British Museum - English thieves...

We did our first field trip for a while with L (and D) last week with our lovely local home-edder family. Showed L the Elgin Marbles and struggled to explain how we had them and Greece didn't.

Babylon exhibition: great if you're REALLY grown-up (much more grown-up than me) - not much for children. Best for us were the Rosetta Stone, the Standard of Ur (Mesopotamia, near Mummies) and the Mummy room, especially the animals. If you're going, take worksheets I think.

Wagamama's for lunch afterwards was excellent. It's right outside the Museum but hard to find unless you know it's there - fast service and the noise hid all our kid noise well.

'Casting the gods adrift' - Akhenaten

Just finished reading this to L. Based in the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten, it is the story of a boy who becomes a potter in Akhetaten for the royal family, and how his father tries to hatch a plot to kill the Pharaoh - with unexpected consequences. Nice links to actual artefacts, inc the bust of Nefertiti.

This is a book that would benefit from some parental input, given that the boy has another religion and we may not agree with him, particularly his conclusions about religion in the final chapter.

It's a brilliant depiction of the choices people have to make when faced with two religions, one of which is imposed. Some Christian homeschool writers seem to take Akhenaten's decision to worship 'one god' as somehow a step towards worshipping the Lord. This book (without preaching) shows clearly that the Aten, just the sun disk itself, is as much an idol as any other and bears no resemblance to the Lord.

This is richly written, not too long (so great for a history project where there's not really time for a 300 page read-aloud), and probably best suited for 7 up.

10/10

'Tirzah' - Lucille Travis (Egypt, Israelites)

Read this while looking for Egypt or Israelites 'living books' so thought I might as well review it, since it doesn't seem to be on many booklists.

There may be a reason for that! Ok, it's not so bad, but it's not a page-turner. It follows the eponymous heroine through the Exodus and up to the return of the spies and God's judgment on the Israelites about who will see the Promised Land.

I like books with surprises. This had none. To be fair, that's partly because one knows the main story, but a better author could have made that work. It felt like the main characters were sitting watching 'The Ten Commandments', only live action, and commenting on what happens; God judges the Israelites - 'Oh how scared I am'; God blesses them - 'Isn't Yahweh good'. The author makes the poor mother have a pregnancy that lasts over a year, otherwise I didn't spot factual bloomers (but wasn't actively looking...)

The good thing about this book was a great family at its centre, which makes it a decent read, and there were some good scenes to enrich understanding of the Exodus account.

It struck me that, if you set comprehension questions on books, this might be a good one to use; there are lots of issues - obedience to family, God; relationships, justice and judgment, racism etc. Otherwise, watch 'The Ten Commandments' instead.

6/10

Ancient Egypt: 'A Place in the sun' by Jill Rubalcaba

Just finished pre-reading this. Some people might feel uncomfortable about the emphasis of this book, but I thought it was really useful.

The story is of the young son of a sculptor. His father is bitten by a cobra and, to try and get the god Sekhmet to heal him, he carves a statue. In the process, he accidentally kills a dove, a crime punishable by death. Though saved from death by 'the god', his punishment is severe, but another statue which he carves later in the story saves his life.

This is ideal for the younger crowd, a hard niche to fill. 75 pages of thrills and spills, really well-written. It's a cracking story that delivers the facts as well.

We do see Senmut and others praying to their gods and thanking them for healing, etc. However, opportunities for talking about Christ are handed to you on a plate: for instance, Senmut asks the god (an idol) for mercy; even as he's doing it, he's marvelling at the sort of man who could have made a statue that became a god... In this book, we can see that the Egyptians are pious and believe in their gods, but they are clearly not gods who hold the answers.

10/10

Ancient Egypt Books and Unit

Ancient Egypt Unit and lapbook
I'm in the middle of teaching this at the moment, so it will be updated soon.

CORE BOOKS
Landmark - Landmark book of Ancient Egypt. This is a fabulous read and the spine for this unit. Read-aloud for 6 up.
RSM - The Real Story of Mankind (free ebook - http://www.puritans.net/curriculum/Real%20Story%20of%20Mankind.pdf
Usborne - Usborne Guide to Ancient Egypt. Fits in really well with illustrations for the Landmark.
HPAC ebook - Evan Moor history pockets Ancient Civilizations. I blow hot and cold over these - too simple, but provide lots of nice things to put in a lapbook, so use it a lot.

OTHER USEFUL BOOKS - not worth getting for this unit alone
How children lived (DK) - pp10-11 (Egypt)


FICTION/READ-ALOUDS
Temple Cat - Andrew Clements. Pre K/K. Thin on text; borrow, don't buy.
Casting the gods adrift - Geraldine McCaughrean. E/UE (Akhenaten) - excellent! - see review
A Place in the Sun - Jill Rubalcaba. E/UE (Ramses II) Excellent! - See review.
Tirzah - Lucille UE+ (Passover, exodus, desert); see review.
Cleopatra - Adele Geras E/UE. (Cleopatra) - visually interesting; diary ok and full of historical facts.

