All Egypt, All the time!!!

As we have become further immersed in our study of ancient Egypt, our newest book groups reflect this learning. We have started to read two books, Mummies in the Morning, from the “Magic Tree House” series by Mary Pope Osborne and the non-fiction companion research guide, Mummies and Pyramids, also by the same author. The fiction text allows us to tag along with Jack and Annie as they are transported back in time (by the “magic tree house”, of course) to ancient Egypt. In this series, there is always a mystery to solve as well as lots to learn about a particular time and place in history. The research guide gives students even greater opportunities to research and build their knowledge about specific aspects of ancient Egyptian life. As they read both texts we are looking to solidify reading comprehension and to further develop inferential thinking through our discussions and independent written work.

We have also been reading several other Egyptian stories including, The Blue Faience Hippopotamus, by Joan Grant. This sweet tale about a love-sick hippo is the inspiration for this week’s Art project! Each student fashioned a small hippo out of clay and will glaze it after an initial firing in the kiln.



Our current chapter book read aloud is Boy of the Pyramids, A Mystery of Ancient Egypt. This adventurous tale has two children as the main characters, Kaffe and Sari. Second graders are not only enjoying this exciting story but they also are learning many details about life in ancient Egypt.


Egypt has also inspired some imaginative play during recess, complete with costumes!

This Friday, with the help of resources teachers, we made ancient Egyptian portrait masks.

To create the masks, students work in small groups of 3 or 4. While one person lays on the table, his or her partners put plaster strips on his/her face. After two or three layers, the mask quickly dried and was ready to be removed. In a future art class, the students will have the chance to paint the mask in ancient Egyptian style.

Portrait masks were sometimes put on a mummy because the ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died they had a Ba and a Ka. The Ba was the soul of the dead person and the Ka was a invisible copy of the person. In order for the Ba and Ka to recognize the mummy in the Afterlife, they made a portrait mask. Families will get to see these portrait masks as part of the extensive displays during Egypt Night, Tuesday, March 17th.