Temples, Tombs And Treasures - WinlockTemples, Tombs And Treasures Temples, Tombs And Treasures...

Temples, Tombs And Treasures

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Ancient civilisations: Egypt and Sumer

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Contents

Contents

Basic Information

Learning Goals

Assessment for Learning

The Entry Point

Knowledge Harvest

The Big Idea

Explaining The Theme

The Big Picture

History Learning Goals

History Task 01

History Task 02

History Task 03

History Task 04

History Task 05

History Task 06

History Task 07

History Task 08

History Task 09

History Task 10

History Task 11

History Task 12

History Extension Task

Music Learning Goals

Music Task 1


2Downloaded for use by West Denton Primary School on 20 July 2016.

From Fieldwork Education, a part of the Nord Anglia Education family. © WCL Group Limited. A ll rights reserved. Not to be reproduced without permission.

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Music Task 2

Music Extension Task

Art Learning Goals

Art Task 1

Art Task 2

Art Extension Task

International Learning Goals

International Task

International Extension Task

The Exit Point

Resources




Basic Information

This section details the time allocation for this unit of work, links to other subjects and Assessment forLearning opportunities.

Timings

This unit of work is intended to last about 6 ¾ weeks.

The following suggested timings are approximate guides and are dependent on each school's individualcontext.

No of Hours No of Weeks

Entry Point, Knowledge Harvest, Explain the Theme 4 ½

History 34 4 ¼

Music 4 ½

Art 6 ¾

International 4 ½

Exit Point 2 ¼

Links to other IPC subjects

ICT & Computing learning goals are included in the above subject learning. Links to Art, Geography andTechnology are provided at the end of tasks where appropriate.

Language Arts and Mathematics links

Suggestions of how to include links to Language Arts and Mathematics are provided where appropriate atthe end of tasks.




Learning Goals

Art Learning Goals

Children will:

2.01 Know how a number of artists - including some from their home country and the host country -use forms, materials and processes to suit their purpose

2.03 Be able to use art as a means of self expression

2.04 Be able to choose materials and techniques which are appropriate for their task

2.05 Be able to explain their own work in terms of what they have done and why

2.06 Be able to talk about works of art, giving reasons for their opinions


Children will:

2.01 Know about the main events, dates and characteristics of the past societies they have studied

2.02 Know about the lives of people in those periods

2.03 Know about the main similarities and differences between the past societies they have studied

2.04 Be able to give some reasons for particular events and changes

2.05 Be able to gather information from simple sources

2.06 Be able to use their knowledge and understanding to answer simple questions about the pastand about changes

2.07 Understand that the past can be considered in terms of different time periods

2.08 Understand that the past has been recorded in a variety of different ways


Children will:

2.01 Know about some of the similarities and differences between the different home countries andbetween them and the host country




2.02 Know about ways in which these similarities and differences affect the lives of people

2.03 Be able to identify activities and cultures which are different from but equal to their own


Children will:

2.01 Know how a number of musicians - including some from their home country and the hostcountry - organise sounds and use them expressively

2.02 Know how a number of musicians - including some from their home country and the hostcountry - choose sounds and instruments which are appropriate for their task

2.03 Be able to recognise and explore the ways that sounds can be organised and used expressively

2.04 Be able to sing in tune and with expression

2.05 Be able to perform simple pieces rhythmically using a limited range of notes

2.06 Be able to improvise repeated patterns

2.07 Be able to compose simple pieces to create intended effects

2.08 Be able to choose sounds and instruments which are appropriate for their task

2.09 Be able to improve their own work, having regard to the intended effect


2.13 Understand how musical elements are combined and varied to create different effects

ICT & Computing Opportunities

The table below shows you where you can cover the following ICT & Computing Learning Goals.

Task Goals

History Extension Task 2.4, 2.5, 2.7

History Task 12 2.4, 2.5, 2.7

History Task 7 2.4, 2.5, 2.7

Music Extension Task 2.4, 2.5




Assessment for Learning

Are your children busy, or are they busy learning? This is the question that we need to be able to answerthroughout each IPC unit – what improvements are being made to children’s learning as a result ofstudying this theme?

There are three areas of learning to reflect on, and three types of learning to assess.

The Three Areas of Learning: Academic, Personal and International

The three areas include academic, personal and international learning. To reflect on these, you will needaccess to the IPC Learning Goals for each subject (including International) and the IPC Personal Goals – alist of these can be found in Appendix A of the IPC Implementation File. You can also find a full list of IPCLearning Goals in the Assess section of the Members’ Lounge.

The Three Types of Learning: Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

The three types of learning include knowledge, skills and understanding. We believe that differentiatingbetween knowledge, skills and understanding is crucial to the development of children’s learning. Wealso believe that knowledge, skills and understanding have their own distinct characteristics that impacton how each is planned for, learned, taught, assessed and reported on. The implications of thesedifferences are therefore far-reaching and deserve proper consideration.

Knowledge refers to factual information. Knowledge is relatively straightforward to teach and assess(through quizzes, tests, multiple choice, etc.), even if it is not always that easy to recall. You can ask yourchildren to research the knowledge they have to learn but you could also tell them the knowledge theyneed to know. Knowledge is continually changing and expanding – this is a challenge for schools thathave to choose what knowledge children should know and learn in a restricted period of time.

The IPC does not provide examples of knowledge assessment (tests or exams) as the knowledge content of thecurriculum can be adapted to any national curricula requirements.

Skills refer to things children are able to do. Skills have to be learned practically and need time to bepracticed. The good news about skills is the more your practice, the better you get at them! Skills are alsotransferable and tend to be more stable than knowledge – this is true for almost all school subjects.

The IPC supports skills tracking and assessment through the IPC Assessment for Learning Programme. Thisprogramme includes Teachers’ Rubrics, Children’s Rubrics and Learning Advice.

Understanding refers to the development or ‘grasping’ of conceptual ideas, the ‘lightbulb’ moment thatwe all strive for. Understanding is always developing.

The IPC units can’t assess understanding for you, but they do allow you to provide a whole range of differentexperiences through which children’s understandings can deepen.

(Please note: as well as the IPC Assessment for Learning Programme, we also offer an online AssessmentTracking Tool, developed in partnership with Classroom Monitor. Please email [email protected] more information on how to sign up to this tool.)




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mailto:[email protected]

Planning for Assessment

Once you have planned for the different IPC Learning Goals for each subject it is important to plan forassessment opportunities within each unit of work. Assessment needs to be balanced but rigorous toensure that the children have learned what we planned for them to learn. The diagram below illustratesthe processes you may want to use to ensure this happens.

Helping Children Reflect on Their Own Learning

In addition to teacher assessment, it is also vital to include children in reflecting on their learning andsetting next steps for improvement. Ask the children to carry out self-assessments throughout each unit(using the Children’s Rubrics to assess skills, and other methods chosen by the school for knowledge andunderstanding).

They could use the following headings to list/make notes on their newly acquired knowledge, skills and




understanding – ‘new things I now know’, ‘new things that I can do ’ and ‘new things I am beginning tounderstand’.

Ask the children to evaluate different aspects of their learning – what did they do well, what couldimprove next time and how, what did they find the most/least interesting? How did they prefer to learn –as an individual/in pairs/small groups/large groups/as a whole class? What was their preferred method ofresearching and recording - writing/talking/making, etc.? This evaluation aspect will also support thedevelopment of the IPC Personal Goals.

Further Information

For more information on assessment, and knowledge, skills and understanding, please refer to:

The IPC Implementation File

The Assessment for Learning Implementation File

The IPC Self-Review Process

Or contact the Membership Support team at [email protected]




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The Entry Point

For your entry point, the children will be taking on the role of archaeologists who have discovered anancient tomb. Set up a number of classroom activities, allowing children to explore the tomb and discoverits many hidden secrets. The fabulous treasures discovered in the Egyptian tomb of Tutankhamun areideal for this task. (An internet search will provide plenty of examples.)

On the day, children can be divided into groups - and rotated through each of the available activities.

The amount of set up will be dependent on the time you have available. The following are suggestionsfor activities, which can be adapted to suit your setting:

Dark tomb – Put two or more tables together and cover with a dark/black blanket to make your own ‘darkroom’. The larger the area you can create, the more interesting it will be for the children to explore. Tapesome images of Egyptian treasures around the area for the children to find. Armed with pen torches,children can enter the ‘dark tomb’ in pairs and explore. After 30 seconds, they must leave and swap withanother pair from their group. Their aim is to sketch out what they remember seeing. They could also beasked to draw a ‘map’ to show where each treasure was found.

Take a peek (requires Interactive Whiteboard) – choose one or more Ancient Egyptian treasures to placeon a slide/flipchart. Children can then use the spotlight/revealer tool to highlight small parts of the imageby moving it around. The children should talk about and sketch what they reveal by moving the spotlighttool. (Set the size of the peep hole so that it is quite small to make the task more challenging. A large anddecorative item, such as Tutankhamun’s golden throne, works well with this activity as children haveopportunity to identify function as well as detail.)

Sands of time – set up your own archaeological dig. Fill a series of deep trays with layers of sand. Burysome Egyptian artefacts at different levels for the children to discover using their excavating equipment(brushes, rakes, small trowels etc.). Remind them that these treasures are ancient and very precious, sothey should be very careful when uncovering and removing them. (Most school suppliers will have replicaartefacts that are available in sets. If children have completed this unit in a previous year, then their ‘tombtreasures’ could be used instead – see exit point.)

Broken fragments – take one or two images of Ancient Egyptian wall paintings and cut them up intopieces. Groups must try and re-assemble the images, then study the details to find out what they canlearn from the images.

At the end of the session, ask the children to share their findings – using their sketches and other notesfor reference. Discuss the following:

Who do we think these treasures belonged to?

Do we think they lived a long time ago? If so, how do we know?

Do we think they were an important person?

What might their life have been like? Would it have been similar to ours?




Knowledge Harvest

Recap the activities from the entry point and what the children learned from some of the treasures thatthey explored.

In groups, ask the children to mind map what they already know (or think they know) about Ancient Egypt.If you wish, children could use an online application such as Padlet (www.padlet.com) to record theirideas. Children may wish to refer back to their sketches and notes from the Entry Point. These could bescanned into computer and attached to their comments/ideas using the Padlet application.

Ask each group to present their mind map or display their Padlet wall on the Interactive Whiteboard .Work together to create a whole-class version by collating the groups ideas. Explore any differences ofopinion. At this point, try and avoid challenging any of the children’s assumptions. The whole-class mindmap can be displayed throughout the unit and amended/updated as the children’s learning develops.

Explain to the children that they are going to be studying two ancient civilisations – the first of which isAncient Egypt. Ask the children if they have heard the term civilisation before and what they think itmeans. Explore their ideas. A civilisation is defined as a large group of people who share the samelanguage, beliefs, social structure and traditions.

Display a timeline with some dates and periods marked on that the children may already be familiar with.If necessary, recap how to use a timeline and read BCE and CE dates (‘before common era’ and ‘commonera’). If you wish, include some important dates (relevant to your host country and the children’s homecountries) and ask if the class can help you add these to the timeline.

Use your timeline to mark the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom periods of Ancient Egypt(see the big picture). You could use a different colour for each. Ancient Egypt is an example of one of thefirst civilisations. Others include the Indus Valley civilisation and the Fertile Crescent civilisation – all ofwhich developed along the banks of large river valleys.

As the children complete tasks throughout this unit, they will be able to add events and dates to thewhole-class timeline to help with their chronological understanding.




http://padlet.com

The Big Idea

The people who helped create the first great civilisations were not unlike you and me. Today we canlearn a lot about these people and their way of life through the things they left behind – from everydayobjects to magnificent and rare treasures.

