The Quest for the Golden Death Mask of Queen Nefertiti

Egypt has had many great and powerful kings and queens within its ancient history and one unique dynasty was that of Amenhotep and his queen Nefertiti.  Amenhotep, for a brief time, changed the worship of multiple deities to a monotheistic society with the God Aten.  His wife, Nefertiti was thought of as the daughter of Aten and considered one of the most beautiful queens of Egypt.  The change in religious beliefs was not a wanted change by the citizens of Egypt which has negated his reign; he was almost written out their history.  The burial site of his queen has not been found to this day.  Stories of riches and a golden death mask is but one of the many tales told of their history and the elusive burial site.

Queen Nefertiti is only one element of the social studies lesson plan, you are an anthropologist looking for information about ancient life in Egypt; what type of lifestyle did the royal families have and their religious beliefs.  You will research the life of the common Egyptian citizens and their duties.  Included will be a summary of their funeral processes and tomb building which describes their building of pyramids.  You will show the differences between clothing of the average citizen, royal families and priests. Included in the process will be a wall border with hieroglyphics made by a specific group.  

There will also be research on the hieroglyphics and how Egyptians told stories within their writings; such as the one on this page which is the name of Nefertiti meaning the beautiful woman has come.  Each group will have specific tasks that will contribute to the life within ancient Egyptian culture. 

This 9th grade class of level 3-4 English Language Learners will form small groups of 3 to complete the tasks as stated.  They will meet initially to discuss their previous knowledge of ancient Egypt and their individual tasks to complete each topic.  This project will take two weeks of collaboration and continual meeting for corrections and guidance.  At the end of the two weeks a presentation by each group will give us a picture of ancient Egyptian life and society.