Lesson plan (English)
Topic: Ancient Egypt
Target group
5th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
I. Ancient civilizations. Pupil:
2) locates civilizations of the ancient East (Egypt) in time and space;
3) characterizes the structure of society and the belief system in Egypt (...), explains the difference between polytheism and monotheism;
4) locates in time and knows various systems of governance and organization of society in Egypt;
5) characterizes the most important achievements of the material and spiritual culture of the ancient world in various fields: philosophy, science, law, architecture, art, literature.
General aim of education
Students will learn when and how ancient Egypt functioned.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
to describe where ancient Egypt lay and what conditions prevailed in it;
to explain who exercised power in Egypt and what the society of ancient Egypt looked like;
to characterize what were the beliefs and funeral rites of the Egyptians;
to list what areas of life have the Egyptians developed and what we owe them.
Methods/techniques
expository
talk.
activating
discussion.
programmed
with computer;
with e‑textbook.
practical
exercices concerned.
Forms of work
individual activity;
activity in pairs;
activity in groups;
collective activity.
Teaching aids
e‑textbook;
notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;
interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.
Lesson plan overview
Before classes
Students recall why the ancient civilizations of the Middle East originated on the banks of the great rivers and read a fragment from the e‑textbook *Starożytny Egipt*, *Warunki naturalne*.
Introduction
The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.
The teacher, referring to the homework, asks students what the civilizations of Mesopotamia and of ancient Egypt have in common. Asking questions, he remembers to formulate them to be key questions. Then he asks the students to familiarize themselves with the conditions prevailing in Egypt. Introduces and explains the concept of „the gift of the Nile”. Students carry out ** Task 1 **..
Realization
The teacher characterizes the society of ancient Egypt. He should make students aware that the functioning of the state was related to the dependencies between its inhabitants. He presents the social position of Egyptian peasants, whose work laid at the heart of the functioning of the state. Students get acquainted with the Egyptian social pyramid and ** Exercise 1 **, and then on the basis of the text (** Task 2 **) answer questions about the situation of peasants.
The teacher then asks the students to look for information about the everyday life of the Egyptians, their responsibilities and activities.
Continuing, he turns the attention of the students towards the beliefs of the Egyptians. He shows that their religious life and rituals were very rich and complex. Then he asks the students to work in pairs and find information about the most important Egyptian deities and their appearance. He points out that in the long history of ancient Egypt many gods gained or lost their importance. He asks students about what could have been the reason for that.
Continuing, he asks the students about the fate of the deceased. Students, based on their own knowledge, should discuss the process of mummification, and with the teacher's help -- its meaning. Then students get acquainted with the interactive illustration in ** Task 3 **, showing the mummification process.
The teacher asks students about how the most important officials and rulers of Egypt were buried. Students should mention the pyramids as the unusual tombs that survived to our times. The teacher then supplements the students' knowledge by talking about the Valley of the Kings – the most famous cemetery of ancient Egypt. Referring to the burial, he asks students if they know what was the name of the Pharaoh, whose tomb was discovered virtually untouched. Next, he introduces students to the story of Howard Carter's discovery of 1922 and the legend related to the pharaoh's curse.
Referring to the previous lesson (The Civilization of Mesopotamia), the teacher asks students to recall the most important inventions of the ancient Near East. Then he asks students if they know any inventions of ancient Egypt – students should mention the papyrus, hieroglyphic writing and the development of mathematics, architecture and medicine. The teacher supplements examples given by the students. He can focus on the fields of science – mathematics (fractions, calculation of fields and volumes), astronomy (solar year, solar eclipse) and medicine and pharmaceuticals (medical procedures, knowledge of human anatomy, skull trepanation, dental treatment). Then, he introduces the students to the history of the Rosetta stone and the reading of hieroglyphs by Jean‑Francois Champollion.
Summary
As a summary, the teacher displays the timeline showing the history of the ancient Egypt (** Task 4 **), on which he then places the events (proposed events: 30th century BC - invention of hieroglyphic writing, 26th century BC - construction of Great Pyramid, 14th century BC - reign of Pharaoh Tutanchamon; 15th century BC - rule of the woman‑pharaoh Hatshepsut, 332 BC – establishment of Alexandria, 30 BC - death of Cleopatra, inclusion of Egypt into the Roman Empire). The aim of this is to show the length of Egypt's existence. As a curiosity the teacher can mention the fact, that less time has passed between the reign of Cleopatra and our times, than from the building of the pyramids to the reign of Cleopatra..
Students perform ** Exercise 2 **, matching concepts with their definitions.
The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.
Homework
The teacher tasks willing students with homework: Egypt is still a place where archaeologists work studying and discovering the past. Look for information about the largest and most recent archaeological and scientific discoveries regarding the history of Egypt. Did the Poles also contribute to the development of Egyptology?.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Cywilizacja – najwyższy poziom rozwoju danego społeczeństwa, charakteryzujący się wysokim poziomem kultury materialnej i obecnością m.in. zorganizowanego życia miejskiego, rozwiniętym handlem, obiektami sakralnymi i pismem.
