Summer SAVY 2019: Session 3, Day 4 – Beyond the Pyramids (Rising 1st/2nd)
Hello SAVY Parents!
It’s hard to believe tomorrow is our final day together in ancient Egypt. Just like any good trip, we don’t want to leave this destination, but we’re leaving plenty of learning undiscovered for other adventures.
Students increased their understanding of systems by observing the boundaries, elements, inputs, 
outputs, and interactions of the ancient barter system. We celebrated our understanding that civilizations experience positive outputs through functional economic systems such as the meeting of needs and wants of citizens and the building of community through interdependence. What are the differences in a monetary system and barter system? Do they have similar outputs?
outputs, and interactions of the ancient barter system. We celebrated our understanding that civilizations experience positive outputs through functional economic systems such as the meeting of needs and wants of citizens and the building of community through interdependence. What are the differences in a monetary system and barter system? Do they have similar outputs?Later, we constructed and discussed a model pyramid that helped us to understand the organization of the power structure in our modern schools. Picture, if you will, a decision making principal at the top, a layer of teaching staff in the middle, and finally the broader base of hard working and valued students at the foundation. This was a great way for us to discuss all the social, labor, political, and power groups in ancient Egypt, and we worked to sort them in the same model structure, with a Pharaoh at the top. Which labor group is considered to be more powerful than others? If so, why or why not? What evidence of their influence from our study can you offer? What examples can you give of artisans or merchants with great influence or power in our modern power systems? How can we observe changes in power systems over time? What are the differences in a monarchy and a democracy?
After lunch (Mrs. Byrd tried hard to not eat all the items we’re assembling for our market display for you tomorrow!), we read a text entitled: The Winged Cat. This helped us to explore more of the mythology of ancient Egypt, and it was a beautiful story we all enjoyed. The beautiful illustrations included so many of the hieroglyphs we have been studying, so that was really fun!
We hope you will be able to join us tomorrow morning so that we can show you and explain to you all the wonders that we have discovered about this marvelous civilization – and how this civilization’s systems have changed over time based on needs, resources, and circumstances. We welcome you to the “House of Life”!
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