05. Session 4

-Artistic and cultural.

-To interact with other students using the writing symbols of Egyptian culture in an adequate way.

-To apply their basic knowledge of the different cultural and artistic language (hieroglyphs) to appreciate its intrinsic value.

Methodological: (Information handling and digital competence / Learning to learn)

-To communicate information using different supports.

-To handle effectively an array of resources to transform information into personal knowledge.

Personal: (Autonomy, initiative and decision taking)

-To develop collective activities with creativity, confidence and responsibility.

-To practice and learn English language using hieroglyphs.

-Complex clothes.

-Egyptian culture and writing.

-Personal description.

-Practice English language and vocabulary decoding hieroglyphs.

-Learn how to make a personal description.

Egyptian clothes such as wig, dress, sandals, bracelets, necklace, headband… Egyptian culture such as ride a camel, pyramids…

Key structures:

She/he is wearing… – She/he has got… – I am wearing… – I have got… – There is/are…

-To integrate and practice new concepts of Egyptian culture to previous knowledge.

-To expand knowledge autonomously by writing with hieroglyphs.

-Write a personal description using hieroglyphs.

-Language coming across when making a personal description.

After that, pupils will recite the Egyptian poem (Annex 1) that they learnt in the first session. Students know that after the poem the class begins and that they will start by developing activities and learning new content.

Workgroups

–Annex 9

–Annex 10

Then, the teacher will share with pupils the aims of the session and he/she will explain what they are going to do and to learn during the lesson. She/he must explain the session structure and organization in a detailed way in order to contextualize pupils.

After that, the teacher will start the session activities, asking to pupils what they know about hieroglyphs. By this way, the teacher must activate student’s previous knowledge, observing what they already know about the topic. The teacher will explain that she/he has found a hidden message (Annex 9) but that he/she cannot decode it because she/he does not know enough about hieroglyphs. Then, she/he will make rhetorical questions such as: “Do you want to help me to decode hieroglyphs? Do you want to know that the hidden message is? Do you want to know more about hieroglyphs and how to decode them? Let’s discover it!”  These rhetorical questions will activate pupil’s participation, motivation, attention and interest, introducing the activity as a challenge.

Once the teacher has achieved pupils’ attention, he/she will use the projector to introduce to pupils hieroglyphs history. He/she must explain what hieroglyphs are, what their meaning are, what their use, history and origin are, what their symbols are and how we must read and write them and so on. To explain this content, the teacher can use the help of a website that we found really interesting to show hieroglyphs history. The website is in English, so pupils can read them aloud and then the teacher can explain in a detailed way what the student has read. Furthermore, she/he can use the mother tongue (Catalan or Spanish language) to make clear the content and the hieroglyphs history.

The website to explain hieroglyphs is:

http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/history/egypt/hieroglyphs/

However, in any moment the teacher must show to children what letters represent each symbol, because they will discover it by themselves developing the following warm-up activity.

To discover hieroglyphs, students must make groups of four students. Then, the teacher will give them a worksheet (Annex 10) where five words appear related to Egyptians clothes such as: necklace, bracelets, trousers, headband, sandals. Next to each word, it will appear its translation into hieroglyphs. What students must do in group works is to guess what letter represents each symbol, looking at the repeated letters and symbols that are common in the five words. For instance, the letter b is repeated in the word bracelets and headband, so pupils must observe that in the hieroglyphs translation the first symbol of the word bracelets represents the letter b, and also the fifth symbol of the word headband. However, they will discover that are some symbols that are used to represent two or more letters.

By this way, students must discuss and observe what letters match with symbols, discovering the meaning of each hieroglyph. After that, they will put in common with the whole class their conclusions and results. Besides, if there is some letter that does not appear in these five words, at the end of the activity the teacher will show to pupils the complete chart with the letter that represents each hieroglyph symbol.

The first sentence of the first description will be discovered by the whole class, as an example of how to carry out the activity. After that, they will discover the hidden words discussing with their partner and they will read the whole description translated into English to match it with the correct picture. When students finish with the first description, they will put in common their answers, reading aloud the sentences and knowing the complete meaning of the description. Finally, they will read the whole description again, to remember the clothes because they will match with the whole class the picture with the description. Then, they will do the same with the second description.

With this activity students must discuss with their partner to make conclusions; they will read two descriptions in English where they have to translate and discover the hidden words; they will speak and interact; and, about all, they will practice with the English language and structures, reviewing vocabulary learnt in previous sessions. Furthermore, this activity takes into account students rhythm and fast finishers students because if they finish quickly, they can start with the second description.

This activity also considers class diversity and pupil’s rhythm. Furthermore, students will write their compositions with an objective because after that, pupils must read the writings, discovering the hidden description in hieroglyphs (they should translate it into English) and guessing what classmate the composition describes.

The other compositions can be discovered as additional or optional activities to fast finishers. Furthermore, we have to take into account that all pupils’ writing will be hanged in the corridor walls, where all students can look their partners’ compositions. In the wall they will be hanged the personal description written in hieroglyphs and the original composition written in English.

To finish with the class, they will listen to a song, where they can sing and make the actions and movements. With the song, pupils know that they have to pick up school material and that after the song the class finishes.

It is not necessary that songs were goodbye songs. Here we have found two examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcws7UWWDEs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEfhM3T4aV0

-Make their personal description in English and in hieroglyphs.