Explaining The Theme

In History, we’ll be finding out:

Why rivers were important to ancient civilisations

What daily life was like in Ancient Egypt

How to write using Egyptian hieroglyphics

About the different rulers of Egypt

About Ancient Egyptian religion and burials

How the Ancient Egyptians might have built the pyramids

About the treasures discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb

How to use different sources to find out about Ancient Sumer

How to compare life in Ancient Sumer with life in Ancient Egypt

In Music, we’ll be finding out:

About the instruments used in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Sumer

How to create our own music to retell a story from an ancient civilisation

In Art, we’ll be finding out:

How to plan and create our own tomb wall painting

How to make an Ancient Egyptian headdress

In International, we’ll be finding out:

How to plan an Ancient Egyptian celebration to share with friends and family




The Big Picture

Birth of civilisation

The earliest civilisations were founded by farmers, who chose to settle near rivers where they had easyaccess to water for their crops. The first farming communities are believed to have emerged in an area ofthe Middle East known as the Fertile Crescent .This area of land stretches in an arc through parts ofmodern Israel, Syria and Turkey. Farming eventually spread to other areas, including Europe, Africa, Indiaand China.

The first crops were:

Cereals (emmer wheat, einkorn wheat and barley)

Pulses (bitter vetch, peas, lentils and chick peas)

Flax

These are known as the eight founder crops. As farming techniques improved, people were able toproduce bigger yields, meaning that they could store food. The domestication of animals, such as goats,pigs and cattle, provided an equally secure supply of meat.

Because people didn’t need to hunt anymore, they had more time to practise and develop new skills, suchas arts and crafts. The oldest crafts were born out of necessity, such as making clothes, tools and pottery– but later, people started to craft more decorative items, such as jewellery and ornaments. (See theaccompanying MP2 unit Scavengers and Settlers for activities based on these early farming settlements.)

By 4000 BCE some settlements had grown into cities. The first appeared in the Fertile Crescent in an areaknown as Sumer. The Sumerian cities, such as Ur, featured impressive public buildings and well-organisedsocial and political systems. It was also in Sumer that the wheel was invented, as well as the earliestforms of writing and numeracy.

In North-east Africa, along the river Nile, another great nation was forming – that of the Egyptians. Theircivilisation lasted for almost 3000 years and some of their greatest architectural achievements, such asthe pyramids and the Sphinx, are still standing at Giza today.

While Ancient Egypt and Ancient Sumer shared many common origins, they both developed in verydifferent ways. Each had its own social hierarchy, religion, writing and numerical systems, laws,architecture and so on. And yet, their differences also highlight their similarities. Both represent verypowerful and sophisticated civilisations, that sought to achieve greatness through their beliefs,advancements and culture.

In this unit, the children will begin with a study of Ancient Egypt, which is likely to be the most familiar tothem. Most children of this age will have some prior knowledge that they can bring to the topic, even ifit’s only tombs, pyramids and mummies! From the familiar, the children can then delve deeper into theculture of the Ancient Egyptians, finding out more about their daily life and common beliefs. This learningcan then be applied to a study of Ancient Sumer, helping the children to compare and contrast the twocivilisations.

What follows is some helpful background information on the main themes explored in this unit. Both




Ancient Egypt and Ancient Sumer (Mesopotamia) are well-supported topics, with many online resourcesand books available. Useful websites are highlighted in each task, throughout the unit.

Three Kingdoms

Archaeologists divide the history of Ancient Egypt into three periods, called kingdoms. The Old Kingdombegan around 3000 BCE when the first pharaoh – the Egyptian equivalent of a king – united Lower Egyptand Upper Egypt. He founded the first capital of Egypt (Memphis) where the two lands met. During thistime the hieroglyphic system was perfected, one of the first forms of picture writing. The pyramids werealso built - the largest being the Great Pyramid of Khufu, which was constructed from over 2 million stoneblocks and is believed to have taken nearly 20 years to complete.

During the Middle Kingdom (2133-1786 BCE), the pharaohs expanded their empire and strengthenedtheir armies. This was a time when the arts flourished and many magnificent life-size stone statues werecarved. During this period, the pharaohs were buried inside hidden tombs rather than pyramids, to betterprotect the treasures and belongings that would be buried with them.

The New Kingdom (1550-1070 BCE) was Egypt’s golden age – a time of great wealth and prosperity. Thecapital was moved to Thebes, which became a showcase for the arts, wealth and skills of the Egyptians.Many building projects were undertaken during this period, under the mentorship of mighty pharaohssuch as Amenhotep III and Ramses II. The Luxor Temple and the Temple of Amun are both characteristicof the New Kingdom era – as well as the smaller mortuary temples that were erected along the banks ofthe Nile. The pharaohs of this era, such as the famous Tutankhamun, were buried in lavish tombs alongwith their many priceless and spectacular treasures.

The Nile

Egypt was founded along the banks of the Nile, the longest river in the world. From ancient times, theEgyptians have been dependent on the Nile – as a source of food through farming and hunting, a meansof transporting people and goods, and also as a provider of valuable resources, such as mud bricks forhousing and papyrus weeds to make parchment.

The importance of the Nile is made evident by the Egyptian calendar. From ancient times, the year hasdivided into three seasons based on the annual flooding of the river. These seasons were very importantfor the farmers, as their communities were dependent on the successful growing and harvesting of crops.The three seasons were:

Akhet (June to September) The Flooding Season – heavy summer rains in Ethiopia (one of the threesources of the Nile) cause the Nile to burst its banks and flood. Water covers the land to either side ofthe river.

Peret (October to February) The Growing Season – the water levels drop, leaving a layer of fertile richmud which is ploughed and then planted with seeds.

Shemu (March to May) The Harvesting Season – this is a period of drought for Egypt, when thefarmers harvest their crops. This would be a busy time for the Egyptians as the harvesting had to becompleted before the Nile flooded again.

Building a pyramid

The tombs of the earliest pharaohs were made from mud bricks and were set on a single level. These




were known as mastaba (which means ‘bench’). As the pharaohs and their families grew in power, themastabas became more impressive. The Egyptians would build up different levels of mastaba to create astep pyramid.

Later, they began to fill the steps with an outer covering of stone, which would be smoothed to create aperfect pyramid. More than thirty pyramids still stand in Egypt, the largest being the Great Pyramid ofKhufu, which is 455 feet (138 m) high.

No one knows for sure how the pyramids were built – many historians have debated the question and putforward various theories. One popular theory is that they used a series of mud ramps to haul up the blocksusing wooden sleds. The mud ramps would then be pulled down afterwards. The following steps outlinethe process in more detail:

1. The pyramid blocks would be cut from quarries and then transported up the Nile to thebuilding site or on wooden sleds if the quarry was nearer (the wheel had not been invented –so these sledges had to be pulled by animals or teams of workers).

2. The site of the pyramid was aligned perfectly to the four cardinal compass points. It is believedthat the Egyptians used a combination of sun and star measurements to accurately align thesite (the compass had not been invented yet!). A perfect square was then measured out toprovide the base of the pyramid.

3. The workers (mostly farmers who worked during the flood season) built mud ramps around thesides of the pyramids.

4. The workers had no crane or pulley-systems, so they pushed each block into position usingwooden rollers.

5. When the pyramid’s sides met at the summit, the workers added a capstone. This was apyramid-shaped stone and covered in gold.

6. The workers covered the stepped walls with a covering of stone to create the smoothed slopes.They worked from the top down, removing the mud ramps as they descended.

The inside of the pyramid had many passages and rooms, to store the Pharaoh’s body and all of his manygrave goods. The Egyptians believed that they needed to buried with their worldly possessions in order tobetter enjoy the afterlife. For the pharaoh, these would consist of many fabulous treasures, such asjewellery, fine clothing, and furniture. Tombs would also house many statues to represent servants, priestsand animals – which they believed would help serve the pharaoh and keep them company in the nextlife.

Gods and temples

The Ancient Egyptians believed in many different gods and goddesses. Each one had their own role toplay in keeping harmony in Egypt. Images of the gods depict them with human bodies and animal heads.The animal would serve as a symbol for that god and represent their own particular power. For example,Sobek was the god of the Nile and therefore had the head of a crocodile. Anubis was the god of the dead,and was shown with the head of a jackal – a scavenger often found around mortuary temples.

Ra was considered the most important of all the gods, as he represented the sun. He was often shown asa falcon-headed figure, riding his boat across the sky. At the end of each day Ra was believed to die, and




continue his voyage through the Netherworld, until he was reborn every morning when the sun rose onceagain.

Each town would have its own temple, dedicated to one of Egypt’s many gods. They believed that thetemple was the ‘home’ of their god and therefore considered a sacred place. Only priests were allowed toenter the inner chambers of the temple, where a large statue of the God would be kept – often coated ingold and silver.

Each temple also had its own scribe school, where boys (rarely girls) would learn to read and write usinghieroglyphics, a complex system featuring over seven hundred different symbols. The temples would bebuilt from stone and then brightly painted, showing scenes from the lives of their gods and pharaohs.

The Book of the Dead

Most of what we know about the Egyptian’s belief system and funerary rites comes from the Book of theDead. This was a roll of papyrus that contained a collection of spells and illustrations to help guide aperson’s spirit successfully to the afterlife. The book was buried with the dead so that they could use itwhen they needed – as the journey to the afterlife was full of many dangers and trials.

The Book of the Dead provided a map through the Netherworld (the first stage of their journey). Its spellsallowed the dead person to pass through its many gates and avoid the deadly monsters. Once a spiritsuccessfully navigated the Netherworld they arrived at the Weighing of the Heart ritual. Here the deadperson’s heart would be weighed on a set of scales against the Feather of Truth. If they had lived a goodand honest life, then they would be admitted to afterlife. If they had done wicked things, they would bejudged unfit and their heart would be eaten by the ‘Devourer’ – a monster that was half crocodile andhalf hippopotamus.

Making a mummy

The Egyptians believed that, to live forever in the afterlife, they needed to preserve the body. Thisprocess was known as mummification. There were many stages to mummification, each of which werecarefully carried out by trained embalmers. In the Old Kingdom, only important kings and queens wereembalmed, but by the time of the New Kingdom, it was much more common amongst wealthy Egyptians– creating a thriving funerary industry!

The process of mummification:

1. The body would be washed and cleaned with palm wine.

2. A priest would remove the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines. These were stored in Canopicjars. A hooked instrument was used to pull out of the brain out of the head through the nose.

3. The body was covered in salt and left for forty days to dry out.

4. After forty days, the body would be wrapped in tight linen bandages. Amulets would be tuckedamongst the bandages to provide luck and protection.

5. The mummy would be placed inside a wooden coffin. Wealthy Egyptians often had multiplecoffins, all fitting inside one another.

6. The coffin would be painted and decorated with hieroglyphics.




On the day of the funeral, the body would be carried to the tomb on a wooden sledge (often shaped as aboat). A priest would lead the procession of mourners, followed by bearers carrying offerings and objectsfor the tomb. Even the poorest Egyptians were afforded a small ceremony, as it was believed that if theydid not get a proper burial, they would return as restless spirits to haunt the living.

Tutankhamun’s tomb

In November 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter was working in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.After finding some ancient steps leading to a sealed tomb, he dismantled the door to reveal apassageway. At the end of this passageway was a second door. A hole in the stone allowed Howard Carterto peer through into the chamber beyond. And what he found was beyond the wildest dreams of anyexplorer. When asked what he could see, he famously exclaimed: “Strange animals, statues and gold –gold everywhere.”

This was one of the greatest finds in history. The sheer number of treasures, the most famous being thegolden death mask of Tutankhamen, enabled historians to learn a huge amount about burial customs andEgyptian daily life, as well as the tomb’s occupant – Tutankhamen.

