JOHNSON 1
Kathy Johnson
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 2
I was drawn to this piece of artwork because I can see a lot of detail. The hieroglyphics
are carved into the stone in such a way that it is extremely neat and organized. I also like
how this artwork has a written message on it, and it has to be deciphered in order to
figure out what it is trying to say. I can also see figures that are carved into the stone that
look like people or even animals. The artwork is mysterious and a little bit spooky
because this artwork was created a long time ago by people who had different beliefs and
had different gods that they worshiped. Some of the figures that were carved on the stone
might represent the different gods that they worshiped, or maybe they are carvings of
certain kings or queens. I can use this artwork in my classroom to help students learn how
to multiply or divide decimals using hieroglyphics; the use of hieroglyphics can teach the
students place value. I can also use this artwork in my classroom to teach students about
mythology, and I can also use it to inspire the students to write a creative narrative based
on the Ancient Egyptian time period. I can have the students make their own hieroglyphic
carvings, and they can critique their artwork both aesthetically and critically using the
principles and elements of design. They can identify what kind of lines are used and what
different shapes are used in their artwork. I think that the students will really like this
artwork and think its unique. It fits into our society because it can share ideas or stories
through written descriptions, but in this case, hieroglyphic carvings.
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 3
I was drawn to this artwork because I have never seen such a creature or being before. I
thought the feet were very peculiar. The back two feet look like bird claws, and the front
two feet look like cat paws. The creature also has a very long neck, almost like a giraffe.
The tail looks like a snake; at the end of the tail it looks like there is a snake eye. The
head looks like a monster, and hanging out of the creatures mouth looks like a snake
tongue. I could use this artwork in my classroom to teach the students about the ancient
Middle Eastern history. I can talk to the students about the different statutes that are part
of the Middle Eastern history, and I can see if they can recognize and identify some
statues that they may see today that look similar. I can have the students come up with a
creative painting that has identifiable parts of many different animals. I can have the
students recognize movement in their creature, identify the use of color in their painting,
and use different types of brushes to create different lines in their paintings. I feel that the
students will really like this activity, especially around Halloween. They can come up
with a scary creature using different parts of an animal like shark teeth, claws, or even
multiple eyes. This artwork fits into our world because there are many different animals. I
can take the students on a trip to the zoo and they can learn about different animals, and
they can observe and decide what types of animal parts to use that will make their
creature look scary and unique.
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 4
I was drawn to this piece of art because of the beautiful bright colors. I also like how the artwork
is telling a story through different scenes. I could have my students make an art piece similar to
this one using different colored tissue paper. The students can use liquid starch and paste the
tissue paper onto some wax paper. When the artwork is finished they can tape it to the window in
our classroom and see how it resembles stained glass. I can also have the students learn about
several different artists who have created marvelous artworks using stained glass. I can have the
students identify the primary and secondary colors used in their artwork. Moreover, I feel that
the students will enjoy this activity a lot. They will be able to get messy and learn to create
something beautiful. I feel that this artwork fits into our society because usually in churches,
there are stain glass windows that surround the church.
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 5
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 6
Method:
Day 1 of Art Making:
1. Write out a list of things that are important to you in your life.
2. Sketch out design for tile.
3. Write in notebook why you chose to sketch out the specific things in your design
(skateboard, piano, video games etc.).
4. Get design approved by teacher.
Day 2 of Art Making:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 7
5. Show students photographs of the Book of the Dead, canopic jars, hieroglyphics, and
mummies.
Example:
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 8
3. Have the students write down in their notebooks what elements and principles stick out
the most in each picture (see art criticism questions).
4. Have a class discussion on some of the principles and elements that are used in the
artworks.
Class Period 6: Aesthetics
1. Review with the students what the meaning of aesthetics is.
2. Have students answer some aesthetic questions about the three pictures (see aesthetic
questions).
3. Have students volunteer and share some answers.
Class Period 7: Art Making
1. See Day 1 of Art Making
Class Period 8: Art Making
1. See Day 2 of Art Making
2. Gather all the materials and have them ready for the students
3. Allow 15 minutes for cleanup
Class Period 9: Art Making
1. See Day 3 of Art Making
2. Hand out clay tiles to students
3. Remind students to think about the principles and elements of design while working on
tiles
4. Allow 15 minutes for cleanup
Class Period 10: Criticism, Aesthetics and Self-Evaluation, Display of Work
1. Line up all the tiles together on a table to make it look like an Ancient Egyptian wall.
2. Criticism Evaluation: Have students look at all the different artworks from their
classmates and identify the elements and principles of design in somebody elses artwork.
