Teachers' notes
How to make amummy
Aims: Identify and make notes of the main points of text
Write non-narrative texts using structures of different text-types
Signal sequence, place and time to give coherence
Explore an aspect of ancient Egyptian culture.
Age group 7–9
- England and Wales
Year 3/Year 4 - Scotland
Year P4/Year P5 - Northern Ireland
Year 4/Year 5
Literacy skills: Transforming an explanation text into a series of instructions (whiteboard activity); developing comprehension by sequencing a set of instructions (activity sheet).
Curriculum links:
- History – England and Wales
- The World around us, History – Northern Ireland
- People, past events and societies – Scotland
Content:
- Whiteboard: Read a written explanation of the process of mummification (it is fairly gruesome so you may need to prepare the class first!). Highlight the key words and phrases that summarise the process and collect these in a statement bank. Sort a jumbled set of cartoon pictures into the correct order and complete step-by-step instructions using the imperatives provided to start each sentence.
- Activity sheet: Sequence a set of jumbled instructions and make them into a booklet ‘How to make a mummy'. Add illustrations.
- Extension: Research each step and add more detail where possible. Use the information to write a job advertisement and/or a diary extract for a new embalmer.
Suggestions for questions:
- Activate prior knowledge: What do we already know about ancient Egypt? What would you find inside an ancient Egyptian coffin?
- Reflect on learning: What did we learn about the process of mummification? What do you notice about the words at the beginning of each instruction?
- Stimulate further research: Was this process for everybody or just for very important people? What happened to the mummies once the process was finished?