Key Stage 2Ages 8-9

‘Hurrah for Ra!’Art, design and history come together in this ‘Thank you’ card-making project dedicated to the Egyptian sun god, Ra. Children will learn about paper-making, the origins of writing and about Ancient Egyptian culture, expressed through the art and artefacts discovered in King Tutankhamun’s tomb.

There are two structured input phases to this project: Lesson 1 (1hr) and Lesson 2 (1hr). In between the two lessons, you may wish to set aside 45 mins or so for a paper-making activity, ideally following on immediately from Lesson 1.

The Art and Design curriculum requires sketchbook evidence and exploration. The project lends itself very well to independent research and design preparation to meet both the A&D and History criteria for Lower Key Stage 2. These elements are suggested in orange below.

Learning objectives: by the end of the project - National Curriculum ReferenceAll will have considered the value of saying thank you, particularly for the gifts of the natural world. Non-statutory Citizenship and PSHE

Most will be able to locate Egypt on a map, identify the Sahara Desert and the River Nile. Ge2/1.1

All will be able to name the sun god, Ra, and explain his importance to the Ancient Egyptians. Hi2/2.3c

All will have the opportunity to explore/identify artefacts excavated from King Tutankhamun’s tomb. DT1/1.3

Some will be able to formulate an historical timeline of events. Hi2/2.3cMa2/4.1

All will be able to describe the importance and the many uses of papyrus. DT2/1.3c

All will be able to link the plant to the invention and etymology of ‘paper’. DT2/1.3c

Most will be able to sequence and explain the stages in the Ancient Egyptian paper-making process. En2/3.4aAll will have approximated the process in their own paper-making craft activity. Ar2/1.2

All will have discussed the importance and multiple reasons for writing. DT2/1.3c

All will have identified and reproduced examples of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Hi2/2.3c

Most will be able to name key events in the history and development of writing. DT2/1.3cHi2/2.3c

All will have designed and produced a card using Ancient Egyptian drawing techniques. Ar2/1.2DT2/1.2a;b

Some will have explored Ancient Egyptian design motifs and techniques in greater depth. Ar2/1.1;1.2

Some will have made comparisons between 3D and 2D representation. Ar2/1.1;1.2Ma2/3.2d

Some will have independently researched sun god mythology in greater detail and depth. Hi2/2.3c

All should be given the opportunity to evaluate their own and others’ work. DT2/1.3b

Teacher notesRecommended lesson time 3 x 1 hour.

The learning should be conducted in two phases:

Lesson 1 – art, devotion and paper-making in Ancient Egypt (1 hour). This will set up the historical context and the craft project.

Paper-making phase that will require an additional 30-60 minutes, depending on which option you choose. ‘Papyrus’ cards (Option 1 below) will take a day to dry. Options 2, 3 and 4 are much quicker alternatives – option 4 takes no time and minimal preparation.

Lesson 2 – Egyptian hieroglyphs and card project completion (1 hour).

Research and sketchbook activity is optional, but an excellent opportunity to meet both the Art and Design and History criteria for Key Stage 2. This can take the form of in-class and/or independent, out- of- class activity, occurring between lessons 1 and 2.

Preparation:Learning and extension materials and resources are included, as is the background information you may need on the subject. The project should fit with the timetabled teaching of Ancient Egyptian history. The craft element requires minimal preparation, using easily accessible materials.

There is ample (optional) scope to meet Art and Design criteria through independent and/or guided sketch-book work that may include a focus on Ancient Egyptian materials and techniques, comparisons with modern (3D) and ancient (2D) representation, further historical research and project evaluation. Consider whether and how you build this in before the final card-making activity.