Books for older readers, or not managed to source:-
Egyptian Diary - Richard Platt. If it's like Castle Diary, probably very good.
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
The Golden Goblet - Mcgraw...
The Cat of Bubastes - G. A. Henty. I've started the unabridged version and it's a bit slow - maybe (gulp) get an abridged one! There's an audio one out there.
Cleopatra - Diane Stanley

ACTIVITY BOOKS AND OTHER THINGS:-
Punch out Egyptian masks (including Tutankhamen and Nefertiti)
DK Egypt sticker book (excellent)
Bellerophon Egypt colouring book (has Tutankhamen's mask etc)

CD-ROM
History Explorer - bit on Egypt
CD
Egyptian Treasures - Jim Weiss - good; mixture of history and myths. Especially good on discovery of the Valley of the Kings etc.
DVD
BBC Egypt series.
Joseph ('Bible' series - Ben Kingsley) - excellent! About 3 hours long.
The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille). Again, about 3 hours long: split into sessions. Amazing Exodus crowd scenes. It's slow but satisfying and reverent.
Moses, Prince of Egypt.

Here are the bones of what we are doing. For each 'unit', I've included one historical figure etc and one more vague topic, as dd can't abide studying the latter unless they're slipped under the wire...

1. How do we know about Egypt? - the Rosetta Stone; education and writing

Landmark: 'The Rediscovery of Ancient Egypt'
Usborne for rosetta stone and education/ writing.
DVD - BBC: the mystery of the Rosetta Stone (good reinforcement).
- Key facts: Rosetta stone was in hieroglyphics, demotic and Greek; scholars understood Greek, so could begin to translate. Champollion used cartouches to crack the code
- Make Rosetta stone-shaped accordion book

2. Early history - unification of Egypt under Menes: geography, daily life (nuts and bolts of civilization)

MENES
Landmark - 'Menes' chapter
Usborne pp16-17: Early Egypt
- Key facts: Menes the Unifier united Upper and Lower Egypt in about 3200BC. The red and white crown of Egypt united the white crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt.
Childhood, toys, pets
How Children lived pp10-11
- Lapbook: make 'Menes the Unifier' card with the crown depicted.

DAILY LIFE
Geography facts
- use a globe and atlas.
- Lapbook: complete HPAC Eypt words to know; colour fertile areas on map

THE NILE
Usborne pp92-3 (travel)
- Lapbook: make the HPAC Nile booklet

HOUSES ETC
Usborne pp74-83
- build lego Eyptian home: compare with Greek one.

FOOD

3. Cheops (Khufu) and the Great Pyramid at Giza; Mummies

CHEOPS
Landmark p40f
Usborne pp18-19 (pyramids, Cheops, Sphinx) and pp66-67 (Giza)
- Make up 'shanty' about what hard work it was to build the Great Pyramid.
- make the little HPAC pyramid.
- Lapbook: make Cheops and Great Pyramid fact card

MUMMIES
Usborne pp60-64

4. Invasion and deliverance; Egyptian religion



5. Queen Hatshepsut, 'His Majesty, Herself'; the role of Pharaoh.

6. Akhnaten; temples and everyday religion; art in Egypt.
Read Landmark; 'The Criminal of Akhetaten'

- Key facts. Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhnaten to reflect is belief in one god rather than the traditional group of gods - the Aten, or the physical disk of the Sun. He moved the court away from Thebes (and the temple of Amun) to the new 'City of the Horizons' he had built in the desert - Akhetaten. The art produced during his reign was very different from the highly stylized forms which had dominated Eghptian art for a thousand years; for example, Akhenaten commissioned pictures of his family in situations from daily life.

7. Tutankhamen
Read Tut's Mummy: Lost and Found
Read Landmark; Tutankhamen half of Akhenaten chapter.
Watch BBC Egypt: Tutankhamen episodes.

- Key facts. Pharaoh Tutankhamen (perhaps the half-brother of Akhenaten) died at 18. His tomb was discovered in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter, supported financially by Lord Carnarvon. The importance of the discovery was immense, as every other royal tomb had been robbed. Tutankhamen's tomb was covered by some old huts, which had helped it avoid detection.

8. Ramses II; court life.

- Key Facts. The most famous event of Ramses II's reign was his 'victory' of Kadesh against the Hittites. As the Pharaoh told it, he single-handedly fought off 250 Hittite warriors. More wall-space on Egyptian temples is taken up with this battle than anything else. The battle was not in fact decisive and hostilities against the Hittites only ended with a treaty and Ramses II marrying a daughter of the Hittite king.
By the end of Ramses II's reign, Egypt was on the decline. The Sea Peoples eventually overwhelmed Egypt, then Alexander the Great. The Ptolemies were the last dynasty; the last Pharaoh was Cleopatra.

9. Moses, the Passover, the Exodus.

10. The last Pharaoh - Cleopatra; the fall of Egypt; A Christian perspective.

Read Cleopatra (Geras).
Read The Real Story of Mankind; Egypt section.

LAYOUT OF THE LAPBOOK

Cover - nice colouring page

Centre left page:-
Nile pull-down
Rich and poor minibook

Centre page:- FAMOUS PEOPLE
History fact card pockets
Great Pyramid booklet
Hatshepsut booklet
Akhenaten booklet

Centre left page:- WRITING AND ART
Words to know (ACHP)
Rosetta Stone concertina
Names in hieroglyphics - L, Cleopatra
Akhenaten's art booklet (comparing traditional and Akhenaten's art)

Back of left page:- ARCHAEOLOGY
Mummies
Myth of Isis and Osiris
Discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb booklet

Back pocket for other work