North+Africa-+Egypt

Nada Wafa ECI 435 October 13, 2010

Lesson Title: Walk the road like an Egyptian!

Context: I thought about doing this lesson because I have been observing my cooperative teacher's 7th grade Social Studies class, and they recently started the unit about Mesopotamia; thus, I would find it interesting to find other ways to teach similar topics to intrigue the students in one of the most engaging themes of history- The Ancient Egyptian civilization! Students will discover the daily lives of ancient Egyptians from almost every social class/occupation that existed. The students will examine how people from that civilization lived through because life changed dramatically, especially when people were labeled according to their social class. Students will be able to use creative ways to present what they have learned about the Ancient Egyptians lives from all of the different social classes.

Objectives:

Students will be able to.....
 * Research and work in groups to complete a worksheet about ancient Egyptians social occupations
 * Work in groups to complete a creative project that illustrates the daily life of an Egyptian from a social occupation they choose (will take up to 4 class periods)
 * Intermingle and participate in class discussions related to the social class system
 * Present their projects to the class
 * Have a written response about the social class system

Related standards and curriculum goals: Competency Goal 3: The learner will analyze the impact of interactions between humans and their physical environments Competency Goal 8: The learner will asses the influence and contribution of individuals and cultural groups. Competency Goal 10: The learner will compare the rights and civic responsibilities of individuals in political structures.

Time period: 90 minutes

Materials being used: Procedure
 * Worksheet
 * Q & A's worksheet
 * Computer & internet accessibility
 * SmartBoard (if necessary)
 * Colors/Pencils/Construction paper will be provided by teacher

1. Ice Breaker (5 minutes): As the students walk into class, they pick up their journals from the back of the class, and they are asked to define the term, “social class” and what it means to them

2.Discussion (10 minutes): Discuss the answers they came up, including the factors that determine a person's social class, how people move to a higher or lower social occupation, and their own opinions about how societies label people by social standards. I should explain to them how social classes/occupations have been an important part of many civilizations since ancient times-including ancient Egypt civilizations. The students should be aware of the similarities between our American social class system in comparison to the ancient Egyptian class system.

3. Activity 1 (20 minutes) - Explore the daily lives of ancient Egyptians -Divide in small group -Read about the different social classes and the jobs they held every day -Complete a worksheet

4. Discussion (10 minutes)- Discuss the questions on the worksheet so that they can compare what they have found to what other groups have learned and ask questions such as: Which member of a social class would **you** be part of? Then, I will assign the students a social class (a pharaoh, a priest, a craftsman, a storyteller, a soldier, a slave, or women) and ask them, “What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of your group's social class?

5. Activity 2 (30 minutes)- Show the students a few ideas of how the presentations are expected to look like. They will see all of the different kinds of options available for them. Then, the groups will come together to form a creative research project showing the day in life of an ancient Egyptian person from a particular social class that they have learned about. They should come up with ideas! (details in narrative)

6. Introduction to an “Ancient Egyptian Day!” (10 minutes)- Have the students plan a day to teach other students about life in ancient Egypt! They could bring in typical Egyptian food or even dress like an Egyptian. They could play some of the games that used to be played, bring in Egyptian music, or write their names in hieroglyphics. Since we learned in Dr. Young's class about learning stations, I think that it would be best to use all of these ideas and set them up as stations in the classroom

7. Closure (5 minutes): Review of what was done during class. Students will answer the following question, “How are the Egyptians classes similar and different to the way Americans are divided by class?”

Homework: Keep thinking about more ideas and bring in a rough draft of your ideas for your creative research project for next class. Assessment: Students receive participation grades for the discussions, effective participation within their groups (I will be closely observing them), and they will be graded on the completion of the written activity.

Lesson Narrative:
I am working with a 7th Grade Social Studies classroom this semester, and one of the most engaging themes in teaching history to middle grades is learning about Ancient Egypt. I find that with this topic, students will be able to study one particular subject, which is social class standards, out of many that could be embedded in the unit, such as their religion, art, geography, scientific inventions, and natural resources, while studying Ancient Egypt. Many people simply don't recognize what social class means. Through teaching this lesson, the students will be able to identify what social class is and they will be able to live through the lives of at least one social class during Ancient Egyptian history.

As my students enter the classroom, I expect them to pick up their journals from the back of the classroom and sit in their seats to answer the question that is placed up on the board. I will provide feedback to the students journal two to three times per semester regarding their work and their thoughts that are provoked in the journals.

