Egypt Toybox Lesson 1 of 5

Standard 5: Understand the political, social, and cultural consequences of population movements and militarization in Eurasia in the second millennium BCE.

Historical Understanding

Standard 1: Understands and knows how to analyze chronological relationships and patterns.

Standard 2: Understands the historical perspective.

Geography

Standard 1: Understands the characteristics and uses of maps, gloves, and other geographic tools and technologies.

Standard 2: Knows the location of places, geographic features, and patterns of the environment.

Standard 12: Understands the patterns of human settlement and their causes.

Standard 17: Understands how geography is used to interpret the past.

Common Core Writing Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Overview

Students enter a toybox of Ancient Egypt. If the sides could close, students could carry this toybox with them to build, craft, and play! The toybox contains all the elements students need to interact with this ancient culture and learn more about its geography, economy, governing structure, and culture. Through these five lessons, students will participate in both digital and physical activities to engage in rich learning experiences following the learning objectives and guiding questions. Egypt Toybox is structured and broken into five lessons over 3 weeks x 60 minutes per day

Guiding Questions:

How did living on the Nile River impact the people of Egypt and its status as a world power?
When creating, is it simpler to build or to destroy?
How did the Ancient Egyptian's views on the afterlife impact how they treated the burial process?
How was life different for members of various social classes in Ancient Egypt?
Why are some of Egypt's Queens remembered throughout time?

Lesson 1 of 5

How did living on the Nile River impact the people of Egypt and its status as a world power?

Student Activities

Preparation and materials

Preview link to PBS Resource: Women in Power
Sugar cubes, enough for students to work in small groups and build a pyramid
Jell-O molds and carving utensils such as disposable dinner knives, enough for students to work in small groups to carve a sculpture from it
Preview link to A Day in the Life of an Ancient Egyptian
Create a FlipGrid topic for lesson 4

Student Activities

Students enter the Minecraft: Education Edition world on the outside of the toybox. Ask students to fly to the edge of the river and find the NPC called Ammon.

Ammon says, “The Nile River is our lifeblood. Living here at the water's edge has given my country the opportunity to become the strongest country in the ancient world. Find out why the river is so important.”

Buttons on the NPC take students to the following sites:

Students explore these resources to begin to understand why the Nile River was so important to the people of Ancient Egypt.

Direct students to use the resources to begin adding to their Minecraft map. They should add signs with city names, small houses, landing docks for boats, and other landmarks. Encourage students to review other resources as well.

In a journal or other assignment format, ask students to answer the guiding question in a paragraph or two. Students should include a screenshot of their Minecraft build in their paragraph, if using a digital method.

Differentiation

Allow students to use Dictation to write their paragraphs.

Interdisciplinary connections

Students research the water quality of the Nile River in present day.

Extensions

Allow students to narrate a fly-over description of the Nile River in Minecraft with their scripted response.

Performance Expectations

Assessment

Nile River Build

4 - Details added to the river are historically accurate and include details that give additional information in response to the guiding question.

3 - Details added to the river that are historically accurate and include details relevant to the response to the guiding question.

2 - Details are added to the river that fit the response to the guiding question.

1 - Details added to the river need to be aligned to the guiding question or historically accurate.

Written response

4 - Written response includes information on the location and features of the Nile River that shows a strong connection between the river and the status of the ancient Egyptian rule as a world power.

3 - Written response includes information on the location and features of the Nile River that impact the people's status as a world power in ancient times.

2 - Written response includes information about the Nile River and its features.

1 - Written response includes information about the Nile River but should include more information about features.