The scarab was a common feature in Ancient Egyptian amulets and jewellery

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Ancient Egypt is a topic that never ceases to intrigue and enthuse. From spectacular pyramids to the stunning sphinx, pharaohs, tombs and mysterious hieroglyphics, there’s so

much opportunity for cross-curricular learning that it’s no wonder Ancient Egypt continues to be a favourite teaching topic. This month’s creative topic can begin with the fantastic story starter ‘The Pyramids of Giza’ (available at www.scholastic.co.uk/junioredplus – see ‘Online extras’, right). The story starter is initially set in modern day Egypt, and features four characters who suddenly fi nd themselves cast back in time to the days of the pharaohs. To help return

AN EGYPTIAN ADVENTURE

Explore Ancient Egypt and all its mysteries and magic

(The following activities link to the character of Franziska in the story starter have ‘The Pyramids of Giza’ – see ‘Online extras’, below.)

The scarab beetleThe scarab beetle was an important symbol in Ancient Egypt – representing rebirth. The scarab beetle rolls its eggs along the ground in pellets of dung and buries them. When the larvae hatch they use the dung for food, until they emerge from the hole as young beetles. Ancient Egyptians, observing

Ancient Egyptian art studioThe Ancient Egyptians loved their gods, with the exception of Ammut. They believed that if you did something bad, your heart would become heavy. To travel into the afterlife, your heart needed to be light, otherwise the god Ammut would eat you up! To avoid this, heart scarabs were placed on the chest of the dead to ‘lighten’ the heart of its sins. The scarab was also used in amulets

necklaces and sculptures and paintings.

Activities: Encourage the children to seek and share information and pictures before ‘opening’ their own Ancient Egyptian art studio. The could create sculptures, paintings, amulets, necklaces and heart scarabs using appropriate tools, methods and materials such as air-drying clay for sculptures or painted egg-shells for jewels.

1. Beliefs and traditionsthe beetle, symbolised its actions with the rolling of the Sun across the sky each day, while the baby beetles coming out of the hole, seemed to have magically created themselves. Ra, the Egyptian Sun god, was believed to have pushed the Sun across the sky, and was reborn each day. When in his scarab form, Ra was known as Khepera (or Kepri).

Activities: Ask the children to search the internet for pictures of the scarab beetle and of Khepera. Suggest that they use these pictures to draw representational pictures of their own, showing the natural beetle pushing the pellet of dung and of Khepera pushing the Sun across the sky.

Legends of the godsAlmost every culture has a legend similar to the one about Osiris, god of the underworld. The characters’ names may be different, but the plot of a good king, murdered by a wicked brother, and avenged by his son will often be the same.

Activities: Ask the children to fi nd out all they can about the pharaoh Osiris and his wife Isis. Compare their fi ndings about the magical box that would chain anyone who entered it from escaping. The box was built by Osiris’ jealous brother, Set (or Seth), who wanted to be king, and who used it to murder Osiris. Can the children discover how and where Isis found her dead husband, and how she restored him to life? Do they know which creatures Set sent to kill Horus, the son of Osiris? Once the children have grasped the basis of the legend, ask them to develop it into a drama, concluding the story with the banishment of Set, and Osiris returning to the afterlife.

The story starter, ‘The Pyramids of Giza’, which accompanies these activities, is available either on the Photocopiables, ‘The Pyramids of Giza’ (all readers) or as an exciting Interactive resource – exclusively for subscribers. The exciting

Interactive resource features child-friendly animation to help your class really get a feel for the story and inspire their creativity. The Photocopiables also include character cards that include details and prompts to help the children write their story.

the characters to the 21st century, your class must research four topic areas of Ancient Egypt: beliefs and traditions, the pyramids, everyday life and communication (see activities on pages 35–37). Each topic area is intrinsically linked to one of the story characters. By conducting research and completing the linked activities assigned to each topic area, your class should then be able to write a story ending for each of the characters. As well as fi nding out lots about the history of Ancient Egypt, this month’s creative topic is also ideal for boosting story-writing skills, as children blend fact with fi ction to write their story endings. While the story starter will really help to bring this topic to life, the activities can be carried out independently, if preferred.