Even today, there is still debate about causes of the boy’s premature death. It has been a search that hasinvolved many different aspects of archaeology, from x-rays (that suggested he had taken a blow to thehead) to CT scans that revealed he had a broken leg – leading to the theory that he fell from his chariot).Most recently, DNA testing has discovered that he might have had a malaria infection, brought on by abad fall. It is also likely he had a serious bone condition.

The Royal Tombs of Ur

In the same year that Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, another exciting discoverywas being made – this time in Southern Iraq. An archaeologist was excavating the ruins of an ancientSumerian city, known as Ur, when he stumbled on a set of tombs. As he continued to excavate the siteover the next few years, he managed to uncover over 2000 graves including 16 royal tombs. The mostfamous tomb is believed to have belonged to a Sumerian queen known as Queen Puabi. Her tombcontained many fabulous treasures, including an elaborate headdress made from gold, lapis lazuli andcarnelian (a red gemstone). Like Tutankhamen’s tomb, the royal tomb of Queen Puabi provided afascinating insight into the belief system of another ancient culture – that of the Sumerians.

Most of the graves at Ur contained a single body, wrapped in reeds or placed in a wooden coffin. Thebody would often be accompanied by a few personal objects, such as weapons, jewellery and jars thatmay have contained food and drink.

However, the royal tombs highlighted one important difference. The deceased royal had been buriedwith a large number of their servants and guards. From the way these individuals were found, usuallylying to next to each other as if in sleep, there was no sign of struggle or distress. Cups and other vesselsaround the bodies has supported the popular idea that these individuals drank poison. (An alternativetheory is that they were hit over the head with a blunt instrument, such as a mace or club, then draggedinto position.)

The items found in the tombs, which include everyday objects from furniture to musical instruments,suggest that the Sumerians had a similar belief system to the Egyptians – that the objects in life could be‘carried’ over into the next one, to help the spirit enjoy their eternal rest. The Egyptian’s buried statueswith their dead, to represent servants, priests and other companions – the Sumerians clearly took this a




step further by sacrificing their loyal attendants and burying them in the same tomb!

Queen Puabi’s tomb provides further evidence of this practice. The queen herself was found lying on herback on top of a raised platform in a sealed chamber. The bodies of female attendants were foundcrouched at her head and feet. Another female body, possibly a young princess, was also found in thechamber. Outside this chamber was an area that contained more than a dozen female retainers as well asvarious everyday objects, including a chariot and a set of musical instruments. The bodies of five men,armed with copper daggers, were found in a linking passageway – as if guarding the approach to thetomb. Other attendants and servants (one group believed to be musicians) were also buried in the tombcomplex.

Many of the treasures and artefacts that have taught historians about life in Ancient Sumer were found inQueen Puabi’s tomb.

Ancient Sumer – City life

The Sumerians built the first cities. Each city was its own small state ruled by a king and his nobles. Theking would also control all the land and farms in each state. As the cities grew, a hierarchical system ofsocial classes were developed to govern the needs of the people. The king and the priests were at thetop of ladder and held the most power. The middle class was made up of government officials, craftsmen,doctors and merchants, followed by the farmers and slaves who would make up the lower classes.

Sumerian cities were often at war with each other. Because of this, the people built high mud-brick wallsaround their settlements to protect themselves. Uruk, the first and one of the largest cities, had a wallthat was six miles long. Mud-bricks were a common building material, used for most homes and publicbuildings. Stone and wood were scarce, so – like the Egyptians – the people had to improvise and usewhat was readily available.

At the centre of each city was the ziggurat, a huge terraced structure made from mud bricks. Theirappearance was similar to the Egyptian’s stepped pyramids. However, whereas in Egypt, these buildingsserved as royal tombs, in Ancient Sumer the ziggurats were sacred temples. At the top of each zigguratwas a shrine, which could only be reached by ascending its long sloping stairways. These imposingstructures would tower over all the other buildings in the city, almost like an artificial mountain. It isbelieved that the Sumerians chose to build these large structures to show off how important their godswere – and also to act as a symbolic link between the earth and the heavens.

Sumerian religion

Like the Egyptians, the Sumerians worshipped many different gods and goddesses. Each city had its ownpatron god, who would be worshipped at the ziggurat temple. Also, like the Egyptians, the Sumeriansbelieved that their gods were a natural part of the world around them. They were seen as having veryhuman traits and were not considered immortal (they could live and die). There were hundreds ofdifferent gods, who were organised into a hierarchical system similar to that of the Sumerian cities. Atthe top were the four creator deities who were responsible for all creation. Below these were the seven‘fates’, gods who decided mankind’s destiny, and these were followed by the Annunaki, a group of godswho stood in judgement over people’s souls.

The Sumerians were very fearful of their gods and worked hard, through ritual, sacrifice and by holdingfestivals in their honour, to ensure that their gods favoured them and brought them luck. The hugeziggurats that dominated each city are testament to their dedication and devotion.




Writing, mathematics and other great inventions

The Sumerians were the first to develop an early form of writing using symbols. Unlike the Egyptianhieroglyphs, which were very pictorial, the Sumerian system was created by making impressions in claywith a wedge-shaped stylus. It is this writing tool which gives this style of writing its name – Cuneiform(meaning ‘wedge-shaped’). The written language developed out of necessity: people needed to write sothat they could keep records of transactions. The earliest symbols were used to represent trade goods,such as cattle, grain and fish. Archaeologists have found many clay tablets covered in cuneiform writing.Most of these would have been used by tax collectors. This system of writing continued to be developeduntil, by around 3300 BCE, the Sumerians were using over 700 different symbols. The first known bookcomes from this period, which tells the story of a legendary hero from the city of Uruk. (See The Epic ofGilgamesh.)

Land was important to the Sumerians as 90 per cent of the population were farmers. Because of this, anaccurate system of measurement needed to be developed to ensure land distribution was fair. TheSumerians invented a means of measuring, using units of 60. Our 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutesin an hour comes from this system.

The Sumerians also mastered many different crafts. One of the earliest crafts was clay pot making.Originally these were crafted to store food and grain, but eventually they became more decorative andsophisticated. The development of the potter’s wheel also meant that the Sumerians could produce potsquicker and more efficiently than by hand.

The Sumerians were also expert metal-workers and were the first to use bronze for weapons, tools andarmour. Bronze was more durable than copper and stayed sharper, making bronze items more desirableand efficient.

Wheeled vehicles appeared around the same time as the potter’s wheel, again born out of necessity.Farmers needed to transport their grain and crops to market, often over large distances. The earliestvehicles were wagons and carts, but as wheel designs improved, faster and lighter vehicles weredeveloped, such as war chariots. This, in turn, led to the development of roads around 2000 BCE.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest surviving works of literature. The poem recounts theadventures of a Sumerian king (Gilgamesh) who is believed to be an actual historical king. However, hisdeeds and adventures are fantastical and heroic, having more in common with the Greek god/heroHeracles than a living man.

In the story, Gilgamesh is a strong and arrogant leader, who has grown bored from a lack of challenge. Hebelieves himself immortal and that no-one else could possibly defeat him. The Gods decide to teach hima lesson, and so send a champion called Enkidu to challenge Gilgamesh. They fight each other over manydays, but neither emerge as the victor. Recognising that they are equals and have met their match, theybecome the best of friends instead.

The rest of the epic narrates the many adventures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. One adventure involves themkilling a terrible monster, the Bull of Heaven. This angers the gods who decide that Enkidu must die.Gilgamesh is heart-broken by the death of his friend and, for the first time, starts to consider his ownmortality. This leads him on a quest to find the elixir of eternal life – however, instead he learns animportant life lesson. That no-one can escape death.




Timelines and chronological understanding

Throughout this unit the children will benefit from having a whole-class timeline that they can refer toand use as a collaborative tool. Once you start to populate it with events and time periods, the childrenwill be better able to make comparisons between events, and understand their cause and effect.

In this unit, children will be studying both Ancient Egypt and Ancient Sumer. Both civilisations developedin parallel with each other. The children may decide to split them into two timelines or use a colour-coded system to highlight each civilisation’s key events and achievements. Think of the timeline as aconstant work-in-progress that the children can take ownership of. This will help them to think about howhistory can be organised and ‘read’.





Children will:












History Task 01

Learning Goals









Research activity

Using Googlemaps (maps.google.com) or Google Earth (google.com/earth), work together tolocate Africa and then Egypt. Discuss Egypt’s location in relation to your host country andthe children’s home countries. Prompt them to think about what it might be like to livethere.

Use the zoom tools to view the country’s natural features in more detailHow do they think itcompares to their host country/home countries? (Perhaps a class member has visited Egyptor another country in Africa. If so, invite them to share their experiences. They could evenbring in photographs to display and talk about.)

Display a map of Ancient Egypt (an internet search will provide plenty of good examples).Ideally, have copies for the children to look at in pairs. Discuss the key features on the map.Compare with the modern-daymaps of Egypt. What is the same/different? Draw specialattention to the presence of the Nile. Ask the children why they think the Nile mighthavebeen important to people who wanted to settle in this region?

Explain that the Nile is the reason why people were able to settle and live in Egypt. Most ofEgypt is a hot dry desert – unsuitable for growing crops or supporting animals. However, thewaters of the Nile created a fertile greenvalley running the length of Egypt, which was idealfor farming and grazing livestock.

In groups, ask the children to use books, websites and other resources to find out moreabout the Nile and its importance to the Ancient Egyptians. If you wish, children couldorganise their research under the following headings:

Food

Water

Transport

Useful materials (e.g. mud bricks, papyrus)

Calendar

Some useful online resources include:resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/nile.htm

The Woodlands Junior School website is an award-winning resource, providing excellentinformation on a number of historical periods, including Ancient Egypt.

ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt.php

Ducksters is a web resource for children, offering facts and images to support a study of AncientEgypt.

bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z3rwmp3

A BBC Learning Zone documentary focusing on the importance of the Nile to the AncientEgyptians.




https://maps.google.com/

http://www.google.com/earth/

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/nile.htm

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt.php

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z3rwmp3

Recording activity

Children can record their findings using words and pictures. Ask each group to share theirwork with the rest of the class. If possible, look at illustrations that show examples ofAncient Egyptian farming and other scenes related to the Nile. Relate the children’s findingsto what is shown in the images (examples of fishermen, river transport, farming andirrigation, papyrus reeds and so on).

The children may also have learned about the Egyptian calendar – which was divided intothree seasons based around the flooding of the Nile. Compare your current date with theEgyptian calendar to find out what farmers in Egypt might have been doing on this very dayin the past!

Ask the children to imagine they were one of the early settlers in Egypt, who has discoveredthe advantages of the fertile valley of the Nile. Look together at some examples of touristadverts and leaflets. Talk about how they use persuasive language and imagery to maketheir locations appealing. Based on their research children challenge the children to createtheir own tourism advert using persuasive language to convince someone to moveto Ancient Egypt.

Allow time at the end of the session for children to present their adverts. Evaluate thesebased on agreed success criteria (factual knowledge, persuasive language, appealing visuals,etc.).

Art link: Children can work in groups to create a classroom frieze showing examples of ‘life’along the Nile. Each group can work on a different section, which can then be positionedtogether to make one long continuous backdrop. The background ‘desert’ can be leftblank, which can be filled in later during this unit, with further examples of Egyptian life –such as temples, pyramids, the Sphinx and so on.

Geography link: Explore the importance of the Nile for people living in Egypt today.Consider how it is used for agriculture, hydro-electricity, tourism and transport. Are people’sneeds today similar to those of the Ancient Egyptians? The following video provides a goodintroduction: discovery.com/tvshows/other-shows/videos/discovery-atlas-egypt-the-nile-then-and-now.htm (Note: the video is preceded by a short advert)

Personal Goals

Communication

Enquiry




http://www.discovery.com/tvshows/other-shows/videos/discovery-atlas-egypt-the-nile-then-and-now.htm

History Task 02

Learning Goals







Research activity

Tell the children that they are going to be creating their own Ancient Egyptian family. Theywill be choosing their names, what they do, what they wear and the house they live in.Children can work individually or in pairs.

