1 of 20

S T U D E N T G U I D E

Animal mummies were a message direct to the gods

What do archaeological findings reveal about the importance of animals in the lives and deaths of the ancient Egyptians?

View this lesson at ThinkCERCA

2 of 20

thinkcerca.com

Table of Contents

Vocabulary Building

  • Map a Word

Direct Instruction Guide

  • Cornell Notes: Thinking Like a Historian

STEP 1: Connect

  • Finding Your Purpose for Learning
  • Think-Pair-Share

STEP 2: Read

  • Pause and Reflect
  • Test Prep Strategy: Error Analysis (Optional)

STEP 3: Engage with the Text

  • Highlight and Annotate

STEP 4: Summarize

  • Write a Summary

STEP 5: Build an Argument

  • Collaborate: Share your argument builder

STEP 6: Create your CERCA

  • Peer Editing Activity
  • Writing Reflection

3 of 20

thinkcerca.com

Optional Extensions

  • Inquiry to Research: Asking Questions of the Texts
  • Research Activity: Ancient Egyptian World, New Discoveries

4 of 20

Definition

Facts and Characteristics___

Examples

Non-examples___

Vocabulary Word:�

necropolis

thinkcerca.com

V O C A B U L A R Y B U I L D I N G

Frayer Model �

The Frayer Model helps you learn vocabulary from different angles.�

  1. Look for the vocabulary word in the center circle of the graphic organizer below.
  2. In the “examples” box, list examples or synonyms of the word.
  3. In the “non-examples” box, write non-examples or antonyms.
  4. Next, add facts or characteristics about the word.
  5. Finally, write your own definition or look one up!

Frayer Model

Read the Overview and click “Vocabulary” for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com.

5 of 20

thinkcerca.com

D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Thinking Like a Historian

How do historians find out about the past?

Historians learn about the past by...

What types of questions do historians ask about the past?

Historians ask questions about…

Why is “thinking like a historian” a valuable skill?

The value of learning to “think like a historian” is...

Take notes on the lesson using the organizer below:

Watch the Direct Instruction lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

6 of 20

thinkcerca.com

D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Thinking Like a Historian (continued)

Summarize and Reflect

In your own words and in complete sentences, write a 3–4 sentence summary of this skills lesson. An accurate summary will cover the lesson's central ideas and include important details to support those ideas.

Record your summary here:

7 of 20

S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Finding Your Purpose for Learning

When you've finished reading the overview, answer the following questions in the space below:

What more would you like to learn about life in Ancient Egypt? What would you like to know about how Ancient Egyptians incorporated animals into their rituals,?

thinkcerca.com

Read the Topic Overview provided at learn.thinkcerca.com

8 of 20

S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Think-Pair-Share

  1. Think: On your own, think about your experiences related to the topic.

  • Pair & Share: With a partner, group, or a trusted listener, share the parts of your response that you feel comfortable sharing.
  • Reflect: If time permits, reflect on your experience. What ideas did others share that you hadn't considered? How were your ideas alike?

Complete the writing activity in Step 1: Connect at learn.thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

9 of 20

S T E P 2 : R E A D

Pause and Reflect

When you’ve finished reading, go back and find the questions in the text marked “Pause and Reflect.” These questions will help you connect the text to yourself, to other texts, or to the world around you.

Use the space on the left below to answer the reflection questions. Then, discuss your answers, noting how they were similar or different.

Record “Pause and Reflect” answers here:

Record discussion reflections here:

Read the text for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

10 of 20

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 2 : R E A D

Test Prep Strategy: Error Analysis

Reflect on any multiple choice questions that you got wrong. Taking this step will allow you to avoid making the same mistakes when you see similar questions in the future.

Item

Why was your answer incorrect?

What was the cause of the error?

What made the correct answer right?

Refer to the reading and multiple choice questions for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com.

11 of 20

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 3 : E N G A G E W I T H T H E T E X T

Highlight and Annotate

In this step, you will analyze the text closely, then discuss your findings to begin developing reasoning for your argument.

  1. Read the text again, highlighting and annotating important details. Follow the prompts provided.

The highlighting prompts will help you with the final writing task. You will find evidence to support your own argument or informational piece, as well as models of excellence that will help you better understand a writer’s craft in narratives. The evidence you highlight will be available when you begin building your draft in the next step.

  1. If time permits, pair and share your highlights and annotations with a classmate. Pay close attention to this conversation! Your thinking is important reasoning you may include in your final draft.

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 3: Engage with the Text.

12 of 20

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 4 : S U M M A R I Z E

Write a Summary

Summaries help you process your thinking about a text and are often a great way to start off an argumentative or informational essay. A good summary shows you have knowledge about a topic.

