Summer SAVY Session 5, Day 2, Beyond the Pyramids

Posted by delislss on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 in blog, SAVY.

Day 2: Today is Nile River Day! We learned about the significance of the river and how it helped the ancient Egyptian civilization thrive. Today’s read-aloud texts were Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile by Tommie dePaola and Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney. The first led us to ask questions about which animals live along the banks or in the Nile. We did some research and took notes. The second helped us understand the map of Egypt displayed in our classroom. Today, our Egyptologists learned about primary sources. We played the telephone game to see what can happen to information once it passes from person to person. In contrast, we read a poem about the Nile written by a poet in Egypt in 1000 BC. We also took a virtual tour of the Egyptian artifacts that are displayed at the British Museum.

This afternoon, we focused on the role of the Nile in farming. Students shared what they know about current farming practices. We compared the seasons, crops, and equipment used today with that used by Egyptian farmers. The Egyptologists added several new terms to their glossary. One is shaduf. Students created a model of this Egyptian invention during a STEM challenge. To extend their learning, students met with their “shipwrecked” group and created a plan to farm and grow food on the island now that one month has passed and supplies are running low.

Tomorrow, our first guest speaker will join us via Zoom. She is a professor and archaeologist at Florida Atlantic University. We developed a list of questions to ask about archaeology. Tomorrow the focus of instruction will be the writing, math, and currency developed by the ancient Egyptian civilization. As you talk to your child about their day, you may wish to ask them about how the Nile River helped the Ancient Egyptians. To connect learning to their own life, you can show them the Cumberland River and ask questions about why Nashville is located on a river. Use questioning to guide your child in discovering how current civilizations use bodies of water to support communities.