Irygacja – sztuczne nawadnianie, dostarczanie wody w celu zapewnienia wzrostu roślin i umożliwienia ich uprawy.
Faraon – władca starożytnego Egiptu. Jego atrybutem był pszent – podwójna korona Dolnego i Górnego Egiptu, a insygniami nechacha (bicz), nemes (chusta w paski) oraz heka (pasterska laska).
Wezyr – w starożytnym Egipcie najwyższy urzędnik na dworze faraona, zarządzający krajem w jego imieniu. Podlegali mu nomarchowie – wyżsi urzędnicy.
Nomarcha – wyższy urzędnik w starożytnym Egipcie, zarządzający nomem, czyli podstawową jednostką administracyjną kraju. Do jego najważniejszych zadań należała kontrola oraz informowanie władcy o stanie zasobów państwa.
Dynastia – ród, z którego pochodzą panujący władcy, np. królowie. Dynastie uznaje się za panującą jeśli co najmniej jej dwaj przedstawiciele panują bezpośrednio po sobie lub z niewielkimi przerwami.
Dar Nilu – a gift of the river Nile - określenie opisujące starożytny Egiptu, którego funkcjonowanie było związane z corocznymi wylewami rzeki Nil.
Politeizm – wiara w wielu bogów, którzy zajmują się odrębnymi sferami życia.
Mitologia – zbiór opowieści o bogach, istotach nadprzyrodzonych i ich losie i przygodach.
Mumia – poddane procesowi mumifikacji ciało człowieka lub zwierzęcia.
Mumifikacja – proces polegający na zabezpieczeniu zwłok przed ich rozkładem. Starożytni Egipcjanie wierzyli, że ciało poddane mumifikacji, pozwoli na życie w świecie umarłych.
Sfinks – mityczne stworzenie przedstawiane jako lew z ludzką głową, obok piramid najsłynniejsza budowla egipska. Prawdopodobnie przedstawia on postać faraona Chefrena.
Hieroglify – rodzaj pisma starożytnych Egipcjan. Ich nazwa wywodzi się z greki i oznacza dosłownie święte znaki.
Egiptologia – nauka zajmująca się badaniem starożytnego Egiptu i jego historii.
Texts and recordings
Ancient Egypt
The country of Egypt was founded in the 4th century BC in North‑Eastern Africa, by the river Nile. The history of Ancient Egypt stretches out over the period of nearly 3 thousand years. It ceased to exist in 30 BC, when it was incorporated into the Roman Empire following the death of the queen Cleopatra. The regular flooding of the Nile made those areas perfect to be inhabited, however, it also meant that the whole country was dependent on the river, hence the expression „Egypt is the gift of the Nile.” The head of the country – Upper and Lower Egypt was the pharaoh. He was identified with the most important of gods – the sun god Ra and the sky god Horus, and he had an absolute, unlimited power. An important position in the country was also given to priests and country officials, whose main task was to supervise the efficiency of administrative work. The highest of the officials was the vizier, who had power over nomarchs The next position in the social hierarchy was occupied by the soldiers, who were also a part of the social elite of the Ancient Egypt. Further down in this division, there were merchants, craftsmen and the most numerous group - the peasants. Their tasks included farming, construction work and maintaining the irrigation system. Egyptians' religious life was extremely rich. They believed in many gods (polytheism), who were often portrayed as people with animal heads. Each god was responsible for a different area of life. An important aspect for the Egyptians was the belief in an afterlife. According to them, people, after death, go to the kingdom of the dead. It was possible thanks to the procedure of preparing the corpse and preventing it from decay – mummification. All the Egyptians were subject to this procedure after death, however, only the richest ones could afford a complex process of embalming, which could take up to 70 days. Dead bodies were usually buried in the sands of the desert or in tombs carved out in a rock. The most famous cemetery of the Ancient Egypt was the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs, kings and higher officials were buried in carved out tombs, together with some objects that they could find useful in the afterlife. Unfortunately, most of the pharaohs' tombs were robbed still in the ancient times, and the only one that remained intact until the present times is the tomb of – Pharaoh Tutankhamun. It was discovered by the British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, which became a worldwide revelation. It is related to a legend, which remained alive until today and talks about the curse on the daredevils. Moreover, the Ancient Egyptians were great builders. They built temples, statues and structures. The most famous examples include the pyramids and the Sphinx, which are located in Giza. A part of their heritage is the hieroglyph writing, written, among others, on a new material called papyrus. The secret of hieroglyphs, the sacred characters, had not been deciphered until 1822. It was achieved by the French scientist Jean‑François Champollion thanks to the discovery and the analysis of the so‑called Rosetta Stone, which had the same text carved out in hieroglyph writing, demotic writing and in ancient Greek. The writing and the amazing structures, however, were not the only achievements of the Egyptians. They also contributed to the development of the mathematics, geometry, astronomy and medicine. They were the first people to invent a water clock, divide the calendar into 12 months and 365 days and write down a treaty about the art of medicine and pharmacy.