Provide books, posters, websites and other tailored resources to help the children with theirresearch. If you wish, you could work together to develop some prompt questions to referto. For example:

How big is your family?

What do they wear?

What is their home like?

What do they do?

What are their names?

Do they have pets?

Does anyone else live in your home? (e.g. servants?)

Some useful websites include:

historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcivile.shtml

The Canadian Museum of History features an informative section on daily life in Ancient Egypt,which includes clothing, shelter, food and crafts.

ancientegypt.co.uk/life/home.html

The British Museum website features a section of daily life, which includes contrasting storiesabout two Ancient Egyptian families.

(Also see the websites recommended in History Task 1)

Offer assistance as necessary, visiting children and listening to their ideas. Choosevolunteers to share some of their findings with the rest of the class and share goodresources that have proved helpful.




http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcivile.shtml

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/life/home.html

Recording activity

Children can create a picture of their family and their home. These can be as simple or asdetailed as the children choose. Labels and/or speech bubbles could also be added, tohighlight facts and explain more about each of the family members.

Each child or pair can then present their family to the rest of the class. Compare andcontrast the different ideas. Evaluate the children’s use of different sources to create abelievable family. (This could be linked to the Assessment for Learning History goal 2.5.)Offer suggestions to those who might have used a little too much imagination, and exploreways of improving their pictures. The children can also help with this process.

The finished images could be displayed along your classroom wall to create an AncientEgyptian street scene.

Language arts: The children can use their imaginary families (and other characters they maymeet over the course of the unit) as the stimulus for role-play and drama activities. Thesecould be self- motivated or held as a guided session by yourself, feeding ideas tothe children to help them explore different scenarios. For example, children could role-playa family’s fishing trip down the river Nile. Through drama and mime, they can explore howpeople would have travelled down the Nile, what they would have hunted, the dangers theywould have had to look out for (such as hippos and crocodiles) and so on. Children can alsouse their learning from the History Task 1 to come up with their own ideas for things theymight see and do as they travel along the Nile.

Personal Goals

Adaptability

Communication

Enquiry




History Task 03

Learning Goals






Research activity

Look together at examples of Egyptian tomb paintings, which feature hieroglyphic symbols.Study the paintings and ask the children to talk about what they can see. Focus theirattention on the symbols. What do they think they are? Arrive at an understanding that theyare a form of writing. Instead of using letters to spell words, the Ancient Egyptians usedpictures instead. This was one of the earliest forms of writing in the world.

Not everyone in Ancient Egypt could read and write. Those who could were known asscribes. Mostly it was boys who became scribes, but occasionally girls also learned to readand write (there is evidence that there were female doctors who would have needed suchskills).

Children would go to a special school where they were taught the hieroglyphic alphabet.Only a few were lucky enough to be chosen – often those whose fathers were also scribes.

Remind the children of their Ancient Egyptian families that they created. Tell them that youhave some very special news. One of their children has been chosen to become a scribe.How do they think their family will react to the news? How might the chosen child feel?(Excited, nervous?)

Ask the class to imagine that they are older children at the scribe school. They have beenasked to welcome the new child and show them around the school.

In pairs or small groups, ask the children to find out more about Ancient Egyptian scribeschools and hieroglyphic writing. Provide some appropriate resources and question promptsto help guide their research:

Where did they go to learn? What else might we see there?

What tools did a scribe use?




What were lessons like?

How long would they be at school?

What types of jobs might a scribe have?


ancientegypt.co.uk/temples/home.html

The British Museum website offers children the chance to explore an Ancient Egyptian templeand learn about its different locations – the site also has an excellent section on writing andhieroglyphics.

childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/history/egypt

The Children’s University of Manchester website provides a number of interactive resourcesexploring life in Ancient Egypt. The interactive on hieroglyphics provides an explanation of thedifferent symbols that were used.

kidzone.ws/cultures/egypt/hieroglyph.htm

Kid Zone provides a comprehensive list of the commonly used hieroglyphs and their associatedletters and sounds.




http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/temples/home.html

http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/history/egypt/

http://www.kidzone.ws/cultures/egypt/hieroglyph.htm

Recording activity

Set up your own guided role-play. Acting as ‘scribe teacher’, ask the children to imagine thatit is their first day at the temple. Take the children on an imaginary tour of the temple andschool, using questioning to find out what the children have learned about the differentareas. Once you arrive in the school area, children can be prompted to talk about what theyknow about the life of a scribe and what they think they will be learning.

End the session by asking the children to imagine they are having their very first writinglesson. Provide a simplified hieroglyphic alphabet for the children to use. Challenge them tospell their name (or the name of the child from their Ancient Egyptian family) using thehieroglyphs.

If you wish, you could set up a daily challenge every day, displaying a word or shortsentence (appropriate to the theme) for the children to decode.

Art link: Children can create their own Ancient Egyptian ‘cartouche’ (an oval tabletdisplaying a royal or divine name, such as that of a Pharaoh) out of air-drying clay - and carvetheir name into it using the hieroglyphic symbols. Once dry, these can be painted anddisplayed.

Technology link: Make your own papyrus paper for the children to paint their hieroglyphicsonto. Cut paper towel or brown paper into strips. Soak in a mixture of glue and water, thenlay each strip in vertical columns. Weave additional strips horizontally:

Press down the strips afterwards to make smooth. (Or do what the Egyptians did and bashwith a mallet!) Once the paper has dried, it is ready to write on!

Personal Goals

Adaptability

Communication

Enquiry




History Task 04

Learning Goals









Research activity

Look together at some images of Egyptian gods and goddesses. Some good examples canbe found on the following website:

culturefocus.com/egypt_valley-of-kings.htm

Culture Focus features an article on the treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb, including excellentimages of the paintings that adorned the tomb walls.

Explain that the Ancient Egyptians believed in hundreds of different gods and goddesses.Each of these would represent something different to the Egyptians – often linked to theirenvironment (the sun, the moon, etc.), different crafts and activities, or their beliefs. Many ofthe gods and goddesses had animal heads. There would usually be a connectionbetween the animal and what each god or goddess represented.

Focus on some specific examples, such as Sobek (god of the Nile), Sekhmet (goddess of war)and Ra (god of the sun). Use the following prompts to encourage the children to explorethese in more detail:

What do these figures all have in common?

Have they been painted in a certain way?

What do you think they are gods and goddesses of?

Why do you think the Egyptians chose a crocodile head for Sobek, a lioness for Sekhmetand a falcon for Ra?

What do we think the red disc on Ra’s head might represent?

What are the gods and goddesses holding? Do we think these symbols are important?

What do they tell us about the religion and beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians?

Each god or goddess would have their own temple. Explain that the temple where theirscribe is studying (see previous History task) has decided to choose a new god or goddess toworship there – and the children will be helping with this important decision! But first theywill need to know a bit more about the different gods and goddesses, and what they tell usabout the beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians.

Work with the children to compile a list of questions that they want to find the answers to.Then in pairs or small groups, children can choose their own sources to help them find theanswers.




http://www.culturefocus.com/egypt_valley-of-kings.htm

Recording activity

Children could record their findings using a simple table format. For example:

Alternatively, they can devise their own method of recording. Allow time for the children tofeedback their findings. Compare the Ancient Egyptian religion with the modern-dayreligions in the children’s home/host countries. Are there any similarities? Consider idolworship – such as pop stars, movie stars and celebrities. Do they compare with theEgyptian’s view of their gods and kings?

End the session by asking each group to choose a god or goddess that they think theirtemple should worship. Each group should share their choices with the rest of the class andthe reasons for their choice. If you wish, the choices could be listed and the whole-classasked to vote on their favourite based on the presentations that have been given.

Language arts link: The Egyptians told many stories about their gods and goddesses. Share aversion of the story of Osiris and Isis with the class. A good example can be found here:education.scholastic.co.uk/resources/4202 The children can then retell the storythrough drama or by making their own storybook.

Personal Goals

Communication

Enquiry

Thoughtfulness




http://education.scholastic.co.uk/resources/4202

History Task 05

Learning Goals







Research activity

As the children to think about who makes all the decisions in their host country and homecountries. Who is in charge? Focus on some examples, such as presidents and monarchs.

In Ancient Egypt, the people were ruled by a king called a pharaoh. He was so important tothe Egyptians that they believed he was the son of the Sun God, Ra. The pharaoh would livein a palace, with hundreds of servants to attend to his every need.

Egypt had many pharaohs throughout its history. Explain to the children that they are goingto be finding out about the different pharaohs of Egypt to add to your timeline (seeKnowledge Harvest).

Divide the class into groups and assign one pharaoh to each group to research. These mightinclude:

Menes

Khufu

Khafra

Akhenaten

Tutenkhamen

Hatshepsut

Thutmose III

Amenhotep III

Ramses II




Cleopatra

Begin by asking the children to create a list of questions about their pharaoh that theywould like to find the answers to. Once they have created their list, prompt them to thinkabout the sources that they could use to find out that information. Most children will listbooks and websites; encourage them to think about primary sources that they might use,such as artefacts, architecture, tomb paintings and so on. Once the children haveidentified some different sources, challenge them to research the answers totheir questions using as many quality sources as they can.


ducksters.com/biography

Ducksters provides biographies on Cleopatra, Tutankhamun, Ramses II and Hatshepsut.(Note: this site features advertising.)

kingtutone.com/articles

King Tut One provides detailed background information on each of the different pharaohs.(Note: this site features advertising – but may be helpful for the preparation of your ownresources to support this task.)

timetrips.co.uk/pharaohs.htm

The Time Trips website features a section on each pharaoh with facts and images.

britishmuseum.org

The British Museum offers a fully searchable database of its artefacts, including many fromAncient Egypt.

globalegyptianmuseum.org

Global Egyptian Museum provides a powerful search engine, where children can select from avariety of criteria to view artefacts from Ancient Egypt.




http://www.ducksters.com/biography/

http://www.kingtutone.com/articles/

http://www.timetrips.co.uk/pharaohs.htm

http://www.britishmuseum.org/

http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/

Recording activity

Add the dates and an image of each pharaoh to your whole-class timeline. Ask each group topresent their findings. Prompt them to talk about the key events/moments in their pharaoh’slife – and to consider the reasons/ outcomes for these moments. Do they get an insight,from the sources that they have studied, about what the pharaoh might have been like asa person? Do we think they were a good ruler – and if so why? Let groupschoose two ormore key events from their pharaoh’s lives to add to the whole-class timeline.

After each group has presented, compare and contrast the different pharaohs lives andachievements. Are there any similarities? Was one pharaoh’s reign influenced by those thatcame before? From their findings, consider if there is a list of criteria for judging a goodpharaoh. Do any of the rulers that the class explored come close to being the ‘ultimatepharaoh’?

Personal Goals

Enquiry

Thoughtfulness




History Task 06

Learning Goals







Research activity

Tell the children that their lucky scribes have been invited by their teacher to help overseethe construction of a very special building – a pyramid!

Look together at images of the pyramids that were built on the Giza plateau. If you have agood internet connection you can take an exciting virtual tour of the pyramids by visiting:

giza3d.3ds.com/#discover

Giza 3D offers exciting virtual tours of the Giza plateau. Click on ‘discover’ to download thebrowser plug-in. (Note: some sections can take two or three minutes to load).

Ask the children if they have any ideas as to why the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs chose tobuild pyramids. (Most scholars believe they were built as tombs to house the remains andbelongings of the royal families.) Noone knows for sure how the Egyptians were able tobuild these magnificent structures. The largest is known as the Great Pyramid and took 20years to build!

