Lesson Plan for Artefacts
Class Discussions/Write a short essay
As an extension to doing research on the web (see previous lesson), older or more able children may be able to discuss certain higher-level questions and write a short essay on them. These questions might include:
1. What sort of materials were used to make Egyptian objects? Why do you think these materials were chosen?
2. What do these objects tell us about how the Egyptians lived? How different was it to life today?
3. What were the reasons Egyptian craftsmen made artefacts? (this should cover the provision of items for the palace and noble families' homes, and for use in burial; and the point should be made that craftsmen were paid by the state, not in money but in food, clothes, etc.)
4. Which of the objects is the most beautiful? Why? What makes an object beautiful?
5. Which object is the most valuable? Why? Is it the same as the most beautiful object? What makes an object valuable?
6. How was Egyptian religion different to modern religions? (cover the gods, passage to the afterlife, temples, daily worship, belief in magic) Were the Egyptians wrong to have their religious beliefs? Why or why not?
7. Write an essay on Egyptian religion and magic, based on what you have learned on the website. This should cover not only the gods but ideas about burial and the afterlife, magical protection and medicine