P4 Goes to Egypt
Book-based Cross-Curricular Learning about Egypt
By Natalie Young – St Columba’s RC Primary School, Fife
Introduction
As part of Fife’s 2010 Children’s Book Festival, St Columba’s RC Primary School’smy P4 class went to see children’s author Julia Jarman author of The Time Travelling Cat and the Egyptian Goddess.
I then linked the author visit to class work in various ways. This case study contains a description of the class work she undertook as well as a note of the various curricular areas that this project covered.
Preparation
In preparation for the author visit with Julia Jarman, I started bysharing a few of Julia’s picture books with the class. I also began reading them the novel, The Time-Travelling Cat and the Egyptian Goddess, as this was the book Julia Jarman would be discussing.
The children found the book interesting and many bought their own copy as well as other books in the series on the visit day. Their interest also led to a 45 minute discussion the next day about all that we had learned about Egypt, writing and Julia Jarman.
Following that, we had a brainstorming session and then colour-coded the different bits of informationwe had collected (or would like to learn) to help write in paragraphs about the visit, the book and Julia Jarman herself.
Linking with Other Learning Modules
As the class were doing Magnets as their main project that term, I decided to have an activity where the children could make an Egyptian cat goddess magnet out of salt dough. To increase the benefits of participation, I divided them in small groups and incorporated a few other ‘Egyptian-type’ activities (details below). By calling it our ‘Egyptian Afternoon’I made a conscious link for the children to the Julian Jarman books we had been exploring.
In addition to the salt dough, the children made Egyptian jewellery out of recycled material. They also played Egyptian music. I set up a few of the computers in the classroomto be logged on to a few different sites with games and activities for the children to discover and find out more about Ancient Egyptians and their way of life.
Finally, and to their great delight, the children used chalk to write their names in hieroglyphics.
As a homework assignment that evening, I asked them to use the Egyptian alphabet to write a message to be translated. The class interest in hieroglyphics came from a scene in The Time-Travelling Cat and the Egyptian Goddess which discussed a sacred message. For once, homework was very popular!
Learner Directed
The next day brought about another interesting link which was recognised by the children. In their religion lesson a Bible story was the focus. It mentioned Egypt as the setting and the children got very excited about that. Very soon the class were organising an assembly to share what they had learned about Egypt with the school, wearing their Egyptian jewellery!
From the beginning of reading the novel, the children exhibited an interest in Ancient Egypt. They began bringing in different books and objects from home related to the topic. Before long we had a great display including the book, statues, our magnetic cats and art work.
Although nothing was originally planned for the term, the children’s interest in the novel led to an exciting and worthwhile term of learning and discovering which was enjoyed by all!
Curricular Areas
Literacy:
- Listening to other stories by Julia Jarman
- Discussing her books and author visit
- Planning questions to ask at the author visit
- Reading books by Julia Jarman on my own or with a partner
- Writing about the author visit and the novel shared in class
Maths/ICT:
- Computer games-Pyramid Maths, Funky Mummy, Buried 3D Shapes and Reach the Mummy
- Looking at dates on a Egyptian time line
- Doing research to find out about Julia Jarman and Ancient Egypt
History:
- Finding out about Ancient Egypt and Egyptian Gods
Geography:
- Being able to find Egypt on a map/globe
Science/Art:
- Make an Egyptian Goddess fridge magnet
- Writing in hieroglyphics
Art/Eco:
- Making jewellery in the style of the Egyptians using recycled paper and materials
Religious Education:
- Reading about characters from the Bible in stories set in Egypt
Drama/RE/Enterprise:
- Performing the story taken from the Bible
Music:
- Listening to Egyptian music
Health & Well Being:
- Working in groups to do activities/playing Valley of the Pharaohs