Discuss some of the current theories about how the pyramids were built and the reasonswhy the west bank of the Nile was chosen (see the big picture). Encourage the children toshare their own ideas and opinions. What do they think would be the biggest challenges inbuilding a pyramid? Prompt them to consider:

Who would have built the pyramids?

How would they have moved such large pieces of stone?

How would they have positioned all the pieces?




http://giza3d.3ds.com/#discover

In groups, provide the children with a selection of cards. On each card, provide one stage ofthe pyramid building process (if possible, also provide an image/illustration for each stage).Talk through these as a whole class.

Ask the children to study and sequence the cards into the order they think each stageshould be done. Card ideas could include:

Choose a suitable location

Use the sun and stars to find north, south, east and west

Measure out a perfect square

Recruit builders and craftsmen

Quarry the stone

Shape the stone into blocks

Transport the stone

Build the ramps

Position the blocks

Add the capstone

Smooth the sides




Recording activity

Once groups are happy with their choices, they can glue or tape them into place on a largesheet of card. Ask the groups to share their final choices with the rest of the class. Compareand contrast the decisions that were made. Were there any differences? Ask groups toexplain and justify their choices.

Children can use their group work as the stimulus for creating their own book, model orposter showing the different stages of building a pyramid. Look together at these as awhole-class. Discuss the lasting impact of the pyramids – that they are still standing todayand considered one of the ancient wonders of the world. Ask the children to use theirbooks/models/ posters to help explain why the pyramids were (and still are considered) sucha huge achievement.

Mathematical link: The Ancient Egyptians measured lengths using a cubit rod. One cubit wasequal to seven palms and each palm was equal to four fingers. Using these measurements,the children can create their own cubit ruler using a length of card:

Children can then measure a number of different classroom objects and record their lengthin cubits, palms and fingers!

Personal Goals

Communication

Enquiry




History Task 07

Learning Goals






Research activity

Look back at some of the treasures you explored during the Entry Point. If necessary, addfurther images for the children to look at. Explain that these objects were all found insideAncient Egyptian tombs. Ask the children to think about why someone would want to beburied with so many items? Do any other cultures they know about bury objects with theirdead? (If children have completed the Survivors MP2 unit they will have looked at some ofthe treasures discovered at the Varna Necropolis.) Do they think everybody in Ancient Egyptwas buried with such treasures?

The Ancient Egyptians had a strong belief in the afterlife. Those that were wealthy wereburied in tombs. These would be filled with the objects that they wanted to take with theminto the afterlife – often a mixture of treasures and personal items, but also practicaleveryday objects that they might need in their new life, such as cups, combs, plates and soon. They would also have had their bodies preserved using a process called mummification.

Explain to the children that the great pharaoh of Egypt has died and his body must now bemummified before it can be taken to its final resting place, inside the pharaoh’s tomb. Thechildren are now embalmers – the people who were in charge of preparing the royal body.Remind them that this is a very important job. They better not get anything wrong, after all– this is not just anybody, it is the pharaoh!

In groups, provide the children with a selection of resources to conduct their research. Theywill need to prepare a list of all the things that they will need to do to mummify andprepare the body. Children can use words and/or pictures to record each stage of theprocess. If you wish, you could provide some topic-related words to help the children withtheir research. For example:

Natron salt

Wabet




Canopic jars

Amulets

Linen wrappings

Coffin

Portrait mask


salariya.com/web_books/mummy/intro/pages/intro.html

The Salariya website features excerts from their excellent range of children’s history books –which includes all the gory details of making an Egyptian mummy!

resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/mummies.htm

The Woodlands Junior School website explains the process of mummification using a simpleQ&A format.

britishmuseum.org/explore/young_explorers/discover/museum_explorer.aspx

The British Museum has a young explorer section where children can select ‘Ancient Egypt’ and‘Death’ to explore some of the museum’s artefacts.

ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page1.html

Ancient Egypt provides a clear and concise step-by-step overview of mummification, withillustrations explaining the process of embalming and wrapping the body.




http://www.salariya.com/web_books/mummy/intro/pages/intro.html

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/mummies.htm

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/young_explorers/discover/museum_explorer.aspx

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page1.html

Recording activity

Each group should have a list of instructions to tell someone how to prepare a body. Theycan decide how they wish to share this information to the rest of the class. Some ideasmight include:

An instructional video – children can pretend they are making a modern styleinstructional video, talking and demonstrating to the camera. These can be mimed, withthe children narrating. One child may have to act as the dead body for some of thestages!

A role-play – children imagine they are teaching a new embalmer what to do.

A ‘how to guide’ – children can draw and label a picture or poster to show each stage ofthe process.

An interactive slideshow – the children can draw and import their own pictures intopresentation software such as PowerPoint or Prezi, and add voice over to describe eachstage. They could even create their own gruesome sound effects for some of themessier sections!

Invite groups to share their presentations, noting the order of the steps. Discuss anydifferences and consider if there are right and wrong answers in the order that some stepsneed to be completed.

Afterwards, prompt the children to think about why this process was so thorough anddetailed. What does it tell us about the Ancient Egyptian’s belief system? Why waspreservation of the body so important? Consider how this might compare with modern dayviews of death and burial in the children’s host and home countries. Does this process linkto and help explain why the great pharaohs built pyramids? (To protect the preserved body,to celebrate their life and so on.)

As a home learning-task, children can find out about how ordinary citizens in Ancient Egyptwere buried. Discuss the children’s findings and compare with the burial process for thosewho were wealthy and important. What kind of burial do they think their Egyptian familieswill have?

Personal Goals

Communication

Cooperation

Enquiry

Thoughtfulness




History Task 08

Learning Goals









Research activity

Recap what you have learned in the previous session about the process of mummificationand the Egyptian’s belief that when they died they would continue living in an afterlife.Explain that the Ancient Egyptians had very clear ideas about what would happen to themwhen they died – their spirit would leave the body and go on a journey. The Egyptianstalked about this journey in a special book they called ‘The Book of the Dead’.

Talk briefly about the stages of this journey (see the big picture for more information). Lookat some scenes from an Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’ to help illustrate some of the keymoments.

Explain to the children that they are going to be creating their own ‘Book of the Dead’ toput inside the Pharaoh’s pyramid. The book will help his spirit to find happiness in theafterlife.

Divide the class into groups. Provide resources and bookmarked websites for the children toconduct their research. Display the stages that you outlined during your introduction, alongwith key vocabulary and names, to help focus the task.


britishmuseum.org/pdf/3665_BOTD_schools_Teachers.pdf

The British Museum offers this useful PDF handbook which gives good background informationon the Book of the Dead and the journey to the afterlife – there is also an accompanying videointroduction which can be found here:

britishmuseum.org/channel/exhibitions/2011/book_of_the_dead.aspx

The British Museum provides an introduction to the Book of the Dead and its themes. There isanother linking video for schools listed in the ‘videos’ section at the bottom of the page.

crystalinks.com/bookofthedead.html

Crystal links hosts a resource which provides an excellent collection of images from the Book ofthe Dead, including spells and the ‘Weighing of the Heart’ ceremony.




http://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/3665_BOTD_schools_Teachers.pdf

http://www.britishmuseum.org/channel/exhibitions/2011/book_of_the_dead.aspx

http://www.crystalinks.com/bookofthedead.html

Recording activity

Children can use the recording session to plan and create their books. If you wish, thesecould take the form of a large scrapbook or set of collage pieces, with images showing thespirit travelling through the underworld, the weighing of the heart and Ra’s boat crossingthe lake of fire. Pages could also be decorated with various spells of good luck (I helpedmy friends. I was kind to others. I did good work. I was honest, etc.), feathers to symbolisetruth, Egyptian hieroglyphs and so on.

Allow time for each child or group to display their book and talk through their choice ofcontent based on their research. What do the books and what they contain tell us about theAncient Egyptians? How does this link to the process of mummification and what they havealready learned about Egyptian religion? Are there books that are special to other religionsin the children’s host and home countries? What role do these books play – and are theysimilar to the Egyptian’s Book of the Dead?

Personal Goals

Adaptability

Communication

Enquiry

Thoughtfulness




History Task 09

Learning Goals







Research activity

Remind the children of the treasures that they explored during the entry point. Explain therole of an archaeologist – someone who studies the past from what has been left behind.The objects that people buried with their dead are a good source of information about howthey lived and what they believed in. However, many of the tombs in Ancient Egypt hadtheir treasures stolen by thieves. But one tomb had remained hidden for many, many years– until it was discovered by an archaeologist called Howard Carter.

Provide groups with photographs showing Howard Carter and his team discovering the tombin 1922 and examining its treasures (an internet search will bring up plenty of examples). Dothey think the photographs are recent or from the past? What clues are there to help us?

Ask the children to study these sources and what they can learn from them. Ask groups tofeed back to the rest of the class. Also record any questions that the images have raised –that the children can find answers to later.

Explain that Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb is one of the greatest finds inhistory. The tomb had not been looted by thieves, so Carter was able to recover a vast arrayof treasures, including Tutankhamen’s sarcophagus. Look together at images of the deathmask and other valuables that were found in the tomb. Tell the children the story ofhow Howard got his first look at the treasures by peering through a small hole he hadchiselled in the rock. When asked what he could see, he said ‘wonderful things.’ Refer backto the entry point game and ask children to describe what it was like to explore thetreasures using a small peep hole. If you wish, you could recreate the game for the childrento play.

Ask the children to consider why Tutankhamen’s tomb was such an exciting discovery. Howdo they think Howard Carter and his team felt when they first saw those fabulous treasures?




(You may want to explain that many of the locals feared there was a curse if anyonedisturbed the tomb and took the treasures from it.)Ask the children to imagine they are a member of Howard Carter’s team. They are going tobe creating a journal to catalogue the treasures that were found and what they tell us aboutTutankhamun and the Ancient Egyptians.

In pairs or small groups, provide tailored resources to help the children find out more aboutHoward Carter’s expedition and the treasures that were found.


bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/tutankhamun_gallery.shtml

BBC History provides an annotated gallery of images, showing treasures from the pharaoh’stomb.

ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt/king_tuts_tomb.php

Ducksters features an excellent overview of Howard Carter’s discovery, including maps andimages. (Note: this site features advertising.)

resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/tut.html#5

The Woodlands Junior School website provides a simple but informative section onTutankhamun and Howard Carter.

youtube.com/watch?v=4Hyqwnmnbew

YouTube hosts this clip from a Heritage Key documentary, looking at a selection of the treasuresfound in Tutankhamen’s tomb

(To watch a YouTube video in safe mode, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the‘safety’ tab which brings up the ‘Safety mode’ information. Under this section, select the ‘on’option, then click ‘save’)

Recording activity

Children can use their research to create an exhibition or museum catalogue, displayingimages of the treasures, a description of each item, and what it tells us about life in AncientEgypt. If possible, have some examples that the children can look at (most museum websiteswill have online catalogues of exhibitions that can be viewed).

The children’s catalogues can then be displayed for the class to explore and evaluate basedon agreed criteria (range of artefacts, detail of information, historical accuracy, use ofsources, etc.)




http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/tutankhamun_gallery.shtml

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt/king_tuts_tomb.php

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/tut.html#5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hyqwnmnbew

Personal Goals

Communication

Enquiry

Thoughtfulness




History Task 10

Learning Goals








Research activity

Assemble the children in the hall or another large space. Explain that they are going to beexploring what was found inside another tomb – one which also contained many valuableobjects and other interesting finds.