Have them write their thoughts in their notebooks and have students share their thoughts
with the class.
3. Aesthetic Evaluation: Have the students look at each others art. Have students choose
one tile (besides their own) and decide what the artwork says about that person, if the
artwork makes them sad or happy, and what they think the story is behind their artwork.
Have them write it in their notebooks and share with the class.
4. Have students do the Self Evaluation worksheet.
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 9
Benchmarks:
Michigan Content Standards (Middle School)
Content Standard 1: All students will apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts.
Use art materials and tools safely and responsibly to communicate experiences and ideas.
Select materials, techniques, media technology, and processes to achieve desired effects.
Select and use the visual characteristics and organizational principles of art to
communicate ideas.
Be involved in the process and presentation of a final product or exhibit.
Content Standard 2: All students will apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts.
Use subjects, themes, and symbols that communicate intended meaning in artworks.
Employ organizational principles and analyze what makes them effective or not in the
communication of ideas.
Select materials, techniques, and processes to effectively communicate ideas.
Content Standard 3: All students will analyze, describe and evaluate works of art.
Observe and compare works of art that were created for different purposes.
Form and defend judgments about characteristics and structures to accomplish
commercial, personal, communal, or other purposes of art.
Content Standard 4: All students will understand, analyze, and describe the arts in their
historical, social, and cultural contexts.
Analyze, describe, and demonstrate how factors of time and place (such as climate,
resources, ideas, and technology) influence visual characteristics that give meaning and
value to a work of art.
Know and compare the characteristics of artworks in various eras and cultures.
Content Standard 5: All students will recognize, analyze, and describe connections among the
arts; between the arts and other disciplines; between the arts and everyday life.
Describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines taught in the
school are interrelated with the visual arts.
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 10
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 11
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 12
History
of
Ancient
Egyptians
and
Hieroglyphics
Ancient Egyptian Culture:
The Ancient Egyptians believed that they would continue living life on earth in their
afterlife.
Ancient Egyptians filled tombs with necessities that they would need in their afterlife.
The Ancient Egyptians read The Book of the Dead which prepared them for the monsters
and demons that they may face in the underworld.
Ancient Egyptians held special ceremonies for the deceased.
Ancient Egyptians were highly organized and orderly.
A pharaoh ruled over the Ancient Egyptians.
High priests ran the temples that the Ancient Egyptians made.
Ancient Egyptian artists passed their skills and art making processes from one generation
to the next.
Ancient Egyptians believed that their kingdom would flourish if they took care of the
gods properly and gave them proper necessities for their afterlife.
Ancient Egyptians mummified the deceased so their soul could have a home in their
afterlife.
Tombs with gold on it meant that it was the tomb of a god or pharaoh.
Ancient Egyptians placed vital organs in canopic jars to preserve the body in the afterlife.
Different gods were carved on the lids to protect certain organs.
Images of animals like a black cat or a bird were used as protection or used as offerings
to the gods.
The god of death and resurrection was Osiris.
Hieroglyphics History:
Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics as their written language.
There are different types of hieroglyphics. Some are for specific sounds, and some are for
entire words.
To write in hieroglyphics, the sounds have to be identified first in order to write them.
o Phone sounds like f+ long o sound +n, so three hieroglyphics would be used
instead of five. (Example is used from hieroglyphic article)
Not all sounds in our alphabet exist in the Ancient Egyptian alphabet, so sometimes
Ancient Egyptian alphabet sounds have to be replaced with sounds that are close to it.
Hieroglyphics can be read from left to right or up and down.
Ancient Egyptians told stories by carving hieroglyphics on the walls.
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 13
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 14
Aesthetic
Questions
1. What attracts you to these carvings?
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 15
Hieroglyphic
Evaluation
Name: ___________________________
Date: __________________
Accomplished 6 pts
Student demonstrated how
to raise the surface
Developing 5 pts
Looks like student
attempted to raise the
surface
Artwork is composed in a
creative and interesting way
that is different from the
other students artwork
_____/30 points
Comments:
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 16
Self-Evaluation
1. How do you feel about the hieroglyphic art work?
5. After doing this activity, could you properly explain the different
hieroglyphic symbols to someone?
HIEROGLYPHICS LESSON
JOHNSON 17
References