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Take a closer look - Jim Whiting is bringing your students to ancient Egypt and taking a look at a real Renaissance Man! |
English/Language Arts
Explore writing to a prompt
Author Whiting begins this Minute by defining the term “Renaissance man” and providing a number of examples. Have your students do a bit more research about the men listed. Work on a class collaboration of someone common to all (a fellow teacher? A principal?), generating a list of qualities that would put him/her into the “renaissance” category.” Last, have them write to a prompt, such as who would you name a modern day renaissance man and why? This kind of prompt requires use of schema, argument to support choice, and organizational skills.
Explore biography - compare/contrast
Add this Minute to the biography list and have your students discuss and determine the focus Author Whiting chose for writing about Imhotep. Author Whiting compares the ancient Imhotep to the renaissance great da Vinci. How does framing him as a renaissance man help the reader? Would this qualify as a compare/contrast text structure?
Social Studies
Explore ancient cultures - Egypt
In a single Minute, students see the seeds of modern medicine, construction, agriculture, astronomy and government. Have students investigate other contributors to the development of modern thinking and innovation in their quest to understand our past in order to become thinkers for the present and future.
Explore famine food supply
The availability of food and how it is distributed is a great contributor to how people have moved, geographically, throughout human history. Explore this idea of food supply, agricultural innovation, geographic movement, and human settlement over time. Have your students consider modern famine and think about the potential causes and solutions.
STEM
Explore construction shapes
Use this Minute to have students explore the challenges of building without modern construction equipment. Let them play with blocks to attempt to “build” some structures. What are the challenges to building a pyramid shape? Why would that have been an easier choice than a simple box structure? Have students explore the strength of different shapes - squares versus triangles versus circles. Build and test; build and test...
Explore agricultural problem solving
As climate patterns change, different areas of the globe are experiencing droughts at levels that affect food supplies. Have students take a closer look at one or more of these places - Sudan, East Africa, etc. - and collaborate through conversation and experiment to devise some potential solutions to water shortages and other causes. Ask students to think in both the short and long term when thinking about solutions. Introduce an economic component for older students and ask them to price out potential solutions for comparison.
Art
Explore ancient art and sculpture
Use this Minute to introduce and explore ancient art and sculpture. Look at the connection between the practical and the aesthetically beautiful. Explore water vessels, vases, and ornamentation techniques that may have been available to the ancient Egyptians, as well as the significance of communicating through art.
Research Skills
Explore question development
Author Whiting packs a ton of information into this Minute - which should lead to a bunch of great questions for further exploration. Challenge your students to ask questions as they read. How tall was the first pyramid? What kinds of devices did Imhotep invent to help him build pyramids? What kinds of treatments did he prescribe for illnesses and injuries? What causes famine? Identify an area in your classroom for recording and collecting questions. As the quantity of questions increases, you can start exploring with students the different kind of questions as you move toward helping them differentiate between information-gathering and complex researchable questions.
Explore writing to a prompt
Author Whiting begins this Minute by defining the term “Renaissance man” and providing a number of examples. Have your students do a bit more research about the men listed. Work on a class collaboration of someone common to all (a fellow teacher? A principal?), generating a list of qualities that would put him/her into the “renaissance” category.” Last, have them write to a prompt, such as who would you name a modern day renaissance man and why? This kind of prompt requires use of schema, argument to support choice, and organizational skills.
Explore biography - compare/contrast
Add this Minute to the biography list and have your students discuss and determine the focus Author Whiting chose for writing about Imhotep. Author Whiting compares the ancient Imhotep to the renaissance great da Vinci. How does framing him as a renaissance man help the reader? Would this qualify as a compare/contrast text structure?
Social Studies
Explore ancient cultures - Egypt
In a single Minute, students see the seeds of modern medicine, construction, agriculture, astronomy and government. Have students investigate other contributors to the development of modern thinking and innovation in their quest to understand our past in order to become thinkers for the present and future.
Explore famine food supply
The availability of food and how it is distributed is a great contributor to how people have moved, geographically, throughout human history. Explore this idea of food supply, agricultural innovation, geographic movement, and human settlement over time. Have your students consider modern famine and think about the potential causes and solutions.
STEM
Explore construction shapes
Use this Minute to have students explore the challenges of building without modern construction equipment. Let them play with blocks to attempt to “build” some structures. What are the challenges to building a pyramid shape? Why would that have been an easier choice than a simple box structure? Have students explore the strength of different shapes - squares versus triangles versus circles. Build and test; build and test...
Explore agricultural problem solving
As climate patterns change, different areas of the globe are experiencing droughts at levels that affect food supplies. Have students take a closer look at one or more of these places - Sudan, East Africa, etc. - and collaborate through conversation and experiment to devise some potential solutions to water shortages and other causes. Ask students to think in both the short and long term when thinking about solutions. Introduce an economic component for older students and ask them to price out potential solutions for comparison.
Art
Explore ancient art and sculpture
Use this Minute to introduce and explore ancient art and sculpture. Look at the connection between the practical and the aesthetically beautiful. Explore water vessels, vases, and ornamentation techniques that may have been available to the ancient Egyptians, as well as the significance of communicating through art.
Research Skills
Explore question development
Author Whiting packs a ton of information into this Minute - which should lead to a bunch of great questions for further exploration. Challenge your students to ask questions as they read. How tall was the first pyramid? What kinds of devices did Imhotep invent to help him build pyramids? What kinds of treatments did he prescribe for illnesses and injuries? What causes famine? Identify an area in your classroom for recording and collecting questions. As the quantity of questions increases, you can start exploring with students the different kind of questions as you move toward helping them differentiate between information-gathering and complex researchable questions.
© Karen Sterling, 2018 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission
