Content Outline

•      How did the pictographic writing system of hieroglyphs work?

o   There were three different kinds of hieroglyph characters.

•  Single-sound characters like our alphabet.

•  Multi-sound characters that combined multiple phonemes.

•  Determinatives that helped determine meaning in the case of homonyms.

o   A cartouche was an oval shaped symbol that surrounded the hieroglyphs of the pharaoh’s name and was said to protect him or her from evil spirits.

•      Who were the main Egyptian Gods and what were their roles?

o   Isis

•  The divine mother figure and protector of Egypt.

o   Osiris

•  The ruler of the underworld.

o   Horus

•  The god of the sky who is said to be incarnated as the pharaoh.

o   Ra

•  The god of the sun.

o   Anubis

•  The gatekeeper of the underworld.

o   Students will create a deeper character study of each of the gods and make an informative slide-show presentation that they will give in class.

•      How did the Egyptians view the afterlife?

o   They saw it as a continuation of life.

o   To pass to the pleasant afterlife their heart would first be weighed by Anubis to be found worthy.

o   They believed that you would be able to take possessions with you to the afterlife and thus were often buried with household items as well as food, water, and money.

o   Students will create and decorate an ideal tomb for their mummy that will contain all of the items they need to live a comfortable existence in the afterlife.

•      How and why did the Egyptians mummify bodies?

o   To preserve them as a vessel for the afterlife.

o   They remove the organs, dry the body with salt and then rub it with protective resin and oils.

o   Students will follow the traditional mummification steps including salt, scented oils, resin, and the wrapping of linen while “mummifying” a doll.

   •      Who were the important pharaohs of ancient Egypt?

     o   We will be concentrating on the lives of Khufu, Ramses II, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Akhenaten, Tutankhamen, and Cleopatra.

     o   Students will conduct research projects on the pharaoh they are assigned to and create a detailed biography of their life and accomplishments.