This Egypt study is designed to be used in a notebooking format. There
is also an Ancient Egypt section that can be used as part of the notebook
or you could do it separate as a lapbook. The list of books is just
recommendations. It is not necessary to read every book. You can also
pick and choose from the different hands-on and activities. Do not feel
that you need to do everything. I always try to write to the oldest
with the youngest in mind. Most activities can be pared down for younger
kids. With the different activities I usually have the older kids do
it on their own. The younger kids, depending on age, I have try to do
some on their own and I help them with some. I usually do not have the
younger ones look up everything. I will also read some of the books
aloud and assign some of them for them to read independently.
Ongoing Activities:
1. Timeline of the history of Egypt
2. Vocabulary words - these should be words they come across that they
are unfamiliar to them.
*history/language arts
Week 1
Research and write about these people:
1. King Menes
2. Mentuhotep II
3. Ahmose I
4. Thutmose III
5. Hatshepsut
6. Alexander the Great
7. General Octavian
8. Cleopatra
9. Napoleon Bonaparte
10. Sultan Ahmad Fuad
11. Anwar el-Sadat
12. Naguib Mahfouz
13. Mustafa Kamel
14. Muhammad Ali Pasha
15. Gamal Abdel Nasser
16. Dr. William Junker
17. Dawoud Ibn-Abi Al-Bayaam
18. Dr. Ahmed Zewail
*history & language arts (they should do at least 2 a week)
Information Scavenger Hunt
1. Who is credited with the building of the sphinx?
2. Who was responsible for building the pyramids of Giza?
3. Who established the library of Alexandria?
4. What countries have occupied Egypt?
5. Who were the leaders during times of prosperity?
6. How many wars has Egypt been involved in?
7. Who were the first inhabitants of Egypt?
*history/research skills
Week 2:
Research 2 more people from your list. Add to your vocabulary and timeline.
Activity 1:
On your map of Egypt locate the following and mark them:
Mountains,
Deserts,
Forest,
Rivers,
Lakes,
Body of waters that border Egypt,
Countries that border Egypt,
Cairo,
Alexandria,
Giza,
Berenice,
Mut,
Siwa,
El Minya,
El Tur.
*geography
Activity 2:
Using a map of Egypt and the following coordinates of latitude and
longitude; find out which city is located there.
Latitude 30.01N by Longitude 31.14E,
Latitude 31.00 N by Longitude 30.30 E,
Latitude 29.11 N by Longitude 25.31 E.
Find the coordinates for these locations -
Arabian Desert,
Giza,
Zagazig
You can check your answers with this Egypt
map. *geography/math
Activity 3:
Now make a 3-D map of Egypt.
Materials:
Large piece of cardboard
Newspaper
Paper Mache glue mix
Scrap pieces of cardboard like toilet paper tubes, cereal boxes (things
you can use to hold the shape of a mountain)
Sand
Tempera paint
Pebbles
Glue
Paint brushes
Map
Procedure:
On the piece of cardboard use your materials to construct your own topographical
map of Egypt. Make the mountains out of paper mache. Use the sand for
deserts. Paint in the bodies of water and grassy areas. You could make
trees out of construction paper or twigs and things from nature. Be
creative with your map. You could also make little houses or paint dots
where the major cities are located.*geography/art
Week 3:
Activity 1:
What is the total area of Egypt?
Is there a state in the United States that is of comparable size?
What is the total population of Egypt?
Which city has the largest population?
What percentage is this of the total population?
What is the highest elevation in Egypt?
What is the lowest?
What is the difference between these two? *geography/math
Activity 2:
List Egypt's natural resources and mark their locations on the map.
*geography/science
Write a little information about each of the following plants or animals.
Acacia
Ampullaria dubia
Asp
Papyrus
Egyptian Vulture
Lotus Flower
Sacred Beetle
Skink
*geography/science
Explain Egypt's climate. *geography/science
Keep a chart of Ciaro, Egypt's daily weather during this study.
You can check the weather
here. *geography/science
Activity 3:
Draw a picture of Egypt's flag *geography
Activity 4:
What is the main religion of Egypt?
What are some of the beliefs of this religion?
What holidays do they celebrate in Egypt?
Pick one and explain why and how it is celebrated.
What kind of food do they eat?
Pick a recipe to try at home.
What kinds of languages are spoken in Egypt?
What is the main language of Egypt?
*people/culture
Week 4:
Activity 1: (this one will be something they work on over time)
Pretend you are going to take a 3 week tour of Egypt. Look up information
and plan the itinerary for your trip. Remember to think about transportation,
sights, lodging, and eating. You may also want to find out their customs
so you don't offend your host country while visiting. For example you
may not want to shake someone's hand with your left hand because that
is the hand they use to wipe after going the bathroom.
You will also need to figure out how much this trip would cost you.
*culture/people/geography/math
Activity 2:
Find a copy of the national anthem to include in your notebook and
see if you can find a recording of it to listen to.
*culture
Activity 3:
Look through newspapers and magazines to find articles relating to
Egypt.
*people/culture/current events
Week 5:
Activity 1: *culture
Make a meal native to Egypt. Serve it to your family in the custom,
traditional to Egypt.
Activity 2: *culture
What is the typical dress of Egyptians today? Make an outfit.
Activity 3: *government
What is Egypt's current government?
Has this always been their form of government? If not what other types
of government have there been?
How are government positions filled in modern Egypt's government?
How is Egypt's modern government set up? Make a diagram to show your
findings.
Week 6:
Activity 1: *government
How was the government set up during Ancient Egypt's time? Make a diagram
to show your findings.
Do a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting these 2.
Activity 2: *economy
What is the currency of this country?
What is the exchange rate with American money?
What is there major export/import?
Using the sheets that have images of Egyptian money, find the name of
the currency and how much it is worth. Is it modern or ancient money?
Activity 3: *economy/math/culture
Pretend you're a business man in Egypt. Make sure to base your decisions
on the typical business found in Egypt.
What kind of business would you have? What would you sell?
Now make yourself a catalog showing your merchandise. Staple several
sheets of cardstock together to form the base of your catalog. Now draw
or find photos of the things in your store. Remember to add some hype
to sell your products and list the prices in American and Egyptian money.
You could take your business a bit further by making some things from
your shop and setting up a mini shop at home. Make some currency from
Egypt for your store and your customers. Then play store using Egyptian
money. You could even use play American money so you could learn more
about the exchange rate.
Week 7:
Activity 1: *language art/culture/art
Pick and Egyptian artist and write about him. Then paint a copy of
one of his pieces of work.
Links to several Egyptian
artists
Activity 2: *culture/art
What are some examples of famous Egyptian Architecture?
Sketch some in your notebook.
Activity 3: *culture/art/history
Build a mini-museum of some of the historical artifacts that are still
in the country. You can use a cardboard box to make the building. Use
clay, play dough, paper mache, or drawings to create your artwork for
your museum. Use a diorama style for your museum.
Information and images of ancient
Egyptian art
Week 8 - 11 will focus on Ancient Egypt. This will be done in a series
of mini-books and hands-on activities. You can either attach the mini-books
to notebook pages to include in your notebook or make a lapbook for
this part.
Ancient Egypt Lapbook
Disclaimer: All links
are for informational purposes only - a link to a web site does not imply
agreement with or endorsement of that site. Because of the changing nature
of the internet, always preview a site before viewing it with your children.
