Ancient History Studied At Fraser-Woods School

By Laurie Borst

Eighth-year students at Fraser-Woods School have been studying ancient Egypt. The curriculum was presented through an interdisciplinary approach.

In humanities class, students learned the knowledge base: vocabulary, history and culture. In art class, the students created pieces based on what they had learned in humanities, explained Teri LaRocque, humanities teacher.

With art teacher Christine Mitchell, students made their own paints and created amulets and sarcophagi (coffins). They learned the symbolism used on masks and the sarcophagi.

The students investigated the mummification process by utilizing salt, herbs and linens just as the ancient Egyptians did. The students mummified Cornish hens from the grocery store. The birds were treated with the herbs and wrapped in linens with amulets being hidden in the wrappings.

As the hens came with the giblets, students created canopic jars to hold the organs as was done in ancient times.

The roles of the gods in the Egyptian pantheon and how they related to the funerary process were studied. At the end of the unit, students dressed as selected gods and held a funeral procession through the school outside to a burial spot. In the spring, the students will “excavate” their birds to see how well the mummification process worked.

“They learn that the process doesn’t always work,” explained Mrs Mitchell.

Of particular interest to the students was the “Weighing of the Heart” ceremony. The Egyptians believed the heart held the history of all the good and bad events in a person’s life. During the funerary process, the heart is “weighed” by the god, Amun, to determine if the person was good and could proceed to the afterlife.

The students videotaped their activities, and in computer class, will create documentaries on the Egyptian funeral process.

“These are meaningful lessons that stay with [the students],” said Mrs LaRocque. “It makes history come alive for them.”

Mrs LaRocque went on to explain the Montessori approach to education. “It allows the child to take the lead, learning by doing and exploring.”