I just had the most amazing day teaching my class of K-4th graders. On Sunday I found 3 sets of Cranium Super Mega Forts on sale at Toys-R-Us, so even though we have a bunch of sets at school (our kids love to build and they are perfect), the new ones had new fasteners with 45% angeles, henges and twisty rods, I bought 3 sets. (pardon the use of his, it is just easier than his/her or he/she).
Wanting to introduce the kids to the new sets and wishing to link it to our study of Egypt, I came up with a brilliant idea. I established 5 jobs for the students, each with its own responsibilities and privileges:
Pharaoh: tells the architect what he/she wants built to honor him. He sits on the throne and only talks to Architect. When anyone is in the presence of Pharaoh they must prostrate themselves and say, "Oh Pharaoh, live forever" and then stay down and silent until he sits back on his throne.
Architect: Draws the plans for what the Pharaoh wants build and has them approved by the Pharaoh. He must bow down when Pharaoh enters his space and say, "Oh Pharaoh, live forever". He must wait to be acknowledged and then may rise and talk to Pharaoh. He cannot sit in the presence of the Pharaoh unless told to sit. He can only talk to the Boss and the Pharaoh and may not leave his office space.
Boss: He is in charge of looking at the Architect's plans and then telling the Slave Driver exactly how it is to be built. He may talk only to the Architect. He bows to Pharaoh and says, "Oh Pharaoh live forever." and stays down until Pharaoh goes back to his throne.
Slave Driver: His job is to listen to the Boss and then tell the slave what to do to build the construction. Bows to Pharaoh and says, "Oh Pharaoh live forever" and stays down until Pharaoh goes back to his throne.
Slave : This is the only person who gets to touch the building materials. He is to build it exactly as the Slave Driver tells him. He bows to Pharaoh and says, "Oh Pharaoh live forever" and stays down until Pharaoh goes back to his throne.
After I explained the rules and jobs, we chose names out of a hat and the kids got to pick the job of their choice. I places the jobs in a matrix, so that everyone could see which jobs were taken and what was left.
The students then went to their areas and began the process. The Architects, Bosses, Slave Drivers and Slaves bowed in the Pharaoh's presence while Pharaoh considered what he wanted to have built to honor him. He then asked only the Architect to rise and told him what he wanted. After the Pharaoh's explanation, the Architect set to work on plans.
During the next few minutes the Pharaoh gave everyone but the Architect tests to see if they were loyal followers, it was sort of a game of Simon Says.
When the plans were finished, the Boss then met and talked with the Architect. He got to see step one of the plans. He then went to Slave Driver and shared the information, who then told the slave exactly what to do. The slaves did not talk and simply obeyed.
Sometimes the information was not very clear and the Pharaoh would visit and become dissatisfied with the effort. Then he would talk to the Architect and heads would roll!
It was wonderful to watch the interaction among the kids and to debrief when we were done. They shared how it went, what they liked and didn't like. Frustrations were voiced and many realized that the job they had was not the job they would have liked to have.
We applied our learning to the lives of ancient Egyptians and began to realize what it was like to live in their stratified system. Our journal writing for the day was amazing, as the kids reflected on their job, the expectations for them, the frustrations, joys and wishes for the future.
I was so excited through the whole process. The critical learnings about culture, jobs and social classes were gained, as well as my objectives for listening skills, speaking and explaining clearly, following directions, writing, observing and teamwork. Beyond those things, I got a clearer picture of each of my students and what their gifts are and what helps them to succeed.
We always say that in our classroom we don't ever teach something with only one objective, that would be wasting the kid's time. We teach narrowly and very deeply, so that just like in today's lesson; we engage both their hearts and minds. What a wonderful Monday!