Resources: Powerpoint presentation to structure the input for lessons 1 and 2 (included). Video clip: ‘A Brief History of Writing’ (link provided on powerpoint slide 27). Resource 1: ‘old paper’ printable template Resource 2a: sequencing activity – steps in the paper-making process (with sequencers) Resource 2b: sequencing activity – steps in the paper-making process (extension, without sequencers) Resource 3: question sheets to work with video clip ‘A brief history of writing’. Resource 4:hieroglyphic symbols chart Resource 5: Egyptian design inspiration prompts

For the paper making activity:

Option 1: Easy Papyrus Brown paper, cut into strips Wax paper, 1 sheet per child Glue mix – 1 part water to 1 part glue

See http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Paper-Look-Old for even easier options that take less time:

Option 2: Paper aging with tea/coffeeOption 3: Paper aging with a candleOption 4: ‘Old paper’ – printable template included in this pack- no prep

Coloured pens, pencils, black and red felt tips and fine liners, gold and white pens if available. Guillotine/ scissors.

Embedded EnglishUseful vocabulary:Silt, annual, inundation, irrigation, mummy, sarcophagus, versatile (plant/material), to discover, to invent

Using sequence markers (Firstly, then, next etc.) to describe steps in a process.

Listening for comprehensionEmbedded Maths

Historical timelines – BC/AD 2D (flat, representational) v 3D (photographic) images Repetition and patterning

Subject links: PSHE Geography

Art and design History

Background information (input notes are included in the lesson plan and on the slide notes for convenience):

The Ancient Egyptians used art in their worship of the two most important things in their lives:1. The rising and setting of the sun every day.2. The flooding of the River Nile every year, once a year.

Of all their many gods (about 2000), the sun god Ra was the most important. Ra was responsible for the regular miracles of nature that brought them fish, crops, wildlife (food!), and for the predictable pattern of life that enabled the Ancient Egyptians to establish a stable and confident society.

Along the banks of the River Nile grew a tall (up to 5m) and versatile plant called papyrus. The roots, stem and leaves of the plant were used to make everything! Baskets, rope, sandals, mattresses, medicine, perfume, food, clothes, tables, chairs, boats - and, of course, paper.

The Ancient Egyptians invented paper in 3500 BC. Around the same time, they developed a system of writing called hieroglyphics. These ‘sound signs’ or pictographs were used to keep records, as well as to give thanks to the gods.

From the remnants of ancient papyrus scrolls, and from the writing and decorations on walls and ceilings of the pyramid tombs, we know a lot about Ancient Egyptian attitudes to life – and death. Or, rather, to the Afterlife.

Further information on the art of the Ancient Egyptians can be found on Dr. Amy Calvert’s website, here: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/beginners-guide-egypt/a/egyptian-art

The key features are: That it was stylized, 2D and representational e.g. bigger = more important; nearer objects might be drawn at the bottom of a stack and

those further away placed at the top – so, lizard, then river, then a mountain on top of the stacked images to suggest distance; a jug and bowl would be placed on top of one another rather than the jug being drawn inside the bowl ‘as seen’ etc.

It used repetitive motifs – scarabs, papyrus, lotus, lily, garland and palmette, for example. Drawing was more important than colour and doubled up to tell a story. An Egyptian scribe was both an artist and a clerk, and used an

outlining technique -usually red or black ink on a yellow or white background. Shapes were filled in with alternating blocks of colour, often blue or green.

Paper was made from strips of papyrus reeds which they dampened, made into a criss-cross pattern and pressed into sheets. Our very word paper comes from "papyrus".

Brushes were the chewed ends of the Juncus rush plant. Pigments were made out of ground minerals e.g. chalk, iron-oxides, copper compounds and ochre. Colour use was sometimes symbolic:

Green – vegetation, new lifeRed – life, victory, anger, fireWhite – power and purityBlack – night, death, fertility, life

Yellow – eternity, sacrednessBlue – sky, water, life, re-birth

It is worth investing in the British Museum Pattern Book: Ancient Egyptian Designs by Eva Wilson for design ideas and inspiration. Otherwise, Resource 5 offers some initial prompts.