CREATIVE TOPIC: ANCIENT EGYPT CREATIVE TOPIC: ANCIENT EGYPT CREATIVE TOPIC: ANCIENT EGYPT CREATIVE TOPIC: ANCIENT EGYPT

Brenda Williams, poet and writer

September 2009 Junior Education Plus36 www.scholastic.co.uk/junioredplus Junior Education Plus September 2009 37www.scholastic.co.uk/junioredplus

(The following activities link to the character of Ben in the story starter ‘The Pyramids of Giza’ – see ‘Online extras’ on page 35.)

The shape of pyramidsUsing a solid pentahedron (a polyhedron with fi ve faces), ask the children to identify the shape seen when viewed as a pyramid – from the front (triangle) and then from below (square). Compare pictures from the internet of the early Step Pyramid, built by Pharaoh Djoser in Saqqara around 2630BC. It is thought that an accurate pyramid shape was later achieved by running ropes from the outer corners up to the planned summit.

Activities: Provide thick pieces of cardboard, set squares, cutting tools and suitable glue for children to create their own step pyramid by building decreasingly sized squares, one on top of another. (Supervise the use of craft knives.) Use modelling clay to create the fi nal tip of the pyramid.

Ancient secrets of the pharaohsThe pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were thought to be gods who, in their afterlife, went on to join Osiris – the god of the underworld. But fi rst, they needed to make a perilous journey across the sky in a boat. Monsters and giant serpents were just some of the dangers they would face. To prepare for this journey, their pyramids and tombs were fi lled with everything they might need, including a boat (or model of one), food and drink.

Activities: Get the children to investigate pictures of Ancient Egyptian funeral boats

and then invite them to plan and design their own. Use this plan to build a model boat, or create a collage of the boat on its journey across the heavens.

The Pyramids of GizaThe Great Pyramid of Giza was built by Pharaoh Khufu around 2550BC and is 147 metres high. Khufu’s son, Khafre, built the second pyramid, which is 144 metres high, about 30 years later (around 2520BC), and he is also thought to have built the Sphinx to stand guard at his tomb. (See pages 38–39 for more activities relating to the Sphinx.) The smallest of the Giza pyramids, which is 65 metres high, was built by Pharaoh Menkaure around 2490BC.

Activities: Using an image of a pentahedron, lead the children in drawing, folding and constructing models of the

(The following activities link to the character of Yasmin in the story starter ‘The Pyramids of Giza’ – see ‘Online extras’ on page 35.)

Village lifeAlthough pyramids were built for pharaohs, the effect was to create jobs for ordinary people. Many of the people who worked on the pyramids were farmers who could not work their fi elds during the fl ooding of the Nile, and so sought work in building. It was a good life for most people in Ancient Egypt. Family life was valued and women were treated as equal citizens who could own land and have occupations outside the home. Although poorer children did not go to school, boys learned a trade or craft, and girls were taught the skills of homemaking.

Activities: Help the children to create an Ancient Egyptian village in the classroom. Appoint different groups to be responsible for researching and developing ideas for the following:

Ptolemy’s Job Centre – A modern job centre in Ancient Egypt! There were lots of jobs available from a priest who attended to the needs of the gods, to a peddler who sold charms and trinkets. Ask the children to write out and display job descriptions for occupations that include: priest, farm labourer, brickmaker, builder and cook.The Nifty Nile Removal Company – Every June to September, the Nile fl ooded and everyone needed to leave home until the water had subsided. What an opportunity for an entrepreneurial removal man! Get the children to create posters advertising a removal service for furniture and belongings. The children should illustrate their adverts with appropriate scenery and transport of the time, such as camels or sledges pulled by oxen.Memphis Master Builders – Most Ancient Egyptian houses had three to seven rooms and a fl at roof where families did their cooking. Sometimes the ground fl oor and front of the house were used for workshops. Wood was scarce and used sparingly in building, but sun-baked bricks were made with straw and mud. After researching, invite the children to design a house for an Ancient Egyptian family.

