Lesson plan based on Amenemhet
Investigate the ancient Egyptian diet and compare it to the contemporary American diet.
Skills and Focus: Cultural Comparisons, Writing
Subject Area: Social Science
Thematic Connection: Connecting Past and Present, Comparing Cultures
Grade Level: Middle School
Time Needed: 30 minutes
Objectives
• Gain an understanding of ancient Egyptian diet.
• Compare students' modern diet to that of Amenemhet.
Instructional Materials Needed
Story: What Does This Show?
Activity
Step 1: Have students list all of the foods they see represented on the wall fragment.
Critical Thinking Ask students to
• explain which food is represented in the greatest quantity.
• recognize whether all of this food is native to ancient Egypt.
• conclude what these foods say about the typical diet in ancient Egypt.
• predict how Amenemhet’s diet would change if he were suddenly transported to contemporary America.
Step 2: Ask students to fill in the chart with contemporary equivalents to Amenemhet’s diet, and decide which diet they would prefer and why.
Goals
This activity meets Illinois State Goal 12: Have a working knowledge of the fundamental concepts and principles of the life, physical, and earth/space sciences and their connections.
|
What Amenemhet Ate |
|
|
Yellow and white bread
|
|
|
Beef
|
|
|
Beer
|
|
|
Vegetables
|
|
|
Fowl
|
© 2000, by The Art Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Use of this program is subject to the terms below. No part of this program may be reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any form or by any means, except for personal or classroom use. All Copyright in and to the program, in whole or in part, belongs to the publisher and its licensors and is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office