To explore commercial ideas for Egyptian greeting cards designs, see:

http://www.cafepress.com/+egyptian+greeting_cardshttp://www.shutterstock.com/pic-102681779/stock-vector-greeting-card-design-featuring-ancient-egyptian-hieroglyphics.htmlhttp://www.zazzle.co.uk/egypt+greeting+cards

LESSON ONETiming Stage/ purpose Activity Resources10 mins

Reflection and set-up: what are we thankful for? To whom? And how do we say thank you when we mean it?

Children take 3 minutes to describe to their partners what they are thankful for, followed by short, nominated feed back to the class. Discuss who they would say thank-you to, and how.Elicit, among other things (e.g. a hug, an utterance, a gift, a return favour, a prayer), the value of a ‘Thank-you’ card to show appreciation for someone’s help or generosity. Tell children they are going to create the first ‘Thank- you’ card ever, at a time when paper had just been invented.

Paired or group speaking activity; whole-class feedback.

10 mins

Setting the scene: the Ancient Egyptian context

Slide 2: Imagine they are living 5000 years ago, in the Sahara desert in Egypt, northeast Africa. There are no machines, cars, computers, no factories, shops or supermarkets. Everything they need, they have to make or grow themselves. What do they need most? Elicit food (plants and animals) and, therefore, water and sun.

Slides 3 and 4: They are very lucky to live on the banks of an important river – the River Nile. Every year, the river floods and the river sand, or silt, that is washed up onto the banks is very fertile. The annual inundation means an abundance of

Powerpoint slides 2-5, information notes here are repeated on slide notes.

Teacher-led, with interactive Q&A

plant and animal life. Because of the sun - rising and setting every day - and because the river floods regularly once a year, their families can irrigate their land, grow food for themselves and for their animals to ensure survival for the rest of the year.

Slide 5: The Ancient Egyptians believed that the gods were the cause of their good luck. And the sun god, Ra, was the most important god, to whom they owed their lives, and to whom they regularly said ‘Thank you!’ Ra was usually shown with a human body and a hawk’s head, balancing a golden orb or sun on his head. Ancient Egyptian art was a celebration of the power of the natural world. Through the decorations in their everyday buildings, their temples and their tombs, we know a lot about their religion - in particular, their worship of the sun and their belief in an Afterlife.

Slide 5 includes modern (3D) and ancient (2D) representations of Ra for comparison.

20 mins

The story of King Tut and an objects guessing game:

After 30 years of searching for a tomb that people said didn’t exist, an English archaeologist named Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings in 1922. It contained the mummified body of the young Pharaoh, and a treasure trove of objects that can help us to understand the Ancient Egyptian way of life.

Slides 6-10: Images for the Valley of the Kings and Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Slide 11: Set-up for the guessing/ observation game Slides 12-22 (reduce number if necessary): Ask children to

identify the objects depicted on the slides – to really look, consider their use and purpose and what they say about the life they were living as Ancient Egyptians 5000 years ago …..

Powerpoint slides 6-22 ‘Guessing’ slides reveal the

answers Teacher-led, with interactive Q&A

5 mins The invention of paper: lead-in to card craft project.

Show final guessing slide 23. Elicit what valuable item may have been kept in the box – answer: papyrus.

Ask whether anyone knows what papyrus is and elicit what they know.

Slide 24: Papyrus was a very tall (5m), strong and versatile plant that grew along the banks of the river. It was used to make baskets, rope, sandals, mattresses, medicine, perfume, food, clothes, tables, chairs, boats - and, of course, paper. The Ancient Egyptians first invented paper in 3500 BC; before that, people made marks on clay or stone.

Powerpoint slides 23-24

10 mins

Steps in the paper-making process in Ancient Egypt: a card ordering activity with language extension options.

Provide pairs with process strip cards for ordering, with or without sequence markers depending on ability.Extension activity: add suitable sequence markers Firstly, Then, Next and Finally – paying attention to punctuation: capital letters and commas.

Check answers against slide 25: Steps in paper production in Ancient Egypt.

Resource 2a : process steps 1-4 cut into strips for ordering activity.

Resource 2b: process steps 1-4 (without sequence markers) cut into strips for ordering and gap-fill activity (optional).

Powerpoint slide 25.

5 mins Plenary and recap.

Slide 26 provides a timeline for review. This will be referred to again at the start of Lesson 2. Ask the children:

Can they remember when the Ancient Egyptians invented paper? Click to reveal 3500 BC

Do they know what BC stands for? Before Christ What year was Jesus Christ born in? Click to reveal 0 AD So in Britain, everything before the birth of Jesus Christ is BC,

and everything afterwards is AD. So what year do we live in? Click to reveal 2015 AD.

Powerpoint slide 26.

End of Lesson 1 input. If you are going to set up bridging activity and independent research, now is the time to do that. And/ or you may move on to the paper-making activity. Whether you choose options 1,2,3 or 4, children need to have a card to work with in Lesson 2.

Interim sketch-book research project and design ideas.

Ideas for independent and/or guided research may include Ancient Egyptian representations of animals and plants; further study of the sun god, Ra; sun mythology (Nut giving birth, scarab/ dung-beetle rolling the sun across the sky etc); a preparatory look at repetitive patterning, use of outlining techniques, colour blocks and alternation; comparisons between 3D realism and 2D representation (slide 5 is a springboard), for example. Resource 5 also provides some basic motifs to practise and experiment with prior to final card production.

Practical paper, card-making:

Timing will differ depending on the option you choose. See the resources guidance at the start of the plan for further direction.Option 1: Easy Egyptian Papyrus Making – 1hr, plus drying time.Option 2: Paper aging with tea/ coffee – 20- 30 mins, plus drying time.Option 3: Paper aging with a candle – 30 mins.Option 4: Print the ‘old paper’ template – minimal preparation.

LESSON TWOTiming Stage/ purpose Activity Resources5 mins Recap Briefly elicit and board the key points that children remember from the

previous lesson. Remind them that they are living in Ancient Egypt, and that they are designing the very first Thank-you card to the sun god Ra on paper that has just been invented. Today, they will learn how to write their names in writing that is 5000 years old.

Slide 27 links to the previous lesson and will jog children’s memories.

Teacher-led Q&A Powerpoint slide 27

15 mins

The development of writing: lead- in to the final phase of the card-craft project.

Children are going to watch a video clip on the history of writing. Writing didn’t always exist – it had to be invented.

Before they watch , ask children to suggest reasons why we write, why writing is important.

Distribute Resource 3: questions related to the video clip. See if they can answer any of the questions before watching.

The video is embedded into slide 27: ‘A brief history of writing’ http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/young_explorers/discover/videos/a_brief_history_of_writing.aspx

While they watch , ask the class to answer the following questions:

Powerpoint slide 27 Resource 3,

question sheet. ‘A Brief History of

Writing’ video clip Pair-checking,

followed by whole-class feedback and correction

Slide 27 summary

1. The earliest examples of writing are 5000 years old, called cuneiform and from an area now known as Iraq. Paper hadn’t been invented yet, so what did people use to write on? Clay tablets, stone

2. What is Egyptian writing called? Hieroglyphs3. What did the Ancient Egyptians write on? Papyrus4. What is unusual about Arabic? It reads from right to left5. Which is the oldest type of writing still in use today? Chinese

After watching , check answers with each other and then with you. Click on slide 27 to reveal summary.

reveals.

10 mins

Preparation for writing:

Distribute the hieroglyphic chart: resource 4 Ask children for their reactions to the Egyptian version of the alphabet Slide 28: Ask children to work in pairs to decipher the hieroglyph –

answer: ‘Thanks’ Now they should use the chart to construct and practice writing their own

names. Where no hieroglyph exists, use the Roman alternative. They are ready to write and decorate their cards.

