Rationale for the Teaching of Ancient Egyptian Culture
Understanding the global history of humanity’s inhabitance of the globe is an essential part of any education. By learning about the histories of ancient civilizations, students learn how various peoples and cultures have grown, morphed, migrated, and merged with other cultures. By piecing together the histories of the world, students can begin to see their own place in that continual march and gain a better understanding of the complexities of the political and social landscape of the modern world.
In this study of world civilizations, Egypt represents one of the key civilizations of ancient times that helped to shape the world as we know it. At near 2000-3000 years of dynastic rule (including some periods of foreign occupation) Egypt’s society was one of the longest running and most complex of its age. Egypt developed one of the earliest and most effective writing systems, created the first national government in the world, and accomplished some of the most amazing engineering feats of its time. It also developed a vivid religious understanding of life and death, which lead them to create the fabled mummification ritual that fascinates the world to this day.
In my unit for a combined 6th & 7th grade social studies class we will be learning about those topics mostly through hands-on group and individual work. They will engage in activities including but not limited to acting out a play that discusses the basic principles of Egyptian society, learning to write their names in hieroglyphs, and creating presentations about the characteristics of the various gods. In the culminating project of the unit, the students will create a doll character based on one of the key Egyptian pharaohs and then will proceed to mummify and create a tomb for that pharaoh following the traditional processes.
For more specific information regarding the goals for this unit and its alignment with Oregon state standards, please see the overview included in this section.
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