Lesson #3 - Inventions

For this lesson we felt that working in centers would be the best way to handle the amount of content that we needed to teach. We designed three centers that each corresponded to a different invention: papyrus (paper), hieroglyphics, and calendar/clock. Within each center we tried to build in some form of evaluation, particularly at the hieroglyphics center because the students were working independently here. The other two centers were teacher-led and involved more demonstrations. With this lesson our main goal was to show how ancient Egyptian inventions still affect our lives today. We introduced the lesson with a review, and it was encouraging to see how much the students had learned and remembered over the last few days. After this introduction, we gave very explicit instructions about the centers and the rules that everyone needed to follow in order for this activity to run smoothly. We numbered the students (1, 2, 3, 1, 2,...) in order to divide them into three groups. In retrospect, this was probably not the best way to split the class because some students were more of a behavior problem when working with particular students. In the future, I would assign the groups before class, considering which students worked well together and which ones did not.

Catherine B. led the calendar/clock center in which she demonstrated a water clock that we created. She also encouraged students to compare the calendar and clock that we use today to those of the ancient Egyptians. In talking with her after the lesson, she said that aside from a few behavior problems, the students were fascinated by the water clock and very attentive.

I was in charge of the papyrus center. At this center I taught a mini-lesson about how the ancient Egyptians made paper using a modified version of the direct instruction model . I introduced the lesson by asking the students to think about the different things that we use paper for today. I also read a short passage from a book about papyrus and showed students the word "papyrus" so that they could see where we get the word "paper." I then demonstrated the steps in creating papyrus using strips of construction paper. After reviewing these steps, I passed out construction paper to the students and went through the steps with them. I would have liked to have more differentiation between the guided and independent practice steps, but because we were working in centers, time was definitely an issue. I do think that the repetition of the steps helped the students remember them, however. Also, the model seemed ineffective for some of the students because they did not actually create anything. It would have been nice if we could have designed a model that allowed them to produce papyrus in a short amount of time. Our method did seem to be a good alternative. To conclude this mini-lesson, I asked students to compare papyrus to the paper we use today. They were able to make very insightful observations that demonstrated an ample understanding of the topic. The students commented on the differences in texture, uses, steps of production, and color which I found to be comprehensive.

Aside from the problems with grouping, I thought that the centers worked very well. The students seemed to do a good job of self-regulating at the hieroglyphics station and didn't have any trouble completing the worksheets. They also enjoyed decoding the joke we gave them ("Why did the mummy go to the doctor? He was coffin.") and seemed to make the connection between hieroglyphics and our written language. Although we debriefed at the end of the centers, I wish that we had had more time to draw the connection between ancient Egyptian inventions and our lives today. It would have been helpful to create a Venn Diagram or perform some other writing activity. Unfortunately, time was an issue (as always) and we were unable to do these things.