Summer SAVY 2017, Session 4/Day 2- Beyond the Pyramids (Rising 1st)

Posted by morganr1 on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in SAVY.

Dear SAVY Parents,

Hail to you, O Nile…
You have come to feed Egypt…
When you flood the land rejoices…

Another great day in ancient Egypt. The above is an excerpt of a beautiful ancient poem, which set the stage for our morning. Wow, your child may sleep as sound as a mummy after all our hard work today! It was so much fun for all! Here are the details:

We began the day by taking care of a few items we didn’t quite finish yesterday. One item of importance, we reviewed our understanding of the properties of a general pyramid solid (square base with 4 connecting triangle side that come together for a centralized point at the top. Many had wanted to learn that specifically, and we discussed drawings from several perspectives. Geometry side bar – check! We also completed our understanding of the final and critical piece of the “systems diagram”: interactions.

Next, we began more research into our understanding of the Nile’s prominence in Egyptian culture. We came to understand that the rhythms and cycles of it’s yearly flooding were critical to the renewal of the soil in the Nile Valley. We understand that the Nile currently has dams to prevent flooding (which can be dangerous to people and property). So… in discussing all the parts of the agricultural system, how are the farm lands enriched in the modern era? We observed many other factors in discussing our key concept: How do human systems (specifically Egyptian) change over time in relation to needs, resources, and circumstances? More on that later. Next we set about to replicate a piece of ancient Egyptian agricultural technology. See the attached picture and ask your child to explain the device as well as the purpose it served in the interactions of the farming system.

We also observed and analyzed some ancient hieroglyph symbols in a document. We learned about how the language system changed overtime, but we still must discuss why these changes took place. The students tried their hand at translating a text, and also writing their own names using the pictorial symbols. Finally, we enjoyed a current event story about King Tut’s dagger made from “iron of the sky”. You might enjoy researching about this as well, and appreciating how the linguists and archaeologists worked together to solve a hieroglyph mystery!

Mrs. Byrd