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Overview:
This lesson
maps the Nile River from its inception at Lakes Victoria and Tana,to
its termination at the Delta Region and the Mediterranean Sea. Along
the way Students will note the topography and fauna of the land around
the lake and river to make future comparisons to the Red and Black Lands
of the Nile Delta.
Prior Knowledge:
Students should be
aware that Egypt is located in the Sahara Desert of Northern Africa
The climate conditions in a desert are dry and sandy The Nile River
supplies the water and soil to farm in the Nile River Delta
Big Ideas/ Theme/ Essential Question:
1.
How did people change in relation to their physical environment and
other ancient civilizations they encountered? (How did they adapt to
their environments?)
2. People were born inventors. What advances in technology were made
over the centuries that have helped people improve their lives? (What
did people do to improve their lives?)
Lesson Theme:
How did the silt of the Nile River Delta region arrive
there and how did humans use and manipulate it to their advantage?
Essential Questions:
1.How
does the silt arrive to the Nile River Delta Region in Northeast Africa?
2.How is man able to change the land to their advantage? Could Ancient
Egypt have existed without the silt from the Nile River? How were the
Ancient
3.Egyptians able to create such an accurate calendar based on agriculture?
Lesson Objectives:
Students will
learn:
•
Determine
where silt along the Nile River comes from and examine its significance
in establishing the Civilization of Ancient Egypt
•Understand
what erosion can do to the land and how man can change the topography
of the land to their benefit
•
Map and label
the sources of the Nile River and its path to the Mediterranean Sea
as well as the cataracts along the way
•
Compare the
Egyptian agricultural calendar with our modern calendar
•
Analyze irrigation
methods and determine which irrigation method is the most useable along
the Nile River
Length of Lesson:
10 periods.
May be shortened if you assign parts of the activities as homework.
Tour and Mapping - 2 periods
Calendar-2 periods
Irrigation Methods Evaluation- 3-4 periods
Culminating Project- 2 periods
Cross-curricular Connection Activity:
Science - erosion
and deposition
Performance Task Assessment:
Students will examine
the results of erosion from the Nile River, and evaluate whether or
not Ancient Egypt could have developed in the location that it did
without erosion. They will present their findings in a short essay.
Extra credit will be given for oral presentation of their essays.
ACTIVITY-"RIVER IN A BOTTLE"
This activity may
be done for homework the evening before starting the Unit.
Procedure:
1. In any available clear
plastic bottle, have the students collect different types
of soils, rocks, small plants, sticks, bugs, leaves, sand, etc. to
create the layers naturally found in river beds. Do not add the
water at this time. (Do not fill more than 1/3 of the bottle)
2. Bring bottle to class to discuss the contents.
3. In class, add enough water to each bottle to cover the contents
with a few additional inches on top.
4. Shake gently and set aside waiting to see how the contents settle
out. Note the things that go the bottom of the bottle, those
that are in the middle and those that mix with or float on top of
the water.
5. Discuss the results the following class period as it may take
several hours for the contents of the river bottles to settle and
be visible. Have students write a paragraph to discuss the results
of the activity.
ACTIVITY 1- PICTORIAL TOUR AND MAPPING OF THE NILE RIVER
Literacy Strategies:
Locating information
in text using a CLOZE paragraph
Mapping the locations in a text
Use of Graphic Organizers
Learning Objectives:
Students will
learn:
•
Label geographic
locations on a map
•Make
observations about the climate and fauna along the path of the Nile
•
River and their contribution to various soil types
Materials:
Sixth Grade Social Studies
Textbook
CLOZE activity
Black line map of Northern Africa with
inset of world map
Colored pencils
Procedure:
Students will use
the Internet and their textbooks to complete the map of the Nile River
and the CLOZE activity. Directions for each activity are on the worksheets.
STUDENT ACTIVITY 2- CREATE AN EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURAL
CALENDAR
Cross-curricular Connection Activity:
Science - The Constellations
Learning Objectives:
Students will learn:
•
Recreate an
Egyptian agricultural calendar using the knowledge they acquire from
their textbook and the provided Fact Sheet understand what each season
means and the agricultural
activities required during each season.