Using the information in the big picture, tell the children the story of the discovery in 1922of the Royal Tombs of Ur by Charles Leonard Woolley. (The same year that Howard Carterdiscovered the tomb of Tutankhamun.) Display an outline plan of the tomb:




Work with the children to create a simplified interpretation of what Woolley and his teamfound in the tomb once it was excavated. Mark out an area of your hall for the tomb, usingskipping ropes or mats to denote each area. Then position children in the followingpositions:

1. On a raised platform in the tomb, the body of a middle-aged woman was found,adorned in precious stones and beads. She was wearing a magnificent headdress.If you have a prop available, let one child lie down with arms crossed against theirchest, wearing a crown to denote their status.

2. Five men who were found with armour and swords, lying next to each other.

3. Twelve females lying next to each other in two rows, as if asleep.

4. A young girl dressed similarly to the queen.

5. Use boxes or props to show the positions of the chariot and an elaborate chestcontaining treasures.

Explain that cups were found scattered around the bodies of the guards and the attendants,as well as the young girl. Allow time for the rest of the class to walk around and observe thetomb. Encourage the children to imagine the other treasures that would have beenscattered around the space – there was a lyre (a musical instrument similar to a harp),plates and tableware, golden jewellery such as rings, necklaces and bracelets, and even awardrobe that would have once contained clothes. Compare this tomb with the one HowardCarter discovered. What is the same/different? (For example, the treasures and presence ofa royal person are similar, as are the treasures and everyday items. However, this tombcontains other people – twelve attendants, five males and someone who may have beena young princess.)




Allow the ‘actors’ to re-join the rest of the class. Explore the children’s thoughts about thisdiscovery. Prompt them to consider the following:

Do you think this was an Ancient Egyptian burial? If not, why not?

Do we think the woman with the headdress was important?

Who might the young girl have been who was lying in the Queen’s chamber?

Who do we think the other people were? Why do you think they were in the tomb?

How do you think these people died? (If necessary, remind the children of the cups thatwere found next to the bodies. It is believed they drank poison.)

Do we think these people’s beliefs were similar to the Ancient Egyptians’? Whatevidence is there from what we have explored?

Recording activity

Divide the class into groups. Explain that they are going to role-play the day of the Queen’sfuneral. They have entered the tomb for the first time, in the knowledge that they will bedrinking poison – and joining her in the afterlife. Groups can imagine themselves as theguards (likely to have been present to ‘guard and protect’ the queen) or the attendants (whowould have served the Queen). In their groups, ask the children to explore how they wouldhave been feeling.

Begin with a freeze-frame tableau, the children using their bodies to express theiremotions. Choose good examples for the class to focus on. Then ask the children to role-play their final conversations with each other. What would they say? How might they haveconsoled each other? Would they have been happy to have been chosen – or sad? Whatabout their families and friends? Prompt the children to explore these dilemmas throughtheir conversations.

Invite one or two confident groups to repeat their performance to the rest of the class.Discuss how the characters were portrayed and invite opinion on whether the childrenagree or disagree with the feelings that were communicated.

End the session by explaining that the tomb belonged to people from another ancientcivilisation – Ancient Sumer. In the next few tasks the children will be finding out moreabout this civilisation and comparing it with what they know about Ancient Egypt.




Personal Goals

Adaptability

Cooperation

Enquiry

Thoughtfulness




History Task 11

Learning Goals








Research activity

Use maps to locate the area of Ancient Sumer, which occupied the lower region ofMesopotamia, between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (Mesopotamia means ‘between tworivers’). Ask the children to consider why people settled along these rivers and why thesesettlements would have thrived. (Remind them of the work they completed on the Nilein History Task 1.)

Small villages were built in Sumer around 7000 BCE, which quickly grew into large citieswith thousands of people. Mark this date on your timeline and compare with the OldKingdom dates of Ancient Egypt Around 3000 BCE). The Sumerian civilisation was olderthan the Egyptian civilisation and developed faster. Its golden age (when it was at theheight of its power) was roughly around 2100 BCE.

Divide the class into groups. Provide each group with a selection of images showingdifferent artefacts from the Sumerian civilisation. Explain to the children that they are goingto be detectives. They should study their ‘artefacts’ to see what they can learn about thiscivilisation.

Some suggestions for images/artefacts:

Clay tablets displaying cuneiform writing (such as the tablet found at Girsu)

Clay tablets showing scribes writing on papyrus

Clay tablets showing Sumerian gods (such as the image of the Sun God from Shamash’stemple)




The battle standard of Ur (showing both the ‘peace’ side and the ‘war’ side)

Stone relief showing scales being used for weighing (such as the one found at Nimrud)

Vase/terracotta fragments showing scenes of everyday life (such as musicians, sportingcontests, etc.)

Toys and games (such as the board and pieces for the Royal Game of Ur)

Statue of a lamassu (a mythological creature similar to a sphinx)

When looking at their artefacts remind the children that these are from a differentcivilisation to the Ancient Egyptians, but there might be many similarities – as well asdifferences. If necessary, refer back to some of the children’s earlier work to help themmake links.

Also prompt the children to consider the different sources that have been made available.Which are likely to be the most reliable/useful? What can we learn from each different typeof source? Are there other sources we would like to have to help us find out more? (You canreturn to this point in the Recording Activity when the children think up their ownquestions.)

Some useful websites for images include:

sumerianshakespeare.com

Sumerian Shakespeare features an excellent library of images, including the treasures from theRoyal Tombs, the battle standard of Ur and examples of cuneiform writing.

mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/mesopotamialife/index.php

The Oriental Institute of Chicago has a section on Mesopotamia. Each of the available topics hasits own image/artefact which can be enlarged for study.

metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/329230

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has images of a number of Mesopotamian treasures andartefacts, including a statue of a lamassu. Type ‘Mesopotamia’ into the search engine to accessmany more artefacts, including statues, sculptures and drinking cups.




http://sumerianshakespeare.com/

http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/mesopotamialife/index.php

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/329230

Recording activity

Children can record their ideas on sticky notes and attach them to the images, or use a tableto record their ideas. For example:

Look at each artefact image in turn (ideally enlarged on the whiteboard). Ask groups toshare their opinions and findings with the rest of the class,highlighting areas on thewhiteboard. Encourage the children to make comparisons with what they already knowabout Ancient Egypt.

Create a list of facts – what the children assume or think they know about the AncientSumerians based on their research.

Also make a separate list of questions that the children might have raised about theSumerians. The answers to these can be addressed and explored during the next couple oftasks.

Personal Goals

Enquiry

Thoughtfulness




History Task 12

Learning Goals












Research activity

In groups, challenge the children to find out more about an aspect of Sumerian life. Explainthat they will be presenting their findings as a display at the end of the session. If you wish,you could let groups pick the category/ area that interests them (based on their researchfrom the previous task) or you can assign categories. Try and ensure that at least one groupis working on each area, to provide a greater breadth of knowledge to be shared.

Areas the children could focus on might include:

Rulers

Farming

Clothing

Gods and religion

Death and burial

Writing

Homes

Ziggurats

Games and pastimes

Crafts

Transport and travel

Ask the children to think about the sources they might use to help them. How might theyuse what they have learned from previous tasks to help them with their search?


mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.html

The British Museum Mesopotamia website features useful sections on gods and religion, writing,the royal tombs and ziggurats.

history-world.org/sumerian_culture.htm

History World offers a useful background overview of Ancient Sumer, useful for your ownresearch and planning.

ducksters.com/history/mesopotamia/ancient_sumer.php

Ducksters is a child-friendly website with lots of information about life in Ancient Sumer. Usethe links at the bottom of the page to navigate to different sections. (Note: this site does featureadvertising.)




http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.html

http://history-world.org/sumerian_culture.htm

http://www.ducksters.com/history/mesopotamia/ancient_sumer.php

Recording activity

Children can choose their own method of presenting their information. Be sure to makethem aware of the time that they have available. Some ideas for display might include:

An interactive slideshow presentation, combining images with facts

A museum display, with captioned images and models that the children have made

An oral presentation, supported with props such as pictures and models

A role-play scene between Sumerians, which incorporates the children’s learning

Allow time for each group to share their findings with the rest of the class. Any importantdates can be added to your whole-class timeline. After each presentation, draw comparisonswith daily life in Ancient Egypt:

What is the same and/or different?

Are we able to give reasons for these similarities/differences?

Would someone from Ancient Egypt feel at home if they visited Ancient Sumer?

Language Arts link: Children can create their own ‘visitor’s guide to Ancient Sumer’ to giveto an Ancient Egyptian. They will need to think about the important information that avisitor would need to know – and also note the things that would be familiar/unfamiliar toan Egyptian visitor. If you wish, a member from each group could work together on a book,so that every child will be able to contribute their area of expertise from theResearch/Recording activity.

Personal Goals

Communication

Enquiry

Thoughtfulness




History Extension Task

Learning Goals








Extension activity

Provide the children with a selection of holiday brochures of Egypt (containinghistoric sight-seeing tours). Children could also bring in their own examples. In pairs orgroups, ask the children to look through the brochures and find any examples of historicalsites or monuments – some of which the children may already be familiar with throughtheir study of Ancient Egypt. Create a whole-class list of examples. Consider why peoplemight travel to somewhere like Egypt to see the historic sites. (If a child has already visitedEgypt they could share some of their experiences.)

Ask the children to look back at their brochures. What makes them different to ahistory book on Ancient Egypt? (They are using the country’s history as a means to sellholidays.) Are they still useful as a historical source?

Ask the children to find examples of how these trips are made appealing to areader. Consider the use of images and persuasive text. Compare with the children’sAncient Egyptian tourism adverts from History Task 1.

Challenge the children to create their own travel brochure of Egypt, focusing on the ancientsites and wonders that are still standing today. Children can present these as a slideshowwith images, maps and text, or create a physical brochure/guide. Remind them that theirbrochure should provide useful information on the history of each location and why it issignificant. They could also use examples of persuasive text to make their tour sound asappealing as possible to their target market!

End the session by inviting the children to present their brochures. Evaluate these based onagreed success criteria. For example:

The choice of locations

Clear presentation

An understanding of the significance of each location – why it is important

Explanation of what the visitor will see at the location

Use of persuasive language

Geography link: Children could create a travel itinerary for their trip, with a day-by- daybreakdown of what a visitor will do on each day of the tour. These can be shown on a mapwith a line marking the route that the tour will take and the locations that will be visited.Children could also consider the types of transport that their visitors could use to travel toeach location.

Personal Goals

Communication

Enquiry





Children will:















Music Task 1

Learning Goals








Research activity

Tell the children that you are going to be creating a musical drama to retell a story fromAncient Sumer/Ancient Egypt. Choose a story to focus on – such as the tale of Osiris and Iris(Ancient Egypt) or the Epic of Gilgamesh (Ancient Sumer). Child-friendly versions of thestories are available on the following sites:

education.scholastic.co.uk/resources/4202

The Scholastic Education website provides a printable PDF retelling the story of Isis and Osiris.

mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/gilgamesh.html

A useful teacher resource site, which provides an excellent introduction to Gilgamesh, thelegendary Sumerian hero, and his best friend Enkidu. (Note: this site does feature advertising.)

mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/story/sto_set.html

Mesopotamia provides an illustrated story which continues the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu,and their encounter with the legendary monster, Humbaba.

Ideally, explore the story as part of a Language Arts session and work with the children tostoryboard the main events/scenes. Revisit these scenes (preferably divided into numberedstory cards so the children understand the sequence of the story and what occurs before,after and during each scene).

Listen to a couple of examples of music based on a story, location or experience. For





http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/gilgamesh.html

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/story/sto_set.html

example:

‘Claire de Lune’ by Claude Debussy

‘Fingal’s Cave overture’ by Felix Mendelssohn

‘Hall of the Mountain King’ by Edvard Grieg

'Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ by Paul Dukas

‘Night on Bald Mountain’ by Modest Mussorgsky

‘The Four Seasons’ by Antonio Vivaldi

‘Peter and the Wolf’ by Sergei Prokofiev

For each composition, ask the children to discuss how the music captures each element ofthe story/character. Reinforce important musical terms such as beat (rhythm), tempo (speed)and dynamics (volume), and prompt the children to use these to compare and contrast thedifferent works.

