Thematic Unit of Study

Unit Title: Ancient Egypt

Grade Level: Grades 3-5
By: Jaida Sanchez

Description of the Unit

This unit is a study of the many facets of Ancient Egyptian civilization. Before diving
into Ancient Egypt as a civilization, students will look at artifacts to build their excitement and
consider how we know so much about ancient civilizations. After it is revealed that we will be
studying Ancient Egypt, students will first study the geography of the Fertile Crescent and the
Nile River before exploring the question of why Ancient Egyptians ultimately settled in that area
and built their civilization around the Nile River. Students will next explore some of the most
remarkable pharaohs and their most memorable contributions to Egyptian civilizations. This
serves as a lead in to pyramids which were commissioned by the pharaohs as burial chambers
and are still standing today. After learning about the leaders of Ancient Egypt, students will shift
their focus outwards and learn about job specialization and social classes by participating in an
Ancient Egypt job fair. Finally, students will do a project based study on death and burial
ceremonies by mummifying an apple and preparing all the elements of an Ancient Egyptian
funeral. For students that enjoy creativity and imagination, this is a wonderful opportunity for
students to put themselves back in Ancient Egypt and have a lot of fun participating in a
dramatic faux funeral. It is important to note here that this is only an abbreviated version of the
full Ancient Egyptian unit that I created and taught to my students. Additionally, the unit is part
of a larger Ancient Civilizations unit and was prefaced by learning about Ancient Mesopotamia.
I mention this in case there are any times when it seems I am asking students to make
connections or draw on background information that I did not explicitly teach them in this unit.
In terms of literacy, the reading in this unit is mostly working through nonfiction texts
and reading for information. Students are often asked to learn information and participate in
discussions about Ancient Egypt using what they learned in the readings. There is some fiction
reading pulled in through the Red Pyramid read aloud, though in that case students are being
read to. However, the read aloud is mostly done during morning meeting, closing circle, snack,
and lunch times - not necessarily as lessons though it is referred to often during lessons and
students enjoy using the read aloud to make connections. The writing in this unit is mostly
written response to prompts that require structured paragraphs using evidence from the text.
Students will practice writing topic sentences, finding and analyzing text evidence, and wrapping
it up with a concluding sentence. To meet speaking and listening standards, students will be
making and presenting posters that they created in small groups about influential pharaohs
during Ancient Egypt. This is an interdisciplinary unit that can also double as a social studies
unit in a curriculum teaching Ancient Civilizations.
Description of Context
This unit was designed for my own classroom. I teach in a 3rd-5th mixed grade
classroom at The Roberts Field School (RFS). RFS is an independent K-5 elementary school
located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. While there is tuition for attendance, many students receive
financial aid so that money is not a barrier for entrance. It is a very small school setting serving a
total of only 36 students in three mixed grade classrooms. It is still a fairly new school, being a
preschool for many years before changing into a K-5 school in the last decade, and it is
continually expanding each year. There is one Kindergarten classroom, one first and second
grade classroom, and one third, fourth, and fifth grade classroom. Each classroom has two co
teachers. RFS is a general education setting but serves many students with special needs through
in-class support and/or pullout sessions provided by the DOE. Being a field school, RFS also has
a strong focus on nature and mindfulness. Students spend a lot of time in Prospect Park which is
only a couple of blocks away including spending a four and a half hour chunk of time every
week in the park participating in a field curriculum.
In my 3rd-5th grade mixed grade classroom, I have 15 total students made up of 3 third
graders, 7 fourth graders, and 5 fifth graders. Reading, writing, and explorations (our
interdisciplinary social studies and science subject) is taught with all three grades together
although expectations may be differentiated. Math is the only subject where each grade is split
up and learning separate curriculums. Out of my 15 students, 5 of them have special needs - all
different ranging from an emotional disability to selective mutism and everything in between. As
a class, my students are very imaginative and creative; avidly reading fantasy novels and
immersing themselves in imaginary worlds at play times. They also characteristically have a
deep love of cats which has been a fun connection for them in this Ancient Egypt unit as cats are
a large part of Ancient Egyptian society and mythology.

