By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Sixth-grade students in Penne Guess’ social studies classes combined their newly gained knowledge and vivid imaginations to create individual projects following a recent study of Ancient Egypt.
The Union City Middle Schoolers spent three weeks learning about Egypt’s geography, religion, economy, politics, and social structure as part of a required field of study by the state of Tennessee.
They culminated the unit with a project that gave them multiple choices to construct models of the many facts they’d learned about Egypt’s culture.
They were allowed to choose between constructing a mini pyramid, a diorama of Ancient Egypt, or putting together a diary from a pharaoh’s point of view. Another option was putting together an Egyptian dictionary with each letter written in English and then hieroglyphics while including an Egyptian word and definition of each letter in the alphabet.
Students could also design a brochure that detailed Ancient Egypt and what could be witnessed there.
Most of the projects included a writing assignment, which helped with the individual skills of each class.
The finished products were on display at the school library.
“There were some wonderful projects, and the students were so excited to show everyone what they had made,” Guess said. “We saw pyramids built with Legos, sugar cubes, wooden blocks, cups, Rice Krispies, and many other things. They were so creative, and I’m extremely proud of them and their efforts.”