Talk about the instruments that would have been popular in Egypt and Sumer – such aswhistles, drums, shakers (sistrums and rhythm beads), flutes (recorders), castanets, bells andso on. If you wish, the children could listen to some examples of Egyptian/Middle Easternmusic – focusing on the sounds and rhythms of the instruments.


traditionalarabicmusic.com/music_of_egypt.html

Traditional Arabic Music features sound clips exploring the musical styles of genres from aroundthe Middle East.

musicofhistory.com

Music of History features musical soundtracks that use traditional instruments/styles to narrateevents from history. Select ‘Ancient Egypt’ from the Episode menu.

Divide the class into groups. Provide them with a mix of tuned and untuned instruments –ideally similar to those you have previously identified.




http://www.traditionalarabicmusic.com/music_of_egypt.html

http://www.musicofhistory.com/

Recording activity

Allow time for the children to explore making different sounds with their instruments –passing rhythms to each other, then playing together. The emphasis should be on improvingcontrol, accuracy and expression with the instruments, rather than composition (which willbe the focus of the next task).

Groups can then choose and perform their favourite rhythm performance to the rest of theclass to listen to. Encourage the class to talk about and evaluate each piece, using themusical terminology that you introduced in the Research session (rhythm, tempo anddynamics)

Personal Goals

Cooperation

Resilience




Music Task 2

Learning Goals








Research activity

Look at the scenes that you have identified from your story (see previous task). Assign onescene to each group. Explain that they will be creating their own piece of music to provide a‘soundtrack’ for the scene.

Groups should begin by creating a list of words to describe the mood of their scene andwhat the character/s are feeling.

This can then become the starting point for creating their own musicalcomposition. Remindthem of the way that they explored sounds in the previous task by altering the rhythm,tempo and dynamics of their music.

Children can work together in their groups to practise creating different moods using theirinstruments. At this age, children will often choose to play their instruments altogether,copying each other’s beat. Try and encourage them to think creatively (ideally withreference to the Arabic/Middle Eastern music they listened to previously).

For example, they could start with just one instrument and have the others come in one byone – or some instruments could just be used for effects or for a chorus. Words could alsobe chanted (perhaps a character’s name or a phrase related to the story), which could fade inand out at different times.




Recording activity

Once the children have explored and perfected a sequence, challenge them to devise theirown graphic notation to help them record and remember their music. Some children mayalready play an instrument (such as a recorder) and be able to notate their compositionusing staff notation. Ifthey have sheet music available, then the group can explore this forideas on creating their own notation.

With multiple instruments, children may wish to use colour coding and other methods tomake their notation easier to follow. Offer assistance as necessary to help the children withtheir planning.

End the session by asking the children to perform their pieces to the rest of the class. Thesecan be presented in sequence to gradually retell the story through music. Invite groups totalk about the choices they made when creating their piece (perhaps displaying theiroriginal list of words to describe its characters and setting) and the reasons behind thosechoices. The class can then evaluate the music based on the group’s aims.

Personal Goals

Communication

Cooperation




Music Extension Task

Learning Goals






Extension activity

Children should have the opportunity to refine their compositions. The children’s music canbe recorded and saved onto computer using a microphone and sound recorder. Audacity(audacity.sourceforge.net) is a good example – and is also free. Many programs also allowyou to edit and add additional effects to the music. Children can save their originalcomposition, then use the available tools to explore different ways of altering andimproving their music.

Let the children choose their favourite version to save as their final performance. These canthen be played back in sequence for the class to listen to, while you narrate or display therelevant scenes of the story.

Physical Education link: Once the children are happy with their musical retelling, you couldstage your own musical performance – by playing the music, while each group performsmovements to describe their scene. These could be videoed to watch back and comment onas a whole class.

Personal Goals

Communication




http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Art Learning Goals

Children will:









Art Task 1

Learning Goals




Research activity

Display some examples of Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. Spend time exploring thedetails and making links with the children’s learning (most tomb paintings were associatedwith religion, showing gods and pharaohs, and telling stories of their journey to theafterlife). Ask the children to talk about what they like/don’t like about this style of art.

Unlike later periods of history, we know very little about the artists who lived and worked inAncient Egypt. They remain anonymous, probably because their position was not consideredimportant enough to have been recorded. In many ways, their work was a duty to perform –for the Pharaoh or the Egyptians who hired them.

Note the way the figures are drawn. What do the children notice about them? (All figuresare viewed from the side, but the upper body and shoulders are forward-facing – as is theeye.) Also consider the use of colour, using several examples to draw comparisons. TheAncient Egyptians favoured six colours – white, black, red, green, blue and yellow/gold.The tombs of wealthy people, such as pharaohs, were decorated with these wall paintings.Apprentices would sketch out the images on the walls, copying the image from a patternbook and enlarging it using a grid system. Once the image was sketched out (usually usingcharcoal), a master painter would then paint over the sketch using reed brushes.

Explain to the children that they are going to become tomb painters – using their own gridpattern to enlarge an image and then paint it.




Children could choose an image from a book to make into a pattern (ideally these should beapproximately A4 size) or you could provide a selection of images with grid lines already inplace for children to use.

If you wish, sketchbooks could be used for the children to record their own drawings andideas. These could be displayed and discussed for the group to decide on a final image touse for their tomb painting.

Display the area that the children will be painting (ideally have large sheets of paper tapedvertically against your ‘tomb wall’, so the children can actually experience painting as theEgyptian’s would have done). Consider the challenges of painting in this way. (If the paint istoo watery it will drip.) The Egyptian’s painted with thick paints created from ground-uprocks and charcoal.

If time allows, children could experiment with a range of different paints to see which arethe best for the task. They could also try adding various powders to the paint to thicken it –such as corn-starch or flour (although this can affect the end colour depending on the typeof paint you are using).

Once the children have chosen an image and are happy with the paints/ techniques thatthey will use – it is time to get painting!

Recording activity

Children should work together in their groups, adding gridlines to their chosen picture andthen enlarging the same grid to their area of wall. (A good opportunity to practisemeasurements and multiplication!) An adult may need to offer assistance for this part. Oncethe grids are roughly marked onto the wall, the children can transfer the detail from thesmaller grid to the larger grid using chalk or charcoal. Each child can choose two or moresquares to focus on, ensuring they have space for each other to work.

Once the pattern has been enlarged, the children can use their paints (restricted to thecolours used by the Egyptians) to colour in their larger tomb painting. Children canexperiment with colour mixing (on paper or in their sketchbooks) to create different tones.For example, a good skin tone can be created by mixing white, red and yellow.

When the paintings are complete, you can all step back and admire your Ancient Egyptiantomb! (These paintings can be used as part of your exit point exhibition.)

Personal Goals

Adaptability

Communication

Cooperation




Art Task 2

Learning Goals





Research activity

Ask the children to use available resources (books, posters, websites, their previous work,etc.) to research the different headdresses worn/shown in Ancient Egyptian art.

Children can use their sketchbooks to record these – adding notes on colour and otherdetails. Prompt the children to think about the types of headwear that the gods andgoddesses were shown wearing and how these symbols might relate to their role. (Forexample, Ra the sun god is often shown with a red or yellow disc on his head.) The pharaohis usually painted wearing the Crown of Egypt (its two parts relating to the LowerKingdom and Upper Kingdom). Tutankhamen’s death mask is another good example. If youwish, children may also look at Queen Puabi’s magnificent funeral headdress, which wasfound in the Sumerian royal tombs.

Tell the children that they are going to be creating their own Ancient Egyptian (orSumerian) headdress, using the ideas they have sketched asthe inspiration for their veryown creation. Remind them that the headdress always carried meaning – so what do theywant theirs to say?

The headdress could be something that is worn or could be sculptured out of clay, papier-mâché or salt dough. Sculptures could be three-dimensional (such as a bust of a god or apharaoh) or created two-dimensionally (carved into a flat clay tablet or ‘cartouche’) in the artstyle of the Egyptians (see Art Task 1).

Provide an assortment of art materials for the children to choose from – including thin andthick card, coloured paper, paints, fabrics, sequins and beads, modelling media and so on. Ifchildren are making headdresses to be worn, then designs should start with a headband (alength of cardwrapped around the head and then stapled – an adult can assist withthis). The rest of the headdress design can be attached to the headband.




Recording activity

As children work individually on their headdress ideas, look for examples of good practiceand problem-solving. Invite children to share their ongoing work with others – helping andgiving advice where applicable. Encourage them to be creative and imaginative in the waythey approach their work, using the details from their sketches for inspiration. TheEgyptians believed the headdress to be symbolic of the person wearing it – to show offtheir power and influence. Consider ways of making the headdresses as impressive and/or ascolourful as possible.

Once headdresses are complete, these can be displayed (or worn!) for the children to viewand comment on. Invite each artist to talk about the inspiration for their piece and what itwas designed to communicate about the wearer.

Personal Goals

Communication

Resilience

Thoughtfulness




Art Extension Task

Learning Goals





Extension activity

This task can be used to support your exit point exhibition. Recap the types of objectsand treasures that have been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs. These might include:

Canopic jars

Amulets

Necklaces, rings and earrings

Ankhs

Statues (animals, gods, scenes of everyday life)

Headrests

Pots, chests and urns

Models (chariots, fishing boats)

Individually or in pairs, children should choose an example of ‘tomb treasure’ art that theywish to create. They can then research and use their sketchbooks to record differentexamples and understand the symbolic significance of the treasure (such as thescarabs, vultures and snakes that are often depicted on necklaces and earrings). Childrenshould also note the colours and materials, and how they might use these to inspire theirown piece.

Provide a varied selection of art and junk materials for the children to choose from. If theseare going to be used for the exit point then consider ways they can be made exciting andinteresting for the other children to discover. For example, children may wish to add ahieroglyphs message to their work or use bright metallic paints/papers to maketheir treasures dazzle and impress.

Your completed treasures can be displayed together to create a stunning tomb display.




Personal Goals

Adaptability

Communication

Enquiry





Children will:







International Task

Learning Goals







Research activity

Plan your own Egyptian-style party/festival to share with children’s friends and family. Thispresents an ideal opportunity to study the food, traditions and games that were popular inAncient Egypt and draw comparisons with those that are still popular today. Consider howthey compare with those that are popular in the host country and children’s home countries.

As a whole class, talk about how you can theme your party. In groups, children can find outmore about Ancient Egyptian dinner parties and festivals – and the types of food andactivities that were enjoyed. Family members will also have chance to get involved, helpingto prepare food for the event.


egyptianfood.tripod.com

Egyptian Food offers a basic overview of the Ancient Egyptians’ staple diet. (Note: this site doesfeature advertising.)

food.com/recipe-finder/all/ancient-egyptian

The Food.com recipe finder provides instructions on how to make a number of Ancient Egyptiandishes, based on the ingredients that would have been popular at the time.

ancientegyptonline.co.uk/recipes.html

Ancient Egypt Online has a recipes section, with instructions on how to make ta’amia, tigernutsweets and ma’moul.

bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A603776

A BBC hosted article exploring the popular pastimes in Ancient Egypt.

localhistories.org/games.html

Local Histories features a small section on Ancient Egyptian games,providing some good ideasthat could be adapted for party games.

Talk through the children’s findings and compile a menu of dishes, as well as other activitiesthat can be enjoyed at the event. These might include:

A musical composition

A dance or mime

A re-enactment of a story (such as the story of Osiris and Isis)

Traditional games such as khuzza lawizza (similar to leap frog) and tug-of-war




http://egyptianfood.tripod.com/

http://www.food.com/recipe-finder/all/ancient-egyptian

http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/recipes.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A603776

http://www.localhistories.org/games.html

Recording activity

Try and involve parents with the event. Send a letter home with the children to find out ifparents will be willing to help with food and refreshments.

On the day, you can pretend that your classroom (or other chosen location) has become apharaoh’s palace, with one child seated on a ‘throne’ in a headdress (see Art Task 2) todenote their importance as the pharaoh!

Children can share their entertainment and activities with the guests – and talk about whatthey have learned. Sample the different foods and allow time for the parents (and children)to talk about how the foods and activities compare with their home country/host countryexperiences.

Personal Goals

Adaptability

Cooperation

Enquiry




International Extension Task

Learning Goals




Extension activity

Ask the children to imagine what it would have been like to grow up in AncientEgypt. Recap the children’s work over the course of the unit and help them to drawcomparisons between their own modern-day lives and experiences, and what daily lifemight have been like in Ancient Egypt. If you wish, children could also study what life is likenowadays for children living in Egypt. Some useful websites include:

timeforkids.com/destination/egypt/day-in-life

Time for Kids spends a typical day with Amr Adel Ezzeldin, who is twelve-years old and lives inCairo. He describes what life is like growing up in modern-day Egypt.

touregypt.net/featurestories/children.htm

The Tour Egypt website features an informative section on the daily life of children in modern-day Egypt. (Note: this site features advertising.)

Ask children to imagine that they have access to a time machine, to take them backto Ancient Egypt. Ask them to list the things they would most look forward to, whenvisiting Egypt. Then ask them to list the things they would miss most about their ownmodern-day lives.

Children can share their lists with a partner, comparing and contrasting their opinions. Pairscan then join up with another pair to repeat the exercise. End the session by asking thechildren whether they would use the time travel machine – or stay in the presentday. Encourage children to explain their choices, making reference to their lists.




http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/egypt/day-in-life

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/children.htm

Personal Goals

Adaptability

Cooperation

Thoughtfulness




The Exit Point

Remind the children of the entry point, when they discovered and explored a series of mysterioustreasures. Explain that they are going to plan and create their own interactive display for another class toexplore, based on their work and learning over the course of this unit.

Work together to plan your display, prompting the children to think about how they could incorporatetheir existing work (such as the tomb treasures, headdresses, tomb paintings, books of the dead,hieroglyphs etc.) into an exciting experience for the other children.

You may want to consider putting a series of desks together and covering with blankets (see entry point)to create a tomb for children to ‘travel through’. They could be given pen torches to see with as theyexplore the tomb and view the mysterious treasures.

Alternatively, you could create your own wall display – with the tomb paintings providing a backdrop anddraped tables providing a surface to show off the children’s work. Lights can be dimmed or turned off,and the children asked to explore the display in candlelight or torchlight.

Also consider how the display can draw comparisons between the Egyptians and the Sumerians. Perhapsthe end of the exhibition could have a learning display about Sumer followed by some games andactivities, asking visitors to compare and contrast different artefacts to identify the correct civilisation.

Based on your ideas, you may need to allow extra time for children to create additional treasures or otherinteresting items to add interest to your exhibition.

Once your display is set up, invite the other class to come and explore the exhibits. Afterwards, ask themto feedback what they enjoyed most about the exhibition – and what they learned about Ancient Egyptand Sumer by studying the children’s work. If you wish, you could end the session by holding a Q&Asession, where the visiting class can ask questions based on what they have seen – and your class canprovide answers based on their learning from this unit.

The IPC community would love to see examples of your learning, in any subject, at any stage in thelearning process. If you have any pictures or stories you would like to share please visit our Facebookpage at www.facebook.com/InternationalPrimaryCurriculum, tweet @The_IPC or [email protected].




http://www.facebook.com/InternationalPrimaryCurriculum


Resources

For this unit, you will need some, but not necessarily all, of the following:

Equipment

Computers with internet access

Books, posters, DVDs and other resources related to Ancient Egypt andMesopotamia/Ancient Sumer

Art and collage materials

Dark blankets, images of tomb treasures, Egyptian artefacts (see entry point)

Tourism adverts and holiday brochures (see History Task 1)

Building a pyramid sequence cards (see History Task 6)

Museum catalogues (see History Task 9)

A story from Ancient Egypt or Ancient Sumer (see Physical Education Task 1)

Tuned and untuned instruments

Video camera/digital camera (optional)

Slideshow/presentation software such as PowerPoint (optional)

Links

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A603776A BBC hosted article exploring the popular pastimes in Ancient Egypt

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z3rwmp3A BBC Learning Zone documentary focusing on the importance of the Nile to the AncientEgyptians

http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/gilgamesh.htmlA useful teacher resource site, which provides an excellent introduction to Gilgamesh, thelegendary Sumerian hero, and his best friend Enkidu. (Note: this site does featureadvertising.)

http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/recipes.htmlAncient Egypt Online has a recipes section, with instructions on how to make ta’-amia,tigernut sweets and ma’-moul





http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A603776

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z3rwmp3

http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/gilgamesh.html

http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/recipes.html


Ancient Egypt provides a clear and concise step-by-step overview of mummification, withillustrations explaining the process of embalming and wrapping the body

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/tutankhamun_gallery.shtml BBC History provides an annotated gallery of images, showing treasures from the pharaoh’-stomb

http://www.cairocomestoschool.co.uk/Cairo Comes To School offer practical workshops on the music, dance and history of AncientEgypt and Ancient Sumer.

http://www.crystalinks.com/bookofthedead.htmlCrystal links hosts a resource which provides an excellent collection of images from theBook of the Dead, including spells and the ‘Weighing of the Heart’- ceremony

http://www.culturefocus.com/egypt_valley-of-kings.htmCulture Focus features an article on the treasures of Tutankhamun’-s tomb, includingexcellent images of the paintings that adorned the tomb walls

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt/king_tuts_tomb.php Ducksters features an excellent overview of Howard Carter’-s discovery, including maps andimages

http://www.ducksters.com/history/mesopotamia/ancient_sumer.phpDucksters is a child-friendly website with lots of information about life in Ancient Sumer.Use the links at the bottom of the page to navigate to different sections. (Note: this sitedoes feature advertising.)

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt.phpDucksters is a web resource for children, offering facts and images to support a study ofAncient Egypt. (Note: this site features advertising.)

http://egyptianfood.tripod.com/Egyptian Food offers a basic overview of the Ancient Egyptians’- staple diet (note: this sitecontains advertising)

http://history-world.org/sumerian_culture.htmHistory World offers a useful background overview of Ancient Sumer, useful for your ownresearch and planning

http://www.kidzone.ws/cultures/egypt/hieroglyph.htmKid Zone provides a comprehensive list of the commonly used hieroglyphs and theirassociated letters and sounds. (Note: this site features advertising.)

http://www.kingtutone.com/articles/King Tut One provides detailed background information on each of the different pharaohs.Note this site does feature advertising - but may be helpful for the preparation of your ownresources to support this task

http://www.localhistories.org/games.htmlLocal Histories features a small section on Ancient Egyptian games, providing some goodideas that could be adapted for party games

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/story/sto_set.htmlMesopotamia provides an illustrated story which continues the story of Gilgamesh and




http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/tutankhamun_gallery.shtml

http://www.cairocomestoschool.co.uk/

http://www.crystalinks.com/bookofthedead.html

http://www.culturefocus.com/egypt_valley-of-kings.htm

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt/king_tuts_tomb.php

http://www.ducksters.com/history/mesopotamia/ancient_sumer.php

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt.php

http://egyptianfood.tripod.com/

http://history-world.org/sumerian_culture.htm

http://www.kidzone.ws/cultures/egypt/hieroglyph.htm

http://www.kingtutone.com/articles/

http://www.localhistories.org/games.html

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/story/sto_set.html

Enkidu, and their encounter with the legendary monster, Humbaba

http://www.musicofhistory.com/Music of History features musical soundtracks that use traditional instruments/styles tonarrate events from history. Select ‘Ancient Egypt’- from the Episode menu

http://sumerianshakespeare.com/Sumerian Shakespeare features an excellent library of images, including the treasures fromthe Royal Tombs, the battle standard of Ur and examples of cuneiform writing

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.htmlThe British Museum Mesopotamia website features useful sections on gods and religion,writing, the royal tombs and ziggurats

http://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/3665_BOTD_schools_Teachers.pdfThe British Museum offers this useful PDF handbook which gives good backgroundinformation on the Book of the Dead and the journey to the afterlife - there is also anaccompanying video introduction.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/channel/exhibitions/2011/book_of_the_dead.aspxThe British Museum provides an introduction to the Book of the Dead and its themes. Thereis another linking video for schools.

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/temples/home.htmlThe British Museum website offers children the chance to explore an Ancient Egyptiantemple and learn about its different locations - the site also has an excellent section onwriting and hieroglyphics

http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcivile.shtmlThe Canadian Museum of History features an informative section on daily life in AncientEgypt, which includes clothing, shelter, food and crafts

http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/history/egypt/The Children’-s University of Manchester website provides a number of interactive resourcesexploring life in Ancient Egypt. The interactive on hieroglyphics provides an explanation ofthe different symbols that were used

http://www.food.com/recipe-finder/all/ancient-egyptianThe Food.com recipe finder provides instructions on how to make a number of AncientEgyptian dishes, based on the ingredients that would have been popular at the time

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/329230The Metropolitan Museum of Art has images of a number of Mesopotamian treasures andartefacts, including a statue of a lamassu. Type ‘Mesopotamia’- into the search engine toaccess many more artefacts, including statues, sculptures and drinking cups

http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/mesopotamialife/index.phpThe Oriental Institute of Chicago has a section on Mesopotamia. Each of the available topicshas its own image/artefact which can be enlarged for study

http://www.salariya.com/web_books/mummy/intro/pages/intro.htmlThe Salariya website features excepts from their excellent range of children’-s history books- which includes all the gory details of making an Egyptian mummy!





http://www.musicofhistory.com/

http://sumerianshakespeare.com/

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.html

http://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/3665_BOTD_schools_Teachers.pdf

http://www.britishmuseum.org/channel/exhibitions/2011/book_of_the_dead.aspx

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/temples/home.html

http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcivile.shtml

http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/history/egypt/

http://www.food.com/recipe-?nder/all/ancient-egyptian

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/329230

http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/mesopotamialife/index.php

http://www.salariya.com/web_books/mummy/intro/pages/intro.html


The Scholastic Education website provides a printable PDF retelling the story of Isis andOsiris

http://www.timetrips.co.uk/pharaohs.htmThe Time Trips website features a section on each pharaoh with facts and images

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/children.htmThe Tour Egypt website features an informative section on the daily life of children inmodern-day Egypt. (Note: this site features advertising.)

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/ mummies.htmThe Woodlands Junior School website explains the process of mummification using a simpleQ&A format

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/nile.htmThe Woodlands Junior School website is an award-winning resource, providing excellentinformation on a number of historical periods, including Ancient Egypt

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/tut.html#5The Woodlands Junior School website provides a simple but informative section onTutankhamun and Howard Carter

http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/egypt/day-in-lifeTime for Kids spends a typical day with Amr Adel Ezzeldin, who is twelve- years-old andlives in Cairo. He describes what life is like growing up in modern-day Egypt

http://www.traditionalarabicmusic.com/music_of_egypt.htmlTraditional Arabic Music features sound clips exploring the musical styles of genres fromaround the Middle East

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HyqwnmnbewYouTube hosts this clip from a Heritage Key documentary, looking at a selection of thetreasures found in Tutankhamen’-s tomb




http://www.timetrips.co.uk/pharaohs.htm

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/children.htm

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/ mummies.htm

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/nile.htm

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/tut.html#5

http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/egypt/day-in-life

http://www.traditionalarabicmusic.com/music_of_egypt.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hyqwnmnbew

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