The Authoring Cycle Curriculum Model Discovering Ancient Egypt Grade 6

1. The Authoring Cycle Curriculum ModelDiscovering Ancient EgyptGrade 6 By Megan Clapp

2. Introduction • This unit of study on Ancient Egypt was designed to align with both the Connecticut Social Studies and Language Arts Standards for 6th grade students. The unit also addresses the National Educational Technology Standards for students. The Authoring Cycle allows teachers to vary the instruction for their students, and to teach to all learning styles in their classroom. By using the Authoring Cycle to teach Ancient Egypt, the teacher will be able to expose his/her students to the many facets of Egyptian history and culture. • The variety of lessons, activities, and assessments in the unit allows the students to make personal connections to Egypt, and to personalize their education. The students will be able to choose specific aspects of Egyptian history and culture that are interesting to them, and to pursue assessment options that are best-suited for their learning style and ability level. The way that the unit is designed and delivered provides opportunities for modifications and enrichment throughout the unit, reaching all learners in the classroom.

3. Authoring Cycle Diagram • Uninterrupted Personal Engagements • Daily “Do Now” • Pre-reading, active reading, and post-reading activities and assessments • Egypt Journals • Differentiated Enrichment Challenge • Life Experiences • The first part of the KWL activity • Virtual field trip to Egypt • Video Segments • Exploring Meaningful Constructs with Intentional Others • Research Groups (for Enrichment Challenge) • Group Project for Egypt Fair • Invitation to Further Engagements • Added column to the KWL • Connections to other ancient civilizations (Rome, etc.) • Ongoing extension activities offered throughout the unit Discovering Ancient Egypt Grade 6 • Refection & Revision • Self-evaluations of enrichment challenge • Peer reviews of Egypt Fair projects • Examining the Operation of Sign System Processes • Group conference with teacher • Complete the KWL • Persuasive essay, “Is Egypt a civilization?” • Presenting & Sharing Meaning with Others • Enrichment challenges presented to the class • School-wide Egypt Fair

4. Content Standards • Connecticut Social Studies Standards • Standard 1 (Historical Thinking): Students will develop historical thinking skills, including chronological thinking and recognizing change over time; contextualizing, comprehending and analyzing historical literature; researching historical sources; understanding the concept of historical causation; understanding competing narratives and interpretation; and constructing narratives and interpretation. • Standard 2(Local, United States and World History): Students will use historical thinking skills to develop an understanding of the major historical periods, issues and trends in world history. • Standard 3(Historical Themes): Students will apply their understanding of historical periods, issues and trends to examine such historical themes as ideals, beliefs and institutions; conflict and resolution; human movement and interaction; and science and technology in order to understand how the world came to be the way it is. • Standard 4 (Applying History): Students will recognize the continuing importance of historical thinking and historical knowledge in their own lives and in the world in which they live. • Standard 9 (Places and Regions): Students will use spatial perspective to identify and analyze the significance of physical and cultural characteristics of places and world regions.

5. Content Standards, Continued • Connecticut Language Arts Standards • Standard 1 (Reading and Responding): Students read, comprehend and respond in individual, literal, critical and evaluative ways to literary, informational and persuasive texts in multimedia formats. - 1.1: Students use appropriate strategies before, during and after reading in order to construct meaning. - 1.2: Students interpret, analyze and evaluate text in order to extend understanding and appreciation. • Standard 3 (Communicating with Others): Students produce written, oral and visual texts to express, develop and substantiate ideas and experiences. - 3.1: Students use descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive and poetic modes. - 3.2: Students prepare, publish and/or present work appropriate to audience, purpose and task.

6. Content Standards, Continued • National Educational Technology Standards • Standard 3 (Technology Productivity Tools): - Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. - Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works. • Standard 4 (Technology Communications Tools): - Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences. - Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences. • Standard 5 (Technology Research Tools): - Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. - Students use technology tools to process data and report results. - Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.

7. KWL Activity • This activity will be used throughout the authoring cycle. • As part of the Life Experiences section of the Authoring Cycle, the unit will begin by having students fill out what they already know about Egypt, and what they would like to know about Egypt. • As part of the Examining the Operation of Sign System Processes section of the Authoring Cycle, students will complete the section on what they learned about Egypt at the end of the unit. • As part of the Invitation to Further Engagements section of the Authoring Cycle Model, students will add a column to the KWL activity, identifying items that they would still like to know about Egypt, and ways that they can go about learning that material.

