White Shirt Production: "Look Like an Egyptian"

Look Like an Egyptian 2010 from Dan Klumper on Vimeo.

Want to know what an ancient Egyptian would look like? Check out this video as I transform Crazzy Izzy into an ancient Egyptian.

WSG Live! Ancient Egypt

We have reached the end of our Ancient Egypt Unit, which means another round of WSG Live! This is the second WSG Live! event of the school year and I hope you check it out tonight! You have the unique ability to study with your teacher the night before the test. If you did this last time, I think you discovered that it is a very fun, fast paced, action packed 30 minutes. If you haven't done this yet, I encourage you to check it out and see what it's all about. Come for all of it, or just part of it. We will cover many questions and topics that will be on the test Wednesday, November 27th. Get your fingers ready to go, because when WSG Live! begins, it's time to type like you've never typed before!

WSG Live! Ancient Egypt: 7:30-8:00

Ancient Egypt Study Guide 2013

We have covered many topics and information throughout the last four weeks in the ancient Egypt unit. On Wednesday, November 27th, you will be tested on that knowledge. Access the Ancient Egypt Study Guide by clicking the link. Use the tools. Study. Get Prepared. Put work in outside of just the class time. Good Luck. 

Ancient Egypt Study Guide

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. 

JFK. 50 Years. Remember.

50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza in Dallas, TX.  He decided to venture into the hostile territory of Texas on a fence mending trip, in hopes of winning the state in the 1964 election. In fact, on the way to Texas, Kennedy quipped "We're heading into nut country," an eriely prophetic statement. President Kennedy, along with Jackie, sporting a pink outfit, landed at Love Field, outside of Dallas. Their motorcade wound through Dallas, as Kennedy waved to the throngs of people. To be more accessible to the public, Kennedy insisted on having the top down on his Lincoln limo. Kennedy's motorcade turned left on Elm Street and headed straight to the history books. First, a shot through the back, exiting out his throat. Had JFK not been wearing his back brace, he may have fallen into the seat, protected from what came next. As confusion began to rise, the fatal shot rang out, ending the young presidents life. When that bullet hit Kennedy's head, the lively, energetic, enthusiastic, hopeful vibe in American came crashing down. Walter Cronkite made the teary eyed announcement, an image forever sketch in the tablets of history.  I think too often the focus is on the fact that the US president was killed. When I think about the assassination of JFK, I think about that fact that on November 22nd 1963, a wife lost her life partner. A little boy and little girl had to face the reality their dad will never come home. A mother having to bury her son. It was and still is a tragedy in the truest sense of the word. JFK spoke about working hard for your country and being hopeful of making the world better. Remember JFK.

Milestone: 400,000 hits on Water for Sixth Grade

Water for Sixth Grade has reached over 400,000 hits! Hopefully it will continue to be a valuable resource for students 

Floating Down the Nile

What would it be like to float down the Nile River in Ancient Egypt? Well, we are going to use our imagination and take a little trip down the Nile, floating all the way to the end of it. There is no possible way we could ever float down the Nile in ancient Egypt for real, but with our imagination, anything is possible. Using Google Drive, we are going to describe what it would be like to float down the Nile River in ancient Egypt. What would you see? What would be happening? What would you experience? This task will give us a great glimpse into the world of the Nile and what it would have been like in the ancient days. You will be floating down a raft, not a speed boat, so lay back, relax and enjoy the ride. (Watch out of hungry crocodiles, though)
TASK: Enter Google Drive and go to the "shared with me" folder. Locate the template for "Float Down the Nile." Read the instructions on the template and use the resources to begin your exploration down the Nile. 

DUE: Wednesday, November 27th 2013. 11:59 pm.  At this time, your project will "freeze" and will no longer be able to work on it. For this project, you do NOT have to share it with me. That happened automatically this time.  

Points: 30

(Back Up plan)

Pyramids of Egypt

There are few things that fascinate the world like the Pyramids of Egypt. Their sheer size alone mystifies all and when the time period of these pyramids is taken into consideration, it’s truly unbelievable. No machines or huge cranes to place each block. No modern day technology. It was the ancient world that produced these wonders and the fascination has remained. This article on the pyramids of Egypt contains some very helpful information in understanding the world of Egyptian pyramids. 

Pyramids of Ancient Egypt 

 (Why they were built, how they were built, who built them, and the tomb robbers)

Animal Mummies!

Thank you to my good friend Kristin Pollema for creating this Prezi about animal mummies in Ancient Egypt.

Mummification

Here is a powerpoint on Mummification for you to review with. Focus on WHY the Egyptians used mummification and what the steps were.

Ancient Quest: "I Perform Mummification"

Johnny entered the Stone Age and discovered how to control fire for the neanderthals. Then, he entered Mesopotamia and figured out how to irrigate the fields so the Mesopotamians could grow crops in the desert. In Johnny's first two worlds, he was successful, gaining his first two golden coins. However, Johnny has a lot of work to do because he still needs to earn six more. For his third task, Johnny will enter ancient Egypt, a land of incredible intrigue and fascination. As Johnny works to figure out his task, it might not be what it seems. Can Johnny figure out what to do and accomplish his task? One thing is certain: his ancient Egypt task will push him to the limits, and then some...

Read Ancient Quest Chapter 5 "I Perform Mummification"

Experience artifacts from Ancient Egypt

A few years ago, the King Tut museum was stationed in Watertown, SD. We had the opportunity to take some kids to visit this museum and see some amazing artifacts. The artifacts in this video are exact replicas of the real artifacts. The real artifacts are WAY too valuable to take on the road. However, at the end of this video, you will see a REAL artifact. What is this REAL artifact? I guess you will have to watch to find out...

Ancient Egypt Meets Google Drive Project

Meet Google Drive. Google Drive is a powerhouse tool that we are going to start using in social studies. Google Drive is a cloud. It is your cloud. Your cloud follows you around wherever you go. There is no such thing as forgetting your "paper" at home because whereever there is Internet, you have what you need. Google Drive allows you to always be able to access your work. It allows you to publish work to the internet, share documents, and work collaboratively on projects. Today, Ancient Egypt meets Google Drive. Learning how to use Google Drive is just as important as learning about ancient Egypt. Google Drive is a tool that can serve you in your life, in many ways. We are going to use Google Drive to compare/contrast Ancient Egypt with Mesopotamia.
 
Task: Click the link to access the task list. 

Ancient Egypt Meets Google Drive Project

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 concise  well-written comment on the blog.
Resources: Use the two websites in the "Egypt Unit Resources" to help you learn about your topic.

Details: Your comment needs to be 1 paragraph (5 sentences). Your comment needs to start out with this: "My topic is ..............." Then you proceed by telling us stuff about it.

Egypt Pre-Test Results

We took a pre-test on Ancient Egypt to see what our prior knowledge is before we tackle this unit for the next four weeks. Ancient Egypt is interesting in that some of the information about this place is quite common, such as pyramids, mummification, the Nile river, etc. However, have we just heard about them? Or do we know about them? There is a difference. The Pre-Test accomplished its goal of shining a light on our prior knowledge of ancient Egypt. Here are some results:
Overall average: 46%
Top student individual score: 87% (very good!)
Number of questions that less than 50% of the students answered correctly: 25 (38 total questions)
Percentage of students who knew what mummification is: 94%
Topics of difficulty: specific steps of mummification, gods/goddesses of ancient Egypt, pharaohs, and the effect of Nile River.