Arts, music, dance, and literature of Egypt

General

In this lesson, students will explore Egyptian culture by looking at photographs pertaining to the different Egyptian art forms, engaging in Egyptian music and dance, and reading an Egyptian myth.

Learning objective

Students will be able to describe the art, music, dance, and literature of Egypt.

Introduction

Students will analyze a photograph of an ancient Egyptian wall painting that contains hieroglyphics and traditional dress. They will be asked to make an inference about what they see in the photograph. Students will learn the most commonly spoken language in Egypt is Arabic. Students will look at a map and learn about where Egypt is located in the world.

Instruction

The lesson will go over Egyptian culture. It will explain how art was most important to the elite, ruling class of Egypt and often represented religious beliefs. The lesson will explain the artwork that could be found in the temples and palaces of Egypt. Egyptian paintings and sculptures were made to tell stories of their culture. After learning about the different art forms, students will learn about traditional Egyptian musical instruments such as the harp, drums, and rattles. They will listen to the sounds of Egyptian percussion and learn about how their musical sounds were passed from generation to generation. Students will explore the importance of dance to Egyptian culture. Students will learn about the ancient Egyptian written language, hieroglyphics. Then they will read “Creation,” an Egyptian myth, and analyze its purpose.

Quiz

Students will respond to 10 questions including 5 true/false, 3 multiple choice, and 2 open-ended questions.

Closing

Students will list three things they learned about Egyptian culture (art, music, dance literature) and discuss how Egyptian culture is similar to and/or different from their culture. Lastly, they will practice writing/drawing hieroglyphics to spell out their names and other words.

Teaching tips

Allow students to take notes about Egyptian culture throughout the lesson.

About Gynzy

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With a focus on elementary education, Gynzy’s Whiteboard, digital tools, and activities make it easy for teachers to save time building lessons, increase student engagement, and make classroom management more efficient.