Animal Mummies!

Ancient Mummy Animals on Prezi

If the PREZI is NOT working, click "Ancient Mummy Animals" right above this sentence to view it from Prezi.com. Thank you.
Ancient Egypt is so fascinating, I have decided to linger in this ancient world a bit longer. This week, as we transition our scaprbook project into the binders, we are going to take this opportunity to learn about one more interesting aspect of ancient Egypt: Animal Mummies. The above prezi will guide you through a brief presentation about animal mummies in Ancient Egypt. This excellent prezi was produced by my #1 assistant, who did a great job.
Task: Navigate through the animal prezi above and post a comment telling me 3 things that you learned. That's it. Make sure you get this done. If prezi doesn't work at your house, then use a computer at school. You have 5 days to figure out how to get to a computer that works, so make it happen. Five days is plenty of time.
DUE: Friday, December 2nd. Midnight.
Points: 20 points.

We have a big month ahead of us. Let's get focused.

Isabel Sings....

A song for you to enjoy on this Thanksgiving Day.

WSG Live! Ancient Egypt

Buckle Up and Hold On because WSG Live! is back. This is the third round of WSG Live! and we will be focusing on ancient Egypt. Each time we do WSG Live! it gets bigger and better. For round 3 with Ancient Egypt, we are once again going to set some goals. Goal #1: 50 students participating. Goal #2: 1,000 comments. Yes, that's right. You read that correctly, it does say 1,000 comments. I have never ever seen a blog post with 1,000 comments in any blog I have ever seen. Let's make history, folks. And, at the same time, review for our ancient Egypt test. Once again, WSG will provide you the opportunity to study with the TEACHER the night before a test, a unique opportunity if you think about it. I will ask you questions, help you review, explain things, all in an attempt to help you be as prepared as possible. You, as the student, can also ask questions, answer my questions, simply state information, or just read and watch the action. Take advantage of this opportunity. Get prepared. Be responsible. Good Luck and I will see you at 8:00 sharp.

WSG Live! Ancient Egypt Time Window: 8:00-8:30.

Test over Ancient Egypt: November 23rd, 2011.

Egyptian Glogster: Creativity

As we approach the end of our Ancient Egypt unit, it is time to use the information we have gathered throughout the unit. With your Egyptian Glog, you will be able to show your fellow classmates your creative side and also be able to see what your classmates have come up with. Together, we will be able to help each other review. This Glog activity will be done individually, which will allow you total control on all decision making. This is your chance to dominate Glogster.
Helpful Links:
Glogster
Usernames

Task: Create a glog of Ancient Egypt. Your goal is to cover the five main topics of this unit. You may also include other things if you would like. Use information, captions, and pictures. Design your glog in a creative way.
Topics of Ancient Egypt:
1. Nile River
2. Mummification
3. Pyramids
4. Gods/Goddesses
5. Daily Life
6. "I Perform Mummification"

White Shirt Production: Look Like an Egyptian

Look Like an Egyptian 2010 from Dan Klumper on Vimeo.

What did the Egyptians look like? What make-up did they use? Well, the Egyptians had a very distinct look. In this video, I am going to help you remember that distinct look by putting on a demonstration. Keep in mind, I am not good at applying make-up. You do not have to comment to this post, but you obviously can if you want. What is the distinct look of the Egyptians? This video is going to show you what they actually look like. If you are in the Commenting mood, then post a comment telling me what the distinct look is.
White Shirt Production: Look Like an Egyptian.

Egyptian Freedom: Show ME What YOU Know

This project is going to give you freedom. In my opinion, too often teachers just tell you what to do. I am not going to do that. Instead, I am going to ASK you what you want to do. I want to give you, the student, the freedom and the opportunity to be creative. I often say that you are not elementary kids. I mean that, which also means I am not going to treat you like it. With that said, I believe you are old enough to have choices in school. I am going to give you the choice of what project you want to do. Why? Because everybody is good at something. Not everyone is good at writing papers, or giving speeches, or making videos or making power points. But, everybody is good at something and I want to bring out those talents. Your task is simple: Show me what you know about Ancient Egypt. How you do that is totally up to you. Just remember, you MUST thoroughly explain at least 3 of the 5 topics we have learned about in Social Studies. For whatever 3 topics you choose, you must tell me about everything. You can also include other pieces of information if you would like. You will have the opportunity to present these projects so produce something you can be proud of. This is your chance to show everybody your talents.

Some Helpful Links:
Five Topics of our Ancient Egypt Unit
Project Ideas to get you started

DUE: November 22nd, 2011. In Class
Points: 60 points (20 points for thoroughly explaining each topic)

An American Introduction to our Friends in Italy

To our new friends from Italy: Watch the video above to catch a glimpse of what kids in Brandon, SD USA look like. We are all very excited to show you this video and continue our sharing.

Mummification In-Depth

Explore a Mummy on Prezi

Mummification is a fascinating (and gross) ritual of the ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egypt wasn't the only civilization to mummify their dead, but the process in which they did it was very elaborate. Mummification was a very important aspect to their religion and belief of the afterlife. Without preserving the body, their soul would not be able to travel to the Afterlife and gain eternity. Where did these mummies go? In the pyramids. The pyramids were not worship centers or just cool monuments, they were tombs for the mummy and all the other items buried with it. In class, we talked about the steps of mummification but with this prezi, we are going to extend our mummification learning a little further by going in-depth. This mummification prezi will teach you about a few other details about mummification. All you have to do is tell me what you learned from it. The information contained in this prezi will be on the test.