8. Virtual Field Trip • Students will visit the following website, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/, to take a virtual tour of ancient Egypt. • This will fall under the Life Experiences section of the authoring cycle, because it allows the students to make personal connections by taking a virtual tour of Egypt.

9. “Do Now” • The “Do Now” is a daily activity. It is posted on the board, and the students are expected to begin the “Do Now” as soon as they enter the classroom. • “Do Now” activities for this unit include journal entries and other writing activities ,vocabulary builder activities, and map activities. • The “Do Now” will be part of the Uninterrupted Personal Engagements section of the Authoring Cycle.

10. Reading & Writing Activities • The reading and writing activities will fall under the Uninterrupted Personal Engagements section of the Authoring Cycle. • Students will complete pre-reading activities (questioning, predicting), active reading activities (reading logs), and post-reading activities (foldables) for the assigned chapters in the textbook. • Students will maintain Egypt Journals throughout the unit in which they reflect on and make connections to their readings, and respond to daily “Do Now’s”.

11. Foldables (A Post-Reading Activity) • This idea was found on http://www.dinah.com/egroup/Archives.htm. There are other great foldable ideas on the website. Foldables are a great note-taking strategy for both visual and kinesthetic learners. Students need to cut and fold the paper to create an interactive study guide. Furthermore, students need to move the foldable around to study the material. • In this sample foldable, it is created by folding a sheet of paper in half horizontally (hamburger) so that one side is one inch longer than the other side, and then cutting the shorter side in half, up towards the fold (mountain top) to create two flaps. • Students will be creating foldables as part of the post-reading activities for this unit.

12. Differentiated Enrichment Challenge • Students will be able to choose one topic to complete a differentiated enrichment challenge. Topics to choose from will include art, music, architecture, hieroglyphics, primary sources, religion, and class system. • Students will work in research groups (based on topic chosen) to compile research on each topic as part of the Exploring Meaningful Constructs with Intentional Others Section of the Authoring Cycle. For example, there will be an art research group, a music research group, etc. • Students will work independently on this challenge as part of the Uninterrupted Personal Engagements section of the Authoring Cycle. After completing research on their specific topic, students will create a newsletter in Microsoft Publisher, a brochure in Microsoft Publisher, or a PowerPoint Presentation. • After completing the enrichment challenge, the students will present their material to the class as part of the Presenting and Sharing Meaning with Others section of the Authoring Cycle.

13. Group Projects • The students will work in groups of 2-4 people on the group project in the Exploring Meaningful Constructs with Intentional Others section of the Authoring Cycle. • Each group will choose from one of seventeen project choices. Each project will contain a research piece, a writing piece, and a model/sample/demonstration. Examples of project choices include creating a board game based on Egyptian life, creating a model of a pyramid, writing a journal from the perspective of a child your age from Ancient Egypt that documents a “week in the life”, and creating a chart or diagram of the mummification process. • The projects will be displayed at the Egypt Fair at the end of the unit.

14. The Egypt Fair • The Egypt Fair will be an event culminating the unit of study, and will be part of the Presenting & Sharing Meaning with Others section of the Authoring Cycle. The Egypt Fair will be a full-day event, and will be set up similar to a science fair, with the group projects on display. Each group member will be present to answer questions from teachers, students, and community members attending the fair. • The projects that students created as part of the enrichment challenge will also be on display. • Other subject areas, such as math and science, will be encouraged to make contributions to the fair from activities in their classrooms (making this a true interdisciplinary unit).

15. The Persuasive Essay • After completing all of the projects and activities in the unit, the students will be asked to write a persuasive essay as part of the Examining the Operation of Sign System Processes. • The essay topic will be: “Is Egypt a Civilization?”. The students will be expected to provide evidence from the research that they accumulated throughout the unit, and from the resources listed in the student resources.