Materials:
Egyptian
Calendar Fact Sheet
Textbooks
Large construction paper
Colored pencils or crayons
Procedure:
Review the Egyptian
Calendar Fact Sheet with the students and discuss/answer any questions
they may come up with while reading.
To make the calendar:
1) Use any geometric
shape that you can divide evenly by three; creativity is encouraged.
2) Items to include on the calendars:
a) Name each season and list each month within it
b) Depict the seasons and the agricultural activities with drawings
c) Label the seasons with our corresponding modern calendar dates
STUDENT ACTIVITY 3- COMPARISON OF IRRIGATION TECHNIQUES
Cross-curricular Connection Connection:
Science - Land
Formations
Learning Objectives:
Students will:
Decide which method of irrigation would work best in ancient Egypt
along the Nile River.
Procedure:
1.Students get
into small groups to discuss the methods of irrigation and their thoughts
on the good and bad points of each one (15-20 minutes)
2.Break
out of groups and each student is to complete the tasks within attachment
4.
Materials:
Internet
access: http://journeyintohistory.com/time/world/AncientWorld/irrigation%20project/
Student Handout with instructions
photos and definitions of the
irrigation methods.
Legal size paper for charts
Performance Task Assessment:
Opinion
Essay
Students will write a three to five paragraph essay giving their opinion
on whether or not the Ancient Civilization of Egypt could have developed
where it did without erosion and the silt it deposited in Nile River
Delta.
Websites and Other Resources:
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/environment/index.htm
Physical Environment for various Ancient Civilizations
http://www.runet.edu/~wkovarik/hist1/timeline.text.html
Environmental History Timeline -William Kovarik, Ph.D.
There are thirteen different time periods that have links containing
significant Environmental Events for that time.
http://www.hoocher.com/mr.j%27spage/ancientegyptiancivilization.htm
Ancient Egyptian Civilization
http://library.thinkquest.org/C004203/timeline/main.htm?tqskip1=1
Fabulous world timeline of ancient achievements
http://home.eznet.net/~dminor/Canals.html
History of canals
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/EFS/photoinfo.pl?PHOTO=STS057-73-75
Earth from space photos and explinations
http://www.waterhistory.org/gallery/romanwater
Many ancient civilizations, worldwide, are featured with explinations
and
photos. Great for making comparisons.
Other Resources:
Video-" Nile:
River of Gods"
This video is perfect to tie all of the ideas of the lesson together
at the
end of the lesson.
http://shopping.discovery.com/
Description from the web site:
"Your students will learn how the confluence of the White Nile
and Blue Nile created oneof Earth's most fertile agricultural valleys,
making possible the ancient civilization thatbuilt the pyramids, invented
paper, and made embalming a high art."
Rubric:
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Grade:
6
Course: Ancient
Civilizations and Science
California Content Standards
Addressed:
History/Social
Science Standards
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious,
and social structures of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt,
and Kush. 1. Locate and describe the major river systems and discuss
the physical settings that supported permanent settlement and early
civilizations. 2. Trace the development of agricultural techniques that
permitted the production of economic surplus and the emergence of cities
as centers of culture and power.
Science
Standards
6.2 Shaping Earth's
Surface
2. Topography is reshaped by the weathering of rock and soil and by
the transporta-tion and deposition of sediment. As a basis for understanding
this concept:
a. Students know water running downhill is the dominant process in shaping
the landscape, including CaliforniaÕs landscape.
b. Students know rivers and streams are dynamic systems that erode,
transport sediment, change course, and flood their banks in natural
and recurring patterns.
Reading
Standards
6.1.0 Students use their knowledge
of word origins and word relationships, as well as historical and literary
context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary and
to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.
6.2.0 Students read and
understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe and connect
the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using
their knowledge of text structure, organization, and purpose.
.
.
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