Summer SAVY Session 5, Day 1, Beyond the Pyramids
Day 1: Welcome to Beyond the Pyramids! This morning we did some “get to know you” activities and shared background knowledge about ancient Egypt. Our read-aloud today was “The Egyptian Cinderella” by Shirley Climo. This variation on Cinderella is based on the real Rhodopis who married Pharaoh Amasis in 570 BC. We completed a Venn diagram to compare this version to the original Cinderella. We discussed aspects of ancient Egyptian cultured mentioned in the book.
Students shared questions they have about the culture. We used online resources from the American Museum of Natural History to learn about this week’s career connections: anthropologists and archaeologists. The students learned that they are junior Egyptologists this week! This vocabulary, along with other terms, was used to start a glossary in each student’s Egyptology notebook. They will record observations and information they learn this week in these notebooks. We created a timeline from 3000 BC to 2023 AD with significant events in our nation’s history along with the building of the pyramid at Giza and the end of the ancient Egyptian civilization. The goal of this was to help students understand how long ago the ancient Egyptian civilization occurred and to give them a visual idea of how long it lasted.
To help students understand the big idea of civilizations, they are participating in a Shipwrecked simulation. They are working with a team to figure out what to do after they are shipwrecked on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Today they made a list of problems that need to be solved. Then, they prioritized the top three problems. All three groups agreed that lack of water, lack of food, and lack of shelter are the most urgent problems to solve. In the coming days, they will begin to create a small civilization on the island.
Tonight, you may ask your child what new questions they have about ancient Egypt after our introduction today. It would also be good to discuss the role of archaeologists and Egyptologists in helping us understand ancient history. I look forward to working with your junior Egyptologist tomorrow!
Mrs. Carrie Allison