For this journal entry, the students should define what “social class” means to them. They will have five minutes to complete this task. After five minutes, the students will have ten minutes to volunteer to answer what the definition of social class is to them and how they relate it to their own prior knowledge. Then, during that time, I will ask the students to determine the factors of a social class.occupation and how people move to a higher or lower social position depending on which factors, as well as their own opinions about how societies label people by their social class. I will tell the students more about social standards and how it has been a very important part of civilizations-especially in Ancient Egypt! In Ancient Egypt there were specific social classes and structures. We will also briefly discuss how our social class system is similar to the ancient Egyptian class system, as well as their differences.

Next, the students will have 20 minutes complete a worksheet in groups to explore the daily lives of ancient Egypt. The students will be divided into small groups, and they will read and research online about the different social classes and the jobs they held as part of their every day life. They will also complete a worksheet together in a group and pass on their ideas to each other. They will focus on some of the social classes of ancient Egypt such as the priests, craftsman, farmers, noblemen, women, soldiers, and of course, pharaoh's. They will research their types of houses they lived in, the type of food they ate, the type of tools they used, their jobs, and the type of clothing they wore. They will also answer questions based on their findings, such as, “What education opportunity did these ancient Egyptians have and were there only specific social classes that had the opportunity to become educated?” “What was the role of women during this period of time in this society?” “Find an interesting fact that you have learned!” and “How would a person move to a higher social class or how would a person move to a lower social class for ancient Egyptians?” The students should wrap up their work when the 20 minutes are almost done. I will tell them ahead of time that they have five minutes left.

Next, we will have ten minutes expand on their knowledge and have each group briefly discuss the questions on the worksheet so they would be able to compare what they have found in comparison to what other students found. Then, I could ask them, “which member of a social class would you be part in? Why?” Then I would assign each group a social class and say the advantages and disadvantages they found within their group's assigned social class.

The students will now have 30 minutes to work on a creative research project that will illustrate the day in life of an ancient Egyptian living in a specific social class that they learned about during class. I will explain to them what is expected from their work. Since now they have learned about the social occupation of the ancient Egyptians, they will use what they have learned and choose a person from the following list written on the board:

Write down which social occupation your group project will focus on: Next, I will explain to them that they have many different options to do their group presentation. First, they could write a poem that tells the life of the person and their occupation. They could also write and perform a skit showing the typical day of one of the people and their occupation. They could also come up with a song and use a MovieMaker to demonstrate the life of the person they chose and their occupation. Or they could use flip-cameras that will enable to them to video tape themselves singing the song. The last option they have is that they could be news reporters and discuss the life of the person they choose and their occupation. They could also use flip-cameras for this activity.
 * noblemen
 * priest
 * farmer
 * craftsman
 * soldier
 * woman

I will pass out a rubric for each of the project presentation and have tell them that they each have 4 to 6 minutes to present it in front of the class. This is quiet similar to what Dr. Young has told us to do for our final project in our Middle Grades Reading class.

They will be able to come up with ideas and research what they want to do within the 30 minutes they have in class. They should think about building the foundation of their project and work up their assignment. Before time is up, I will remind them that they have 5 minutes left to wrap up their work so we could move on to the next task.

I will have 10 minutes to discuss with them what an “Ancient Egyptian DAY!” is. I will let them know that this is their opportunity to share their knowledge with other people about life in ancient Egypt! The students will be able to choose a day in between a time chosen by the teacher. They could do this the day of their presentation or they could choose a different day they prefer just to focus fully on an “Ancient Egypt Day!” The students would have many options such as bring in egyptian food, dressing like an egyptian, they could bring games that used to be played, and even write their own names in hieroglyphics. I saw this idea in one of the Cary festivals I have attended last week, and I found that many people of all ages really enjoyed writing down their names in hieroglyphics. They actually had all the letters with the corresponding hieroglyphics, and they would stamp the letter that is in their names to make their name written into hieroglyphics. All of these ideas could be set up as stations in a classroom.

As for the last five minutes of class, I will review what we have done. The students should answer the following question on a separate sheet of paper to hand in. “How are the Egyptians social classes similar and different to the way we Americans are divided by class?” Their homework assignment is to keep thinking about more ideas for their creative research project and to be ready to bring in a draft of what they composed for next class.

The way I would assess my students is by their participation during the discussion in class, their effective use in their groups, their journal entry in the beginning of class, and they will be graded on the completion of the worksheet they have done in class.


 * I just wanted to add that it would be important to clarify that Mesopotamia is not Egypt. As I was observing yesterday, I was asking a student, "What continent is Mesopotamia in?" The student answered "Africa." I asked the student to try again, and the student said "But, isn't Mesopotamia in Egypt?"
 * I also walked around the classroom, and I saw a few other students paper's that wrote "Africa" as the continent that Mesopotamia is in.
 * During my weekend, I was lucky to have a chance to help my friends younger sister, who is in 7th grade. She was working on her paper about Ancient Egypt, and it was great referring back to what I remember about it.