Ancient Egypt

 Purpose:
The purpose of the WebQuest is to provide background information to gifted fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in preparation for a trip to the Franklin Institute to see the Cleopatra exhibit.  This WebQuest provides information about ancient Egyptian culture, fosters awareness of the geographical factors that allowed this unique civilization to flourish, and develops an understanding of Cleopatra's role in Egyptian history. 

Learners:
The students for whom this WebQuest was designed participate in a gifted pull-out program and meet in small groups at different times during the week.  The WebQuest format allowed students to work at their own pace, assured that all the assignments were completed,  provided an independent learning opportunity, and offered choices based on special interests. 

Many links were included because this project is intended for four grade levels and information on a variety of reading and comprehension levels was required.  Since so many links were embedded,  the Process portion of the WebQuest was organized in 5 tabs, each representing one of the five assignments students needed to complete.  This was done to minimize the amount of scrolling and to help students focus only on the task at hand.  Using the Add a Page option made this easy to set up.

The final assignment is a fun one since the independent project will provide the grade.  A test could be substituted for a regular classroom.

Curriculum Standards:

See attachment for Pennsylvania Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening, Geography, and Technology.

Resources:
A variety of resources were utilized  -- websites, books, articles from selected sources, maps, and games.  All websites are embedded in the WebQuest.  Other resources should be determined by what is available in your school and local libraries.

I used:
Ancient Civilizations:  Egypt by Jane Pofahl
Ancient Egypt by Ruth Akamine Wassynger
Ancient Egypt: Independent Learning Unit by Lorraine Conway
Exploring Ancient Civilizations: Egypt by Michaela Murphy
Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen by Susan Blackaby
Cleopatra: Discover the World of Cleopatra  by Adele Geras
You Wouldn't Want to Be Cleopatra by Jim Pipe and David Antram
Cleopatra by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema
Pyramid by David MacAulay
Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki
Egyptian Hieroglyphics:  How to Read and Write Them by Stephane Rossini
Tutankhamen's Tomb by Jen Green

For younger students who may not have highly developed research skills, a helpful website is:  http://www.kyvl.org/kids/homebase.html

This provides a flow chart of the research process and adds structure to the planning process.

A checklist for students as they work their way through the tasks is helpful.  A copy of one is attached.