Bridget OKeefe Dr.

Esposito
EDU 527 2/21/17
Grade 3 Ancient Egypt Social Studies

Instructional Objectives
After completing a See, Think, Wonder and taking notes, students will be able to complete a
cause and effect chart, listing how the Ancient Egyptians used the land of Egypt in order to live.
Essential Question: How did the land of Egypt help the Ancient Egyptians live?

Common Core Standards NY

ELA 4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
Indicator: This is evident when students are able to identify the causes and effects of
Egyptian geography.

ELA 3.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in
a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
Indicator: This is evident when students will write an exit slip at the end of the lesson,
using one of the domain-specific words used. (Nile River, dessert, rapids, pyramids)

ELA 3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a
text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events
occur).
Indicator: This is evident when the class as a whole does a See, Think Wonder.

Motivation
The class as a whole will do a See, Think, Wonder based on a picture of the Nile River and the
surrounding region of Egypt.

Materials
Textbook, PowerPoint, Computer, Notebook, projector, pens, highlighters

Strategies
See, Think, Wonder: Students will be presented with an aerial photograph of Egyptian
landscape by the Nile River in order to help them understand why the Ancient Egyptians valued
the river and considered it godly.
Direct Instruction: The teacher will present the students with a note packet and go through a
power point on the Geography of Egypt and how it shaped the way the Ancient people lived.
Maps and Photographs: Students will view a map of Ancient Egypt and present-day photos of
the pyramids.
Group Discussion: the class will discuss the causes and effects of the geography, answering the
questions (What is the cause and effect of most cities being built by the Nile River? What is the
cause and effect of stony ground in the desert? What is the cause and effect of the dangerous
rapids in the Nile River?)
Adaptations
Note packets will be handed out to the students for the lesson and a copy will also be
uploaded to the website.
For a student who has trouble copying all of the fill-in notes, a separate packet will be
made where the student will only have to fill-in one word or phrase at a time.

Differentiation of Instruction
Level One: Students will identify the causes and effects of the geography of Egypt on the
civilization when the teacher, tells them which pages in the note packet they should look.
Level Two: Students will identify the causes and effects of the geography of Egypt on the
civilization when the teacher tells them to check back in the textbook and note packet.
Level Three: Students will identify the causes and effects of the geography of Egypt on
civilization without the aid of the teacher.

Developmental Procedures
1. Students will complete a See, Think, Wonder based on an aerial photograph of the Nile
River (What do you see in the photograph? Why did the Ancient Egyptians make the
river a god? Why was it so important to build along the river?)
2. Students will complete the fill-in note packet as the teacher lectures and goes through a
PowerPoint, detailing the landscape of Egypt and why it was so important for the
Egyptians to live.
3. Students will then divide into partners and have to find three causes and effects of the
geography of Egypt based on what we went over in our notes.(cause: the Nile was a
source of life; effect: the Egyptians built their cities close to the river; cause: the ground
was very rocky; effect: the Egyptians used slave labor to build the pyramids with the
stones; cause: the Nile River had dangerous rapids; effect: it made it very difficult for
other nations to invade)
4. The students will report out and tell the class of their findings.
5. The students will complete an exit slip and write one thing they learned about the Ancient
Egyptians, using a domain-specific word (pyramid, Nile River, rapids, Lower Egypt,
Upper Egypt, gods)

Assessment
Students will complete an Exit Slip by writing one sentence about something they learned, using
a domain-specific word.

Independent Practice
For Homework, students will have to label the Nile River, the dessert, and the Red Sea on a map
given to them.

Direct Teacher Intervention

Students who require direct teacher intervention, will be explicitly given the causes and effects of
geography on the Egyptians and they will be required to match them with one another on
Quizlet.
 Follow-up: Academic Enrichment
Students will be able to watch a short clip on the Nile River and the importance of the river to the
Ancient Egyptians. A link to the video will be shared on the website.

Teacher Resources
Smith, Miranda and Steele, Philip. Ancient Worlds. Kingfisher: New York, 2016.