Teaching the Cover Story Teaching TIP of the week Secrets of the Mummies Sept. 22 ISSUE DATES Sept. 1 Sept. 8 Sept. 29 Oct. 13 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 14 Dec. 1 Dec. 8 Jan. 5 Jan. 12 Jan. 26 Feb. 2 Feb. 16 Feb. 23 Mar. 9 Mar. 23 Mar. 30 Apr. 13 Apr. 20 May 4 May 11 & 18 www.scholastic.com/sn4 SCHOLASTIC NEWS / Edition 4 / APRIL 13, 2009 A supplement to scholAstic news We are committed to your satisfaction. You can contact us at 1-800-724-6527. Standard Social StudieS: the hiStory of people and cultureS around the world—Students should understand selected attributes and historical developments of societies in africa, the americas, asia, and europe. Summary Archaeologists recently discovered more than two dozen ancient Egyptian mummies that are an estimated 2,600 years old, in a tomb in Saqqara, Egypt. Using these finds and the CT scan of a nearly 3,000-year-old mummy named Meresamun, archaeologists hope to learn more about how ancient Egyptians lived. Discussion ● Ask students what they know about mummies and the famous Egyptian kings that have been uncovered. Background ● Of the 30 mummies recently discovered, eight were found in niches along the walls of a deep shaft. The other mummies were buried in stone coffins called sarcophagi. ● Excavations in Saqqara have been going on for more than 150 years. Last December, two tombs were found near the site of the most recent discovery. In November, a 4,300-year-old pyramid built for a queen was also uncovered. It marked the 118th pyramid discovery in Egypt and 12th in Saqqara. ● Mummies are useful to study because unlike most dead bodies, they don’t rot. For people to be mummified, soft organs, except the heart, were removed from their bodies. Mummies got to keep their hearts because ancient Egyptians believed the heart was a source of intelligence. The brain was pulled out through the nose, using a hooked needle. ● An inscription on the coffin of Meresamun indicates that she was a singer in the Interior of the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Singers from elite families served in the temple, playing music for their god as the priests laid offerings. Post-Reading Discussion ● What do mummy findings tell us about how ancient Egyptians lived? Lesson Extension Ancient Egyptian medicine, inventions, symbols, art, practices, and ideas are still in use today. For example, a picture of a pyramid is seen on the back of a U.S. dollar bill. Have students research ancient Egyptian customs and history to identify other Egyptian influences still around today. Resources ● For more information on ancient Egypt, visit the British Museum at www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu .html. ● For kid-friendly history about ancient Egypt, visit www .historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/. have students make geogra- phy connections by selecting an international story and researching the answers to the following questions: in what city did the • story take place? in what country is that • city located? what is the capital of • that country? on what continent is • that country located? what countries or bod- • ies of water border the country to its north, south, east, and west? what are some charac- • teristics of the country and the people who live there? Map Mania April 13, 2009 Vol. 71 no. 20 issn 0736-0592 Teacher’S ediTion
Transcript
Teaching the Cover Story Teaching TIPof the week
Secrets of the Mummies
Sept. 22
ISSUEDATES
Sept. 1
Sept. 8
Sept. 29
Oct. 13
Oct. 27
Nov. 3
Nov. 14
Dec. 1
Dec. 8
Jan. 5
Jan. 12
Jan. 26
Feb. 2
Feb. 16
Feb. 23
Mar.9
Mar.23
Mar.30
Apr.13
Apr.20
May4
May11 & 18
www.scholastic.com/sn4
SCHOLASTIC NEWS / Edition 4 / APRIL 13, 2009 A supplement to scholAstic news
We are committed to your satisfaction. You can contact us at 1-800-724-6527.
StandardSocial StudieS: the hiStory of people and cultureS around the world—Students should understand selected attributes and historical developments of societies in africa, the americas, asia, and europe.
Summary Archaeologists recently
discovered more than two dozen ancient Egyptian mummies that are an estimated 2,600 years old, in a tomb in Saqqara, Egypt. Using these finds and the CT scan of a nearly 3,000-year-old mummy named Meresamun, archaeologists hope to learn more about how ancient Egyptians lived.
Discussion● Ask students what they know about mummies and the famous Egyptian kings that have been uncovered.
Background ● Of the 30 mummies recently discovered, eight were found in niches along the walls of a deep shaft. The other mummies were buried in stone coffins called sarcophagi. ● Excavations in Saqqara have been going on for more than 150
years. Last December, two tombs were found near the site of the most recent discovery. In November, a 4,300-year-old pyramid built for a queen was also uncovered. It marked the 118th pyramid discovery in Egypt and 12th in Saqqara. ● Mummies are useful to study because unlike most dead bodies, they don’t rot. For people to be mummified, soft organs, except the heart, were removed from their bodies. Mummies got to keep their hearts because ancient Egyptians believed the heart was a source of intelligence. The brain was pulled out through the nose, using a hooked needle. ● An inscription on the coffin of Meresamun indicates that she was a singer in the Interior of the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Singers from elite families served in the temple, playing music for their god as the priests laid offerings.
Post-Reading Discussion● What do mummy findings tell us about how ancient Egyptians lived?
Lesson ExtensionAncient Egyptian medicine,
inventions, symbols, art, practices, and ideas are still in use today. For example, a picture of a pyramid is seen on the back of a U.S. dollar
bill. Have students research ancient Egyptian customs and history to identify other Egyptian influences still around today.
Resources ● For more information on ancient Egypt, visit the British Museum at www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu .html. ● For kid-friendly history about ancient Egypt, visit www .historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/.
have students make geogra-phy connections by selecting an international story and researching the answers to the following questions:
in what city did the • story take place? in what country is that • city located? what is the capital of • that country? on what continent is • that country located? what countries or bod-• ies of water border the country to its north, south, east, and west? what are some charac-• teristics of the country and the people who live there?
Haikus Your TurN:A haiku (hye-koo) is a three-line poem. The rules of haiku writing are: The first line contains five syllables, the second line contains seven syllables, and the third line contains five syllables. (A syllable is a unit of sound in a word. The word long contains one syllable.)
Haiku ExamPlE:Cherry blossoms bloomPink and white and featherySpringtime has arrived.
Acrostic poems are those in which the first letter of each line combined spell a word on their own, usually the poem’s title.
ExamPlE: Sunshine warms the trees, People wear short sleeves, raindrops give plants a drink, in the grass, squirrels jump. Nests are full of baby birds, Going to fly away someday.
acrostic Your TurN:
In this week’s issue of Scholastic News, you read about National Poetry Month. There are many different types of poems. Below are two types. Read the descriptions and examples of each type of poem. Then, write a poem of each type on your own.
BONUS: What are some other things scientists might want to know about a society? What items might you put in your time capsule to help illustrate your society?
In this week’s Scholastic News, you read about scientists who study mummies to gather evidence of how ancient Egyptians lived. Imagine that years from now, scientists are studying people and life as we know it today. What would you want them to learn about you? Time capsules are one way to communicate with people in the future. Time capsules are containers that are usually filled with goods or information, such as photographs or letters. The following list describes the type of information scientists might want to know about people of the past. On the lines below each description, write what materials you might put in a time capsule to give scientists that information.
