Thomas County second graders in Rosalie Wilson’s class at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School integrate history and reading in culminating hands-on projects. Students made their own “papyrus” and wrote their names in hieroglyphics. The shared reading unit was a collection of two pieces of literature about ancient Egypt. In the first story, Mummies, students were introduced to the customs of the ancient civilization as a way to build background knowledge. 

Next, students read “The Boxcar Children: Mystery of the Mummy’s Curse,” which is about a group of children who save an exhibit about ancient Egypt at their local museum from strange happenings. Students practiced making text to text connections while reading stories from two different genres: informational nonfiction and entertaining fiction. 

To make the paper, students used strips of paper bags, glue, and water to mimic the process of making papyrus. After letting it dry, they wrote messages using hieroglyphics. Many children chose to write their names as well as names of their friends or family members. Their favorite parts of the project were drawing the hieroglyphics and weaving the paper together. Wilson’s intended outcome for the project was to help the students engage with the literature by building excitement about the unfamiliar topic.