Rationale
The purpose of this unit is for students to understand the beginnings of culture and
civilization, the relationship between environment and civilization, and to make comparisons
between ancient civilizations and our modern one. In this unit, students will think about exactly
what the terms “culture” and “civilization” mean and what exactly is required to form culture
and civilization. Government? Arts? Language? Those two terms are used frequently today but
not many students think deeply about their meanings. Next, the relationship between
environment and culture relates to any culture but Ancient Egypt is a clear example of the
interaction between civilization and environment with how they settled near the Nile and
subsequently used it as a basis for many of their structural systems. Hopefully, students will then
be able to look at their own environments or environments of other places around the world and
garner an idea of how the geography in that area might affect its inhabitants. Finally, studying
ancient civilizations allows students to gain perspective about how society has changed over
time. Students learn how to make comparisons between societies and use those comparisons to
make inferences as to why these changes might have occurred.
Student Outcomes
Goals (5)
● Students will be able to…
○ Understand how we learn about ancient civilizations in the modern day.
○ Understand the interaction between civilization and environment.
○ Read and comprehend nonfiction texts about Ancient Egypt.
○ Draw connections between non-fiction texts and fictional texts on the same
subject.
○ Understand how social structure and the specialization of jobs affected daily life
in Ancient Egypt.
○ Understand the importance of Ancient Egyptian burial practices in their belief
system.
Objectives (10)
● Students will be able to…
○ Build an accurate physical map of the Nile River and surrounding area
○ Identify multiple ways in which Ancient Egyptians utilized the Nile River
○ Take notes on a nonfiction text
○ Use a planner to map out written responses and check to make sure they have all
the required parts
○ Respond to a prompt in writing using evidence to back up your claim
○ Create and present a poster highlighting a Pharaoh and their achievements
○ Write persuasively to “apply” for a job in Ancient Egypt
○ Identify the steps in the mummification process and their importance
○ Craft the elements necessary for an Egyptian funeral out of items found in the
classroom
○ Reenact the processes of an Egyptian funeral

Alignment With Standards

This unit was created for my classroom, which is composed of three grades: third, fourth,
and fifth. For the purposes of this assignment, I will list the fourth grade reading and writing
standards as they are the middle grade. I will note differentiated expectations for third in fifth
grade in the extended lesson plans.
For social studies standards, I will be using the third grade standards because the New
York state social studies standards are content specific which means that they do not align with
the unit that I am teaching. The third grade standards most closely align with this unit and will be
listed below. The art standard included is a 5th grade art standard because it most closely aligns
with the objective of the lesson.
Reading:
4R2: Determine a theme or central idea of text and explain how it is supported by key details;
summarize a text. (RI&RL)
4R3: In informational texts, explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts, including what
happened and why, based on specific evidence from the text. (RI)
4R4: Determine the meaning of words, phrases, figurative language, academic, and
content-specific words. (RI&RL)
4R7: Identify information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs,
diagrams, time lines, animations, illustrations), and explain how the information contributes to an
understanding of the text. (RI&RL)
4R9: Recognize genres and make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras,
personal events, and situations. (RI&RL)
4RF4: Read grade-level text with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Writing:
4W2: Write informative/explanatory texts to explore a topic and convey ideas and information
relevant to the subject.
4W2a: Introduce a topic clearly and organize related information in paragraphs and
sections.
4W2b: Develop ideas on a topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, or other relevant
information; include text features when useful for aiding comprehension.
4W2c: Use precise language and content-specific vocabulary.
4W2e: Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or
explanation presented.
4W5: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to respond and support analysis,
reflection, and research by applying the grade 4 Reading Standards.
4W7: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from multiple
sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

Speaking & Listening:

4SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners,
expressing ideas clearly, and building on those of others.
4SL2: Paraphrase portions of information presented in diverse formats (e.g., including visual,
quantitative, and oral).
4SL5: Include digital media and/or visual displays in presentations to emphasize central ideas or
themes.
Social Studies:
3.1 Geographic regions have unifying characteristics and can be studied using a variety of tools.
3.1b Globes, maps, photographs, and satellite images contain geographic information. Maps
often have a title, legend or key, compass orientation, author, date, grid, and scale.
3.3 Geographic factors often influence where people settle and form communities. People adapt
to and modify their environment in different ways to meet their needs.
3.7 Governments in communities and countries around the world have the authority to make and
the power to enforce laws. The role of the citizen within these communities or countries varies
across different types of governments.