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2. The pyramids3. Everyday life

Pyramids of Giza from cardboard. Display on sand or coloured paper, and ask the children to provide labels and information sheets. Invite the children to research the interiors of the pyramids, too. What do they think it would be like to walk around one? They could write poetry to express their ideas and add these to the display.

Mysterious mummiesThe Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died their soul lived on. Bodies were mummifi ed to ensure safe passage to the underworld. Bodies were dried and embalmed using special oils and spices. The process took 70 days. Even then, the mummy would be placed in one or more coffi ns, that later in the period were shaped like a human body.

Activities: Provide children with cardboard human ‘coffi n’ shapes to decorate in the Ancient Egyptian style.

Khufu’s Caterers – Festivals honouring gods were an excuse for holidays and feasting. Rich Ancient Egyptians held extravagant parties, with musicians, singers, dancers and acrobats. They ate beef, lamb, fi sh, duck, goat, and vegetables and fruit. The wealthy drank wine, but beer was the staple drink. Invite the children to take the fl air of modern caterers into Ancient Egypt to offer party planning, creating menus, invitation cards, napkins and tablecloths decorated with Ancient Egyptian symbols. Giza Games Shop – Hounds and Jackals was a popular game in Ancient Egypt that involved a race between fi ve ‘jackals’ and fi ve ‘hounds’, and was similar to the modern game Snakes and Ladders. Challenge the children to invent a Hounds and Jackals-style game to sell to Ancient Egyptian children. They could make it similar to Snakes and Ladders, where pieces go backwards or forwards according to where they land, but base these pitfalls and advances on animals or events of Ancient Egypt.

(The following activities link to the character of Mehmet in the story starter ‘The Pyramids of Giza’ – see ‘Online extras’ on page 35.)

The Rosetta StoneThe Ancient Egyptians used a pictorial alphabet – called hieroglyphics. Writing in hieroglyphics was a slow process. As trade and business grew in Ancient Egypt, people began to use demotic script that looked more like letters than pictures, and was faster to write. The mystery of hieroglyphics remained unsolved until, in 1799, a large piece of stone was uncovered near the town of Rosetta in Egypt. This showed three types of writing: hieroglyphics, demotic script

and Greek. An archaeologist called Jean-François Champollion realised that all three inscriptions said the same thing, thus enabling him to decipher what the stone said.

Activities: Provide the children with modelling clay to mould into a ‘rosetta stone’ shape. Ask them to inscribe it with three simple pictures representing themselves or their hobbies, each one above the other. In groups, they could then role play an archaeologist of the future, using their ‘rosetta stones’ to interpret their life styles to a group of historians.

A mysterious inscriptionIn scene fi ve of the story starter ‘The Pyramids of Giza’, Mehmet reads the inscription inside the tomb door. Re-read it as a class and discuss its implications for the characters in the story.

Activities: Gather ideas from the class for a message that will lead the characters in the story starter back to the modern world. Ideas could include a riddle, how to open a door, or a farewell message. Use these ideas to create a simple poem to use as a feature in one of the character’s stories.

Tales from the tombsTomb art decorating the walls of pyramids has remained as another kind of communication form that has enabled historians to understand many aspects of people’s lives in Ancient Egypt. Tomb art featuring musicians, for example, has provided us with information on the instruments they used – such as the lute and harp. Some pictures guided the dead pharaohs to the afterlife showing them the journey they would make into the next world.

Activities: Ask children to search for tomb pictures. Then, in small groups, illustrate panels depicting a story about one of the Ancient Egyptian gods in the style of art in a tomb. ■

4. Communication

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