Resource 4: hieroglyphic chart

Powerpoint slide 28

30 mins

Card design and completion:

Slide 29: The text frame is simply:Dear Ra,Thank you for …… (draw on the natural world)Love,(name in hieroglyphs)

Spend the remainder of the time on the final design of the card in Egyptian style: outlining the image in red or black and filling in with blocks of colour. See background notes for further information. Resource 5 has some ideas and prompts for image choices.

Black and red felt-tip and/ or fine liner pens

An assortment of coloured pens and pencils

White and gold pens would be a lovely addition

Resource 5.

At the end of the project, cards could be displayed (on bandaged/ mummified /or gold-painted board? In a circular or sun shape?) or stored in a special ‘Papyrus box’ that can be dipped into at the start of the day as a rolling ‘Thank you’ to nature and a fun deciphering game as children try to work out the names of each ‘sender’ .

Extension activity/ follow-up: surprise someone with a Thank You card for something for which you are grateful.

Resource 1: ‘old paper’ template for printing

Resource 2a: process ordering strips with sequencers

Firstly, the outside layer of the stem was removed.

Then the inner layer of the plant was sliced into long strips and placed side by side with a second layer on top at a right angle (criss-crossed for strength).

Next, the whole thing was soaked in water and pressed under a heavy rock for 21 days. The juice of the plant acted like glue and bonded the strips together.

Finally, the sheet was hammered flat and dried in the sun.

Resource 2b: process ordering strips without sequencers

XXX, the outside layer of the stem was removed.

XXX the inner layer of the plant was sliced into long strips and placed side by side with a second layer on top at a right angle (criss-crossed for strength).

XXX, the whole thing was soaked in water and pressed under a heavy rock for 21 days. The juice of the plant acted like glue and bonded the strips together.

XXX, the sheet was hammered flat and dried in the sun.

Resource 3: question sheet for the video clip ‘A brief history of writing’.

1. The earliest examples of writing, called cuneiform, are from an area now known as Iraq. Paper hadn’t been invented yet, so what did people use to write on?

2. What is Egyptian writing called? 3. What did the Ancient Egyptians write on? 4. What is unusual about Arabic? 5. Which is the oldest type of writing still in use today?

1. The earliest examples of writing, called cuneiform, are from an area now known as Iraq. Paper hadn’t been invented yet, so what did people use to write on?

2. What is Egyptian writing called? 3. What did the Ancient Egyptians write on? 4. What is unusual about Arabic? 5. Which is the oldest type of writing still in use today?

Resource 4: Hieroglyphic Chart:

Adapted from: http://www.mummies2pyramids.info/hieroglyphics/hieroglyphics-alphabet.htm

Hieroglyph Letter Facts about theHieroglyphics Alphabet

A There are two hieroglyphs for the letter "A" representing the different sounds of the letter.Picture: Vulture

a Picture: Arm

B Picture: Foot / Lower Leg

D Picture: Hand

F Picture: Horned Viper

G Picture: JarPronunciation: "auh"

HThere are two hieroglyphs for the letter "H" representing the different sounds of the letter.Picture: Wick

h Picture: Courtyard

J Picture: Reed

K Picture: Basket with handle

M Picture: Owl

N Picture: Water

P Picture: Stool

Q Picture: Hill

R Picture: Mouth

S Picture: Pool

s Picture: Folded Linen

TThere are two hieroglyphs for the letter "T" representing the different sounds of the letter.Picture: Loaf of Bread

Th Picture: Tethering Rope

W Picture: Quail / Chick

XThere are two hieroglyphs for the letter "X" representing the different sounds of the letter.Picture: Sieve

X Picture: Abdomen

Y Picture: Reed Leaf

Z Picture: Door bolt

Resource 5: Egyptian design inspiration: