Chapter 16: North Africa "Egypt's History"

Introduction

In this chapter students have studied the countries of North Africa. The country of Egypt has a civilization that dates back almost 5,000 years. The Egyptian people, who made their home beside the Nile River, built incredible tombs and monuments, developed a complex writing system, and established a powerful government structure.

Lesson Description

In this lesson students will visit the Ancient Egypt Web site hosted by the British Museum. They will explore information about the daily life of ancient Egyptian families as well as their unique mummification process. After answering several questions, students will create a 5–question multiple choice quiz reflecting information gathered from the Web site.

National Geography Standards:
Standard 4: The geographically informed person knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places. Standard 17: The geographically informed person knows and understands how to apply geography to interpret the past.

Instructional Objectives

1. The student will be able to compare and contrast daily life for Egyptians of differing social status.
2. The student will be able to describe the steps in the mummification process.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. Students' answers may vary, but could include: the nobleman's family used fine linen while the farmer's family used coarse linen; the nobleman had servants to wait on him and his family; the farmer worked in the fields while the noble had an overseer to watch his fields; the farmer's wife had to work at chores all day.
2. Students' answers may vary, but could include the foods eaten by the families—bread and fruit at breakfast; bread, meat, and beer at lunch. Their manner of dress was also similar, except that the nobles used fine linen while the farmer's family used coarse homemade linen.
3. They buried their dead in small pits in the desert, where the heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the body quickly, creating lifelike and natural "mummies."
4. Natron was a natural salt used to dry out dead bodies and internal organs.
5. Students' quizzes will vary, but should reflect information learned from the Web site.

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