We are now fully immersed in our social studies exploration, and every day
brings a new opportunity for learning something about ancient Egypt! We
have enjoyed many wonderful picture books, including Seeker of Knowledge, by James Rumford, which gave second graders a chance to learn
more about the Frenchman who finally deciphered the ancient Egyptian writing
called hieroglyphs. Pepi and the
Secret Names, by Jill Paton Walsh and Fiona French, allowed the students to
practice their understanding of this ancient writing as they deciphered parts
of this exciting and colorful story.
In the “House of Life” or scribe
school, the students used their new knowledge of hierogylphs to create
cartouches. A cartouche is an oval shaped frame of rope that contains a royal
name and can often be found carved into statues and tombs. The students learned
that very few ancient Egyptians could read or write. It was the job of the
scribes, who trained as young men in "The House of Life," to record
information. Recently, each second grader became a scribe and created a
cartouche with his/her name in it. Stop in soon and see their great work on
display outside in the hallway and see if you can decipher each
"royal" name in second grade.
Yet another book we enjoyed is The Blue Faience Hippopotamus, by Joan
Grant. This sweet tale about a love sick hippo was the inspiration for this
week’s project in Art class! Each student fashioned a small
hippo out of clay and will glaze it after an initial firing in the kiln.
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