understand that the layout of a city
and the environments natural barriers effect everyday luxuries that we take for
granted. The blocks represent buildings, the kids can move them around and place
them where they think they should go to allow for the best flow of resources.
➢ Alternatively, the model could be used to focus on just one part of city planning.
➢ Additionally, pipe cleaners would be a great way to demonstrate the planning of
electrical or phone lines, or water pipes. The challenge would be to connect the
buildings using the fewest number of pipe cleaners possible
➢ Another aspect of urban life to explore would be traffic patterns. This could
include different arrangements of roads, one way streets, roundabouts, and the
right of way of service vehicles.

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 Daily Life in Ancient Egypt Letter Rubric
Category 4 3 2 1

Salutation and Salutation and Salutation and Salutation and Salutation and/or
Closing closing have no closing have 1-2 closing have 3 or closing are
errors in errors in more errors in missing.
capitalization and capitalization and capitalization and
punctuation. punctuation. punctuation.
Length The letter is at The letter is The letter has The letter is not
least three three paragraghs less then three written in
paragraphs long. long. The paragraphs. paragraphs.
Each paragraph paragraphs
is three contain less than
sentences long three sentences.
or more.
Ideas Ideas were Ideas were Ideas were The letter
expressed in a expressed in a somewhat seemed to be a
clear and pretty clear organized, but collection of
organized manner, but the were not very unrelated
fashion. organization clear. sentences.
could have been
better.
Capitalization Writer makes no Writer makes 1-2 Writer makes 3-4 Writer makes
and Punctuation errors in errors in errors in more than 4
capitalization and capitalization and capitalization and errors in
punctuation. punctuation. punctuation. capitalization and
punctuation.
Grammar and Writer makes no Writer makes 1-2 Writer makes 3-4 Writer makes
Spelling errors in errors in errors in more than 4
grammar or grammar and/or grammar and/or errors in
spelling. spelling. spelling grammar and/or
spelling.
Neatness Letter is typed, Letter is neatly Letter is typed Letter is typed
clean, not hand-written, and is crumpled and looks like it
wrinkled, and is clean, not or slightly had been shoved
easy to read with wrinkled, and is stained. It may in a pocket or
no distracting easy to read with have 1-2 locker. It may
error corrections. no distracting distracting error have several
error corrections. corrections. distracting error
corrections. It
looks like it was
done in a hurry
or stored
improperly.

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Ancient Egyptian Shapes

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Two-Dimensional Worksheet Answer Key

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Student Resources

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 Papyrus Experiment Directions

1. Each pair will have flour, water, ivory paper, foil, a rectangular foil pan,
scissors, a bowl, and a rolling pin
2. Mix the flour and water in a bowl to make a paste

3. Cut the paper into one inch-wide strips then soak them in the flour
mixture

4. While the strips are soaking, spread out a piece of foil

5. Lay the strips on the foil next to each other horizontally

6. Then add layer of strips vertically

7. Place a piece of foil on top then use the rolling pin to flatten the layers
together

8. Peel off the top foil layer

9. Place the finished papyrus on a table to dry

10. After the papyrus is dried, take a sheet of letters and hieroglyphics
symbols

11. Draw your name in hieroglyphics on the papyrus using the symbols

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Write your name in Egyptian Hieroglyphics!

Directions: After your papyrus is done drying, draw the symbols that
correspond with the letters of your name.

Example: Raegan

____________________________________________________________

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 Daily Life in Ancient Egypt Friendly Letter Outline

Heading/Date __________________

Dear _______________, Greeting

Body

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Closing Your friend,

Signature ________________________

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Name __________________________

Date ___________________________

Label each two-dimensional shape.

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 Glossary
Hieroglyphics- enigmatic or incomprehensible symbols or writing

Papyrus- a material made from the pith or the stems of this sedge, used by the ancient
Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans especially to write or paint on

Pyramid- a monumental structure with a square or triangular base and sloping sides
that meet in a point at the top

Tomb- a large vault, typically an underground one, for burying the dead

Desert- a dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse
vegetation

Nile River- the world's longest river; flows northward through eastern Africa into the
Mediterranean; the Nile River valley in Egypt was the site of the world's first great
civilization

Triangle- a three-sided polygon that can be classified by an angle

Pentagon- a five-sided polygon

Hexagon- a six sided polygon

Square- a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal
angles

Circle- the locus of all points equidistant from a central point

Ellipse- the set of points such that the sum of the distances to two fixed points (the foci)
is constant

Octagon- contains eight sides and eight angles

Rhombus- a four sided flat shape with straight sides where all sides have equal length

Parallelogram- a four sided flat shape with straight sides where opposite sides are
parallel

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