Task: Go through the "Mummification In-Depth" Prezi and tell me three things that you learned.

DUE: Friday, November 11th, 2011. Midnight.

POINTS: 20 completion points.

WATER FOR SIXTH GRADE GIVEAWAY!

Do you want to dig up a mummy? Well, here is your chance to win the Egyptian Mummy Excavation Kit. All you have to do to win is be the FIRST to decode these hieroglyphics and post a comment with the answer answer. What does that say?
Use this Hieroglyphics Translator Link to help you decode the message. Good Luck!
P.S. After you attempt to win the contest, complete the Mummy Prezi assignment. Thank you.

Hello to our new Friends from Assisi, Italy

Water for Sixth Grade is proud to welcome the students from Assisi, Italy. In our "Beyond the Classroom" project, our first connection takes us across the Atlantic to Assisi, Italy, about 2 hours away from Rome. We are very excited about this opportunity to connect with kids in a different country to learn about their school, culture, and life. The video above is the beginning of this connection. The students from Italy made a video saying hello to us. Now, it is our job to post a comment to them saying hello back to them. After you welcome them to Water for Sixth Grade, please tell them a little bit about yourself like what you like to do or anything else you like to share. In the near future, we will also make a video for them but for now, welcome them with a comment.

To the students of Assisi, Italy: We are very thankful that you are willing to participate. We look forward to getting to know you!

Ancient Quest: "I Perform Mummification"

So far, Johnny is succeeding in his Ancient Quest. He has discovered fire for the people of the Stone Age and invented farming for the Mesopotamians. However, Johnny will be pushed to the limit in his next harrowing task of performing mummification in ancient Egypt. Will he do it correctly? Or, will he fail and be stuck in this ancient world forever? Read, as Johnny attempts to mummify the Pharaoh Khufu.
Read: "I Perform Mummification"

Conquering Ancient Egypt Together

Egypt is a place of many different topics. It is a place where intrigue and mystique reach an all-time high, especially compared to our two previous units: Stone Age and Mesopotamia. True, those places were important for the development of mankind, but Ancient Egypt fascinates people to this day. It is a place where the seemingly impossible occurred. Its where the pyramids were built, where mummification was performed, where the Nile was used. It is a place that we need to conquer, and to do that, we are going to work together. Your task for this blog post is to help your social studies class "piece" together ancient Egypt. To try to conquer ancient Egypt by yourself would be too daunting, but together, we can achieve our goal. At the conclusion of this activity, we will have produced a great document of ancient Egypt knowledge. You will be able to read other comments to learn more about the other topics.

You will be given a number in class. Use that number to figure out what topic you are responsible for with the "assignments link."

Research: In your notebook, research your topic. Use the websites we have gathered to help you find the information you need. Write down information in your notes, then post consise, well-written comment on the blog.

Details: Your comment needs to be 1 paragraph. Your comment needs to start out with this: "My topic is ..............." Then you proceed by telling us stuff about it.

Points: 20 points. In order to achieve 20 points, your comment needs to be formatted correctly AND be at least 5 sentences.

DUE DATE: Friday, November 4th, 2011. Midnight.

WSG Welcomes Chamberlain, SD

As the creator and owner of Water for Sixth Grade, I would like to personally welcome the 6th graders of Mrs. Neuharth's class from Chamberlain, SD to our blog. We are happy and honored that you are with us in this long distance collaboration. Students of Chamberlain, thank Mrs. Neuharth for accepting my invitation and for participating in this collaboration. You are lucky to have a teacher like her. To my students, sometimes we get locked in our own world and put blinders on to what else is out there. For this unique blog opportunity, we are going to "connect" to the 6th graders of Chamberlain, SD and learn together about Ancient Egypt. Water for Sixth Grade is a powerful tool, and this is yet another example of what can be done with blogging. As we begin our Ancient Egypt unit, we are going to have some help from the 6th graders from Chamberlain because they have already completed this very fascinating ancient world.

Details for Chamberlain students: You will begin this online collaboration by using the knowledge Mrs. Neuharth has taught you about Ancient Egypt by posting questions to Water for Sixth Grade for my students in Brandon. You are going to help us get introduced to ancient Egypt with these questions because my students will then search for the answers either on the internet or through books and post the answers when they find them. So make sure you check back to see if they answered your questions correctly. Please ask questions about the main items from Egypt, using topics such as Nile River, Pyramids, Daily Life, Mummification, Gods/Goddesses, Pharaohs, etc.

IMPORTANT: When you post your question about ancient Egypt, sign your name like this:"Chamberlain (Full first name, last initial)"

Details for Brandon students: You will wait for the Chamberlain students to post questions for us about ancient Egypt. Once questions have been posted, research the internet or in books to find the answers to their questions. When/if you find the answers, comment back to that person with what you think the answer is. This will help us get introduced to Egypt by forcing us to search and discover.

IMPORTANT: When you post your responses to the Chamberlain students, sign your name like this: "Brandon (FUll First Name, Last Initial)"

As we begin our first long distance collaboration, make sure you get involved. Take advantage of this unique opportunity. Alright, Lets do this.