Art:
5th VA:Cr2.3.5 a. Document, describe, and represent constructed environments of regional or
historical significance.

Key understanding from your unit (5 minimum)

● We use artifacts and objects left behind in order to learn and draw conclusions about
ancient civilizations.
● Environment dictates whether or not people can settle in a particular area. Once there,
people might alter the environment to fit their needs.
● A civilization is defined as a structured and advanced society usually with a government,
social classes, language, and cities. This can be subjective!
● Culture is defined as the arts, traditions, social structure, and achievements of a group of
people. Also very subjective!
● Learning about other cultures can also make us think more deeply about our own.

Essential Questions
● How do we learn about ancient civilizations in the modern day?
● How does the environment shape culture? How does culture shape the environment?
● What qualifies something as a civilization?
● How is culture formed? What are the requirements for something to be considered a
culture?
Visual Overview

Book List
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
History Alive! The Ancient World by Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Everything You Need To Ace World History In One Big Fat Notebook by Workman Publishing

Technology/websites
The Met Museum - Images of artifacts from the Ancient Egypt collection
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?department=10&showOnly=highlights
&pageSize=0&sortBy=relevance&sortOrder=asc&searchField=All
Google Earth - Viewing the Fertile crescent and Nile River area.
https://earth.google.com/web/
Digital Giza - Virtual tour of the inside of a pyramid
http://giza.fas.harvard.edu/gizaatschool/
BrainPop - Mummification
https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ancientcultures/mummies/
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1: Artifact Investigation
Aim: How do we learn about ancient civilizations in the modern day?
Summary: The question above will be posed to the students. Students will be given the
opportunity to share their ideas. Introduce artifacts and, without telling students which
civilization we will be studying, pass out printed images of Ancient Egyptian artifacts to
each student. While looking at the images, students will fill out a worksheet making
observations about the object. Once students get their observations down, they will make
inferences about what it may have been used for and what we can guess about the society
or person that used it. Allow students to share out if they would like then have them guess
which civilization we will be studying. Reveal its Ancient Egypt!
Objective: Students will be able to make inferences about a person or society based on
images of artifacts.
Lesson 2: Geography & Map Making
Aim: What was the natural environment of Ancient Egypt? Why did people choose to
settle there?
Summary: Look at the Nile River and Fertile Crescent area using Google maps. Allow
students to share observations. Ask students to recall why the people of Mesopotamia
settled near rivers and what difficulties they had with river flooding. Explain how the
Nile River flooding was better because it was more predictable. Students will then make
their own salt dough and create a 3D map of the area. When done, they will paint their
maps to show things like water, grassy areas, and desert.
Objective: Students will be able to construct a 3D map of the Nile River and Fertile
Crescent area with accurately represented topographical (mountains, etc.) and
environmental (grassland, desert, etc.) features.
Lesson 3: The Nile River
Aim: Why was the Nile River so central to Ancient Egyptian life? In what ways did they
use the river?
Summary: Introduce a quote to the students that refers to the Nile river as the, “Main
Street, supermarket, and playground of ancient Egypt all in one.” Ask students what they
think it might mean. Have students complete a matching activity in partners where they
match a fact about the use of the importance of the Nile River to an image depicting the
content of the fact. Ask students to share what they learned and their new opinion on
what the quote may mean.
Objective: Students will better understand why people settled in around the Nile River
and how essential it was to the formation and systems of their society.
Lesson 4: Pharoah Poster Making
Aim: Who ruled Ancient Egyptian society? Why are some rulers more memorable and
recognized than others?
Summary: Students will be given a small overview of what a pharaoh is and their job as
the ruler of Ancient Egypt. Students will be split into small groups and assigned an
important pharaoh. Each group will be given articles about their pharaoh and tasked with
creating a poster board that has the pharaoh’s name, a picture of them, the dates of their
reign, and three contributions they made to ancient Egyptian society. Each group will
then present their poster to the class.
Objective: Students will be able to pull relevant information out of an article. Students
will be able to create and present a poster to the class.
Lesson 5: Pyramids
Aim: What is the purpose of Ancient Egyptian pyramids? How are they built? What do
they look like on the inside?
Summary: Referring back to last lesson, note that one of the most prevalent contributions
that pharaohs made to Ancient Egypt was the construction of pyramids. Discuss with
students how and why pyramids were made. Then lead the students on a virtual tour of
the inside of a pyramid. Allow students to draw a map of their own pyramid complex
including all of the important rooms and the labyrinth style passages.
Objective: Students will be able identify the major rooms of a pyramid and design the
interior of their own pyramid structure
Lesson 6: Daily Life
Aim: How did the average person in Ancient Egypt live? What is job specialization?
What are social classes?
Summary: Introduce the idea of social classes and the social class pyramid in Ancient
Egypt. Then, the students will participate in a job fair! In small groups students will go
through five stations. At each station, students will read a help wanted poster for a
different job in Ancient Egypt (vizier, priest, scribe, artisan, and peasant) describing the
job and daily life. Students will take notes on their note sheets as they go through the
stations. Once students have visited all stations, they will fill out a “job application”
describing a job they would like, why they would like it, and why they would be good at
it in writing. Then, they would describe one job they would not like to have.
Objective: Students will understand how social classes and profession affected daily life
in Ancient Egypt. Students will be able to take notes. Students will be able to write a
persuasive paragraph citing examples from the text.
Lesson 7: Read Aloud Connection
Aim: What was the importance of language in Ancient Egypt? How can fictional texts
connect to non-fiction texts?
Summary: During snack, lunch, morning meeting, and closing circle I have been reading
the book The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan aloud to my students as a fun fantasy read
 aloud with a curricular connection. In this lesson, I will read the book aloud to the
students. In the scene where the main character first uses magic, they talk about the
importance of using hieroglyphs for magic as opposed to another language and their
reverence towards them as a “divine code”. After the read aloud we discussed how the
characters must feel towards hieroglyphs and made connections to what we learned
yesterday about scribes and how they are treated in society.
Objective: Students will be able to recognize that Ancient Egyptians thought of their
written language as something to honor and respect. Students will draw connections
between fiction and nonfiction texts.
Lesson 8: Mummification Steps
Aim: Why did Ancient Egyptians mummify their dead? What were the steps of the
mummification project?
Summary: Students will watch the Brainpop video on mummification and take the quiz at
the end (per their request, they love the quizzes!). We will have a short discussion
recalling the information from the video. When they return to their seats, they will take a
moment to look through a National Geographic infographic further detailing the steps of
the mummification process. Students will then be asked to perform a writing task
responding to a prompt asking them to explain 1-2 steps of the mummification process
and their importance to death & burial practices and beliefs. Students will fill out a TIDE
(Topic sentence, Important evidence, Detailed analysis, Ending sentence) planner to
outline their response. Then, they will turn them into full paragraphs.
Objective: Students will be able to identify the steps of the mummification process.
Students will be able to use text evidence to support a claim in a written response.
Lesson 9: Mummify an apple
Aim: How does dehydration work? What role would each social class have in an Ancient
Egyptian funeral?
Summary: Present an apple (sliced in half) to the students and inform them that our great
Pharaoh Hatshepsut the Apple IV has passed away and it is time to hold a funeral. Ask
students to recall the first steps of the mummification process from what they learned
yesterday. Specifically, discuss dehydration and place the apple in a bag of salt to
dehydrate for a few days while we prepare the funeral. Inform students that they have all
gotten the jobs they applied for and they will be acting in that role to prepare one piece of
an Egyptian funeral. Scribes will prepare the book of death, Priests will prepare the death
masks, artisans will prepare the sarcophagus, peasants will prepare the food the pharaoh
needs in the afterlife, and the government officials will choose a group to help.
Objective: Students will be able to understand how salt can be used for dehydration.
Students will be able to identify the elements needed for Ancient Egyptian burial
practices.
Lesson 10: Egyptian Funeral!
Aim: What did burial practices look like in Ancient Egypt?
Summary: Students will get right to work finishing up anything they did not finish last
class for the funeral of Pharaoh Hatshepsut the Apple IV. We will take the apple pharaoh
out of the salt and observe how dehydration in the salt changed the apple. We will then
proceed to go through the practices of mummification and burial. The apple pharaoh will
be wrapped and put into the sarcophagus, the priests will say a few words, and each
group will present their offerings. We will then go outside and bury the sarcophagus and
allow the students to build a pyramid atop it with sticks.
Objective: Students will observe the effects of dehydration. Students will participate in
the practices of Ancient Egyptian burial practices.