16. Extension Activities • Extension activities will be available for students who complete a certain aspect of the unit early, or desire extra credit. • Extension activities can include webquests (a sample Egyptian webquest can be found here: http://www.iwebquest.com/egypt/ancientegypt.htm), additional virtual field trips, art projects, etc. • Extension activities can also be used in the Invitation to Further Engagements section of the Authoring Cycle.

17. Student Self-Assessment • Self-Assessments are a great way for students to reflect upon, and evaluate, their own work • Students will be completing a written self-assessment of their Enrichment Challenge project as part of the Reflection & Revision section of the Authoring Cycle. • This is an example of a self-assessment for students that chose the newsletter option for the Enrichment Challenge.

18. Peer Evaluation • As part of the Reflection and Revision section of the Authoring Cycle, students will evaluate their peers’ group projects. • This is Peer Evaluation form that will be used to evaluate the projects.

19. Teacher Assessment • Because many of the assignments in this unit are project-based, they will be assessed using rubrics. • This is an example of a rubric for students that chose the brochure option for the Enrichment Challenge.

20. Sample Lesson Plan Lesson Title: Day 1 – An Introduction to Egypt Materials Needed: … Vocab Builder … KWL Worksheet … Artifacts from Egypt Objectives: The students will… … Compare and contrast Egypt’s development. … complete the “K” section of the KWL worksheet. … be exposed to Egyptian artifacts. Procedure: 1. Introduction/Do Now: The development of the earliest civilizations was dependent on a certain physical feature. Provide the name of this physical feature for both Sumer and Egypt. 2. Class discussion based on “Do Now” comparing and contrasting Egypt’s development. 3. Distribute/discuss vocabulary builder worksheet/assignment. 4. Distribute/discuss the KWL worksheet. Students will complete the “K” section, stating what they already know about Egypt. 5. Show & Tell – Egypt Artifacts (papyrus paper, sample hieroglyphics, etc.) 6. Closure: Class discussion – Why is it important to study the physical features of region that a civilization develops? Independent Practice/Homework: The students will complete the “W” section of the KWL worksheets, stating what they would like to learn about Egypt.

21. Student Reference Materials Books • Coote, R (1993). The egyptians (looking into the past). Belmont, CA: Thompson Learning. • Fletcher, J (1999). Ancient egypt: Life, myth, and art. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble. • Harris, G (1991). Gods and pharohs from egyptian mythology. New York, NY: Shocken Books. • Lauber, P (1985). Tales mummies tell. New York, NY: Scholastic. • Lepre, J (1990). The egyptian pyramids: A comprehensive, illustrated reference. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. • Marley, J (1995). How would you survive as an ancient egyptian? London: Franklin Watts, Ltd. • Patrick, R (1972). All color book of egyptian mythology. London: Octopus Books. • Simpson, J (1995). Ancient egypt. Alexandria, VA: Time Life Books. Textbook • Greenblat, M & Lemmo, P (2006). Human heritage: A world history. Columbus, OH: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

22. Student Reference Materials, Continued Websites • Discovering Egypt: Mark Millmore's Ancient Egypt. Downloaded 11/29/07 from: http://www.eyelid.co.uk/ • Egypt: Daily Life. Downloaded 11/29/07 from: http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/Egyptcredit.4.2.html. • Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. Downloaded 11/29/07 from: http://touregypt.net/egyptantiquities/. • Institute of Egyptian Art & Archeology. Downloaded 11/29/07 from: http://academic.memphis.edu/egypt/ • Mysteries of Egypt. Downloaded 11/29/07 from: http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egcivile.html. • Odyssey Online: Egypt. Downloaded 11/29/07 from: http://carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/EGYPT/homepg.html • National Geographic’s Tour Through the Pyramids. Downloaded 11/29/07 from: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/

23. Reflection • While Egypt can be an interesting subject for 6th graders to study, it can often be difficult for the students to personalize the information and make connections to the content, seeing that Egypt is so different from the society that our students live in. Delivering the content using the Authoring Cycle model allows the students to make connections to Ancient Egypt in ways that they would not by simply reading a textbook. The students are truly able to personalize the content. • This unit also offers the teacher a wide variation in the delivery of curriculum content, student activities and assignments, and assessments. By providing such variations, the teacher is able to differentiate his/her instruction, and individualize the lessons and activities to meet the needs of all learners in the classroom.