Integrated ideas for Language Arts/Ancient Egypt

Study Ancient Egyptian writing- hieroglyphics. Scholastic has a wonderful set of hieroglyphic stamps that I purchased several years ago. I also found some hieroglyphic stencils when I attended the traveling Rameses II exhibit in Charlotte back in 1988. Last year I found a font for hieroglyphics for my Mac (I'm sure there's one for PC's out there also) at MacWorld Online.
1. Have the students write (stamp/stencil) their spelling words in hieroglyphics. We use the stamps for this.
2. Give your students their weekly spelling word list in hieroglyphics. Of course thier words are all Ancient Egyptian related:-) Have them translate into English. I use my computer font to do this activity.
3. Create cartouches (oblong frame) of their names. We use the stencils.
4. Write sentences in hieroglyphics and have a friend translate them. We use the stamps.
After researching the mummification process, have your students complete the following activities:
1. Write a HOW-TO paragraph(s) detailing the process, focusing on step-by-step chronology.
2. Cover a discarded fashion doll with papier mache dipped newspaper strips, let dry and paint a dull white. This is their own personal mummy. Design a sarcophagus from tagboard. Decorate it with hieroglyphic symbols and other Ancient Egyptian art. Attach their paragraph to the sarcophagus and display in your own classroom museum.
Create an illustrated ABC book of Ancient Egyptian terms. Assign a letter(s) to each student. He/she finds an Ancient Egyptian term for the letter. Writes a definition/explanation for the term and provides an illustration. Bind the pages into a book and display it in your school library for all to enjoy.
Retell a popular folktale/nursery rhyme with an Ancient Egyptian setting and characters. The following is a list of titles from former students:
- Ankh-en-ella and the Papyrus Slipper (Cinderella)
- Queen Hatshepsut and the Three Wizards (Goldilocks and the Three Bears)
- Ra-tem and the Papyrus Plant (Jack and the Beanstalk)
- The Old Pharoah in the Pyramid (The Old Woman in the Shoe)
Create a pyramid of Ancient Egyptian facts. Supply a stack of blank, tan colored pieces of paper, approx. 1" x 2". These are the bricks. Have students write a fact about Ancient Egypt on one side of the card. Good for independent research. Build the pyramid on a bulletin board or wall with the fact facing out. Begin at the top with one brick in the row. Row 2 should have two bricks, row 3, three, and so on.See how large your pyramid will grow and how much your students will learn.
Miscellaneous ideas my classes have done; all required some type of accompanying writing:
- Paper dolls of Ancient Egyptian fashions
- Salt maps of Ancient Egypt, including major cities
- Biographies of popular rulers, bound into a book
- Videotaped talk show interviews of pharaohs
- Pyramids built from sugar cubes (watch out for hungry ants!)
- Shoebox tombs, complete with mummy and artifacts
- Scarab beetles from clay and bread dough

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Last updated July 13, 2002