Ms. Bernini's Art Class: Egyptian Profiles and Papyrus

Key Vocabulary:
Egyptian
Profile
Papyrus
Hieroglyphics

Part of the sixth grade History and Social Studies curriculums is studying Ancient Civilizations. The Egyptians make for a great opportunity to collaborate and demonstrate student learning with the arts. Students are required to learn the following:

7.13 Describe the kinds of evidence used by archaeologists and historians to draw conclusions about the social and economic characteristics of ancient Nubia (the Kingdom of Kush) and their relationship to the social and economic characteristics of ancient Egypt.
7.14 Describe the role of the pharaoh as god/king, the concept of dynasties, the importance of at least one Egyptian ruler, the relationship of pharaohs to peasants, and the role of slaves in ancient Egypt.
7.15 Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt with respect to beliefs about death, the afterlife, mummification, and the roles of different deities.
7.16 Summarize important achievements of Egyptian civilization: the agricultural system, the invention of a calendar, monumental architecture and art such as the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, hieroglyphic writing, andthe invention of papyrus

To incorporate the above History standards, student created Egyptian profiles of either a pharaoh or god. They also created a papyrus style paper to matte their profiles and finally, added hieroglyphics to embellish in true Egyptian style.

PreK–12 STANDARD 2: Elements and Principles of Design

2.10 For shape, form, and pattern, use and be able to identify an expanding and increasingly sophisticated array of shapes and forms, such as organic, geometric, positive and negative, or varieties of symmetry Create complex patterns, for example, reversed shapes and tesselation
2.11 For space and composition, create unified 2D and 3D compositions that demonstrate an understanding of balance, repetition, rhythm, scale, proportion, unity, harmony, and emphasis. Create 2D compositions that give the illusion of 3D space and volume

Below are pictures of students making papyrus paper. Students ripped strips of brown paper, dipped them into 1/2 glue & 1/2 water mixture and then overlapped the strips onto plastic tablecloths to dry.