In-Depth Lesson Plans

Lesson 6: Daily Life
Aim: How did the average person in Ancient Egypt live? What is job specialization? What are
social classes?

Purpose and Connection: The purpose of this lesson is to familiarize the students with the daily
lives of all different types of people in Ancient Egyptian society and their roles in making the
society function.

Objectives: Students will understand how social classes and professions affected daily life in
Ancient Egypt. Students will be able to take notes. Students will be able to write multiple
paragraphs citing examples from the text and making connections to themselves.

Standards:
Reading:
4R3: In informational texts, explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts, including what
happened and why, based on specific evidence from the text. (RI)
4R7: Identify information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs,
diagrams, time lines, animations, illustrations), and explain how the information contributes to an
understanding of the text. (RI&RL)

Writing:
4W2: Write informative/explanatory texts to explore a topic and convey ideas and information
relevant to the subject.
4W5: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to respond and support analysis,
reflection, and research by applying the grade 4 Reading Standards.
4W7: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from multiple
sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

Social Studies:
3.7 Governments in communities and countries around the world have the authority to make and
the power to enforce laws. The role of the citizen within these communities or countries varies
across different types of governments.

Materials:
● Photocopied section from History Alive! The Ancient World by Teachers’ Curriculum
Institute with the graphic of the social class pyramid.
● “Help Wanted” posters
● Job Fair note taking sheet - one for each student
● Job Application - one for each student

Procedure:
Motivation: After learning about pharaohs, tell students that the pharaoh is only one person, I
wonder how all the other people lived in Ancient Egypt. Introduce the term “daily life” and ask
students if they can figure out the meaning of the phrase from what they know about each of the
words. Ask students what other types of people they would want to know about.

Demonstration/ Active engagement: Ask students if they know anything about social classes.
The majority of students in my class already know what they were. Pass out the handout with the
social class pyramid on it and give students a few moments to look at it and think of one thing
they notice. Take this moment to put the image up on the board as well. Allow students to share
their observations and questions. Note that based on the picture, there are more people on the
bottom than at the top. That is absolutely true and discuss why that might be. Have students
make predictions about how social classes connect to jobs and daily life. Do people in higher
social classes have better jobs and get treated better in society? Let’s find out!

Work Period: Job Fair! Five stations will be set up around the room. At each station there are a
couple of Help Wanted posters (enough so that each member of the group will have their own to
read) that describe the responsibilities, requirements, and daily life of a particular profession.
There is one profession for each social class. They are vizier (government official), priest, scribe,
artisan, and peasant. Each student will be handed a note taking sheet before being sent to a
station. At each station they will read the help wanted poster, take notes, and decide if they may
have interest in that job. Once students have rotated through all stations, they will return to their
seats to fill out a “job application”. hThey will be expected to use examples and evidence to
describe which job they would like and why they feel they would be a good fit for that job. Then,
they will do the same for a job they would not like.
Share Out: Once students have handed in their job applications for review, they will be allowed
to share out which job they applied for and why if they would like to!