Practicing summarizing also helps you prepare for the main idea questions posed on many standardized assessments. In addition, summarizing is a helpful skill for working with others, such as when you need to confirm your understanding of what someone else has said. That's a useful skill for all parts of life.

  1. ��Use the sentence stems provided to summarize the text.

Your summary should:

  • Be brief
  • Include the main idea and key details
  • Represent these ideas fairly and accurately �
  • If time permits, pair and share with a classmate. Read each other’s summary, and discuss how they are similar or different. What did you say were the main idea and key details? Were your summaries fair and accurate? Why?

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 4: Summarize.

13 of 20

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 5 : B U I L D A N A R G U M E N T

Collaborate: Share your Argument Builder

When you’ve completed the argument building step, share your results with others, and listen to how they responded to the same question. Ask questions and give feedback to help strengthen your partners’ reasons and evidence.

What do archaeological findings reveal about the importance of animals in the lives and deaths of the ancient Egyptians?

Share Your Argument

Listen and Record Others

1.

2.

3.

14 of 20

S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Peer Editing Activity

  1. Do a self-assessment of your CERCA. Use the online Rubric for the lesson on learn.thinkcerca.com, checking each box where you find evidence that you have achieved the criteria.�
  2. Next, collaborate with a peer or peers to read each other’s drafts. Again, use the Rubric to evaluate each other’s work.�
  3. Share insights into what might make your pieces stronger. Find two positive attributes and one area of growth for each draft you review.�
  4. Revise your piece using what you learned from your self-assessment and the feedback from your peers.

Complete Step 6 to create your CERCA at learn.thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

15 of 20

S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Writing Reflection

Before you submit your final CERCA, write a brief reflection describing your experience.

An area for growth for me on this piece or in my writing in general is…

The strongest areas of this piece of writing are…

thinkcerca.com

Through self-assessment and/or peer editing, I learned…

16 of 20

Optional Extensions

The following activities can be used as optional extensions to this lesson.

17 of 20

thinkcerca.com

O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R E S E A R C H A C T I V I T Y

Ancient Egyptian World, New Discoveries

Background

Scientists have known for generations that ancient Egyptians created the practice of mummification to preserve the body of a deceased person, as well as that of any other animal or human companions within a tomb. However, new discoveries are constantly emerging that allow scientists, archeologists, and historians to adapt old theories and develop new ones about how the ancient Egyptians lived and died.

With this activity, research the latest ancient Egyptian archeological discoveries and the technologies that enabled them. What more can these new discoveries teach you about the ways that ancient Egyptians lived and died?

Materials Needed

  • Note-taking tools (paper and pen, or computer)
  • Access to a school-approved search engine or school library resources (with adult permission)

Research

Use the following questions to launch your research:

  • What are some of the latest findings in ancient Egyptian archaeology?
    • Tip: try searching for keywords like, “new ancient Egyptian discoveries” and select current sources from reputable magazines, journals, museums, etc.
  • Who made these discoveries? Where? When? How?
  • What technologies and scientific processes enabled these discoveries? How do these technologies and/or processes work?
    • Tip: you may need to do additional keyword searches about these technologies to more fully understand them.
  • How do these discoveries add to or modify our current understandings of the lives, deaths, and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians?

Share

Create a slideshow presentation with images and videos demonstrating the findings you researched and technologies that enabled them. With adult permission, share it with your peers and the ThinkCERCA team by using the hashtag #SparkCourageousThinking!

18 of 20

thinkcerca.com

O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Asking Questions of the Texts

As you engage with texts in any subject, you can actively ask questions about the author’s purpose, intended audience, and occasion to understand the message. The table below provides examples.

Approaches

Example

Questions about the author

Is the author an authority on this topic? What was the author’s motivation in writing this piece?

Questions about the audience, purpose, and occasion of the text

Why was this article written? Why was it published at this time?

Questions about civics, economics, geography, and history

What can artifacts tell us about belief systems of the past?

Questions about concepts and ideas

How do new theories compliment or dispute prior understandings about history?

Questions about self and community reflections

How can artifacts help us make connections between the social, political, and economic characteristics of past civilizations?

19 of 20

thinkcerca.com

O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Asking Questions of the Texts (continued)

Use the table below to record questions about the text you read.

Approaches

Questions

Questions about the author

Questions about the audience, purpose, and occasion of the text

Questions about civics, economics, geography, and history

Questions about concepts and ideas

Self and Community Reflections

20 of 20

/ 224.412.3722 / thinkcerca.com