April 4-10, 2013, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
From 1917 to 1922, English archaeologist Howard Carter and his patron Lord Carnarvon searched Egypt’s Valley of the Kings for the tomb of Tutankhamun. Tutankhamun, or King Tut, as he is commonly known, was king of Egypt from 1332 B.C. until his death around 1322 B.C. In November 1922, Carter and Carnarvon entered King Tut’s tomb. Unlike the tombs of other ancient Egyptian kings, Tut’s tomb was almost completely undamaged. The tomb contained more than 5,000 objects, including many beautiful carved and gold-covered items. When Carnarvon died in Egypt only five months after the opening of Tut’s tomb, the idea began to circulate that there was a curse placed on the tomb for any who dared to open it. Soon, anytime any elderly person who was even remotely connected with King Tut’s tomb died, newspapers gave intensive coverage to the story of the curse. In reality, Carnarvon died of an infected insect bite, nothing remarkable in the era before antibiotic drugs. Most of the other people said to have died of the curse were in their late 60′s or 70′s. Still, many newspapers emphasized this angle of the story in their articles. The reason had nothing to do with truth and everything to do with boosting readership. The expedition had signed an agreement to give exclusive coverage of its finds to The Times, a London newspaper. Covering the “curse of the mummy” gave other newspapers something to write about.
Objective:
Ancient Egypt was the birthplace of one of the world’s first civilizations. This advanced culture arose about 5,000 years ago in the Nile River Valley in northeastern Africa. It thrived for over 2,000 years and so became one of the longest-lasting civilizations in history. The Nile River was the lifeblood of ancient Egypt. Its annual flood deposited the fertile soil that enabled Egypt’s farmers to raise a huge supply of food. The river also provided water for irrigation and served as Egypt’s main transportation route. The ancient Egyptians made outstanding contributions to the development of civilization. They created the world’s first national government, basic forms of arithmetic, and a 365-day calendar. They invented a form of picture writing called hieroglyphics as well as papyrus, a paperlike writing material made from the stems of papyrus plants. The Egyptians also built many pyramids, limestone temples, and the Great Sphinx. Three huge pyramids at Giza rank as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Kings, such as Tutankhamun, ruled ancient Egypt throughout most of its history. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore Tutankhamun and ancient Egypt.
Words to know:
- Ancient Egypt
- Archaeology
- Cairo
- Lord Carnarvon
- Howard Carter
- Egypt
- Hieroglyphics
- Mummy
- Pharaoh
- Pyramid
- Sphinx
- Tutankhamun
- Valley of the Kings
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students what they know about ancient Egypt. (Students might say that ancient Egypt depended on the Nile River; the ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods and goddesses; the ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for their rulers; the ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics to write.)
2. Ask your students to debate, “Is it acceptable for archaeologists to dig up dead bodies, or should they let them rest in peace?” If students say that it is acceptable to dig up corpses, ask them how long should someone be dead (50 years?, 100 years?, 200 years?, 500 years?, 1,000 years?, etc.) before the grave could be excavated.
3. Ask your students what they think of curses and superstitions.
4. The Giza Pyramids are one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Ask your students what they would choose as the Seven Wonders of the United States. (Or, have them choose the seven wonders of whichever country you live in.)
5. Ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the history of ancient Egypt. (Students may wish to use the “History” section of World Book’s “Egypt, Ancient” article for help.)