Assessment & Follow-Up: Students' responses will be read as an assessment. I will be looking
for the use of text evidence and examples of the job requirements and daily life to back up why
that job is good or not good. I will also be looking for students making personal connections by
describing why they may or may not be good for that job.

Differentiation: For students who may struggle with writing or note taking, they may be able to
do so on a computer or they can be provided with individual copies of the Help Wanted posters
to refer to during their writing. If a student cannot write on a computer either, they can do an
“interview” instead of a job application where they may verbally relay their answers to me.

Lesson 7: The Red Pyramid Read Aloud

Aim: What was the importance of language in Ancient Egypt? How can fictional texts connect to
non-fiction texts?

Purpose and Connection: The purpose of this lesson was to really emphasize the importance of
written language in Ancient Egypt. It’s seen in multiple areas, from how complex hieroglyphs
are (almost like a work of art), how much schooling and social power scribes have, the
exclusivity of knowing how to read and write, and even their recognition in fictional texts.
Additionally, to that last point, students were able to recognize that, while fictional stories are
made up, they can often hold connections to real life events or facts. I wanted to introduce this
idea in a small way now as our next reading unit will relate to immigration and historical fiction.

Objectives: Students will be able to recognize that Ancient Egyptians thought of their written
language as something to honor and respect. Students will draw connections between fiction and
nonfiction texts.

Standards:
Reading:
4R4: Determine the meaning of words, phrases, figurative language, academic, and
content-specific words. (RI&RL)
4R9: Recognize genres and make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras,
personal events, and situations. (RI&RL)
Speaking & Listening:
4SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners,
expressing ideas clearly, and building on those of others.

Materials:
● The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
● Chart of the “Hieroglyphic Alphabet”
● Half sheets of drawing paper
● Markers

Procedure:
Motivation/ Demonstration: Students love this read aloud and frequently ask throughout the day
if they can hear the next part of the story, so not much motivation is required! But, I typically
start off read aloud sessions by asking for students to summarize the last thing we read and
noting any important details. I read the last couple of lines that we read previously then I
continue reading in the book, occasionally stopping to check for understanding or to ask students
about a word they should remember.

Active Engagement: In this section of the book, the main character tries magic for the first time.
The person who is helping teach them stresses how magic should be written in hieroglyphs
because it is the most powerful language. She continues on to describe hieroglyphs using words
such as “sacred” and “divine”. At the end of the reading, I ask students to identify some of those
words used to describe hieroglyphs and to think about how Zia, the teacher, must feel towards
them. The students are able to identify that hieroglyphs are very important to her and something
that she cares for or respects. I tell them to think back to our last lesson and ask them which
profession deals with a lot of hieroglyphs. Once they make the connection, we discuss how
scribes were treated in society and compare whether Zia’s feelings towards hieroglyphics and
scribes’ position in Ancient Egyptian society are the same. From this, students are able to draw
the conclusion that written language must be very important and respected.

Work Period: For their independent work, students will think of a short word or phrase that is
very important in their own life. They will be given a “Hieroglyphic Alphabet”, a half sheet of
drawing paper, and markers to write that word or phrase out in hieroglyphs. Students may
decorate their paper in any way they would like. As they are working, students should recognize
how ornate some hieroglyphs are and how time consuming it can be to write them out.

Share Out: Students may always share ideas and brainstorm collaboratively as they are making
art in my classroom so they are sharing out as they go. However, at the end of the activity
students will have the choice to share their word or phrase with the whole class.
Assessment & Follow-Up: There is no formal, written assessment for this lesson, although I am
definitely taking note of participation and connections made during the discussion.

Differentiation: One accommodation I always make during group discussions for my student
who is selectively mute, is that if they would like to contribute, they may whisper to me or a
classmate beside them who will then relay their ideas to the whole class. If it is a simple
response, they may also share their ideas through physical movement. For any student who
struggles to be in a whole group setting during read aloud time, they can always be set up with an
audiobook version of the day’s read aloud to listen to independently.