After introducing Ancient Egypt, I was able to show the students where Egypt is in relation to Wyckoff, New Jersey. After the GPS automatically located us in Wyckoff, I was able to click on the “Step Pyramid” location in Egypt. The I-pad informed us that we were 5,612 miles away from Wyckoff. At the click of an arrow, we were then looking at the actual Step Pyramid. Provided underneath the picture was an explanation of what the Step Pyramid was. This feature of google maps strictly focused on places of interest still present from ancient Egyptian times. Fifteen total places are included. This opening exercise was of high interest to all students. After breaking up into an activity, I allowed each student to spend 3-5 minutes with the Ipad, focusing on Google Maps. They enjoyed looking for their homes, Eisenhower School, their favorite vacation place, and Egypt. Each student was then to list the place in Egypt that interested him/her the most.
In an additional lesson, I used the “articles” feature to show students facts about the Ancient Egyptian world. Each article is written especially for middle school children. As part of a centers activity, two students were to focus on a different subtopic of the articles feature. They were broken into dynasties, everyday life, Gods, the Nile River, and writing. Each group was able to research these topics and present to the class their findings.
The Gods A-Z subtopic was particularly useful for the class when they were asked to make “Profile Cards” of 5 religious figures. The A-Z menu lists 14 Gods. This feature of the application allowed the students to read a write up about the God and see a picture, painting, or statue of the god. The students then summarized the information, typed, and pasted onto the back of an index card the main points of each God’s life. On the front, students were able to color their God. This proved to be a great resource for the students to learn about five gods.
And finally, as a reward, students are eligible to complete a jigsaw puzzle of choice ranging from a God or Goddess to building, city, or place from Ancient Egypt. This feature was fun and also very tactile for the kinesthetic and visual learner. Throughout the unit, this reward system was of great value for each student, and all successfully completed a puzzle of their choice.
This application, Britannica Kids: Ancient Egypt allowed for an enjoyable, interesting, and enthusiastic learning experience for all students.
Brendan Connelly
Resource SS EMS
It sounds like that worked out great. I like the use of Google Earth/Maps to give the kids perspective on where Egypt is in relationship to their world. That's not only relative to their study of Ancient Egypt, but good for them to know in light of recent events.
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