Female Pharaohs
Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 6-8
Curriculum Focus: Ancient History
Lesson Duration: Two class periods
Program Description
Hatshepsut’s Kingly Aspirations —Profiles this daughter and wife of kings with royal ambitions who
broke more than a thousand years of tradition to serve as Egypt’s first female pharaoh. Cleopatra's
Beguiling Intelligence—Examines how a Greek woman became the living symbol of ancient Egypt and
one of the most famous females in all of history.
Onscreen Questions
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Why did the Egyptian people support Hatshepsut?
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What role did men play under Hatshepsut’s rule?
•
How did Cleopatra try to increase her influence?
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Why was Cleopatra’s death significant in Egyptian history?
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
•
Demonstrate an understanding of basic facts about Hatshepsut and Cleopatra.
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Research and write about a particular event from either pharaoh’s reign.
Materials
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Female Pharaohs video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
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Computer with Internet access
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Resources about Hatshepsut and Cleopatra
Procedures
1. After watching the video, review basic facts about Hatshepsut and Cleopatra. Which was
Egypt’s first female pharaoh? (Hatshepsut) Which was one of Egypt’s last pharaohs? (Cleopatra)
When did each woman rule? (Hatshepsut ruled from 1473-1458 B.C. Cleopatra ruled from 51-30
Female Pharaohs: Teacher’s Guide
2
B.C.) From what city did each queen rule? (Hatshepsut ruled from Thebes. Cleopatra ruled from
Alexandria.)
2. Review how each woman rose to power:
•
Hatshepsut: After the death of her father, Tuthmosis, Hatshepsut followed royal custom
and married her half brother, Tuthmosis II. When Tuthmosis II died, the throne passed to
his son by a minor wife. Because the new pharaoh (Tuthmosis III) was very young,
Hatshepsut became regent. Several years later, Hatshepsut declared herself “king” and
began wearing the false beard and garments of a pharaoh.
•
Cleopatra: Cleopatra came from the Greek Ptolemy family that had ruled Egypt for 300
years. Cleopatra’s father died when she was 18 years old. To continue the dynasty she
married her younger brother and they began a joint rule; however, they hated each other,
and fighting broke out between them. The great Roman general, Julius Caesar, helped her
take the throne.
•
Next, ask the class to brainstorm some of the significant events in the life and rule of each
woman:
Hatshepsut
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Death of her father, Tuthmosis
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Death of her husband, Tuthmosis II
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Becoming regent for her stepson Tuthmosis III
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Building Deir el-Bahri, her mortuary temple
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Taking the title “King”
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Famous expedition to the land of Punt (though not in the video, students may
choose to research and write about this event)
•
Death of her highest official, Senmut
Cleopatra
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Death of her father, Ptolemy XII
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Marrying her brother, Ptolemy XIII and becoming queen
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Forming an alliance with Julius Caesar
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Birth of son, Cesarion
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Death of Julius Caesar
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Marriage to Marc Antony
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Battle of Actium against Octavian
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Antony and Cleopatra’s deaths
3. Assign each student to write a diary entry, from either Hatshepsut’s or Cleopatra’s point of
view, about a significant event in her life. They should include historical facts, events, and
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Female Pharaohs: Teacher’s Guide
3
people, but they should also include the student’s belief about how the person felt about the
events. Encourage students to reflect on the goals and aspirations of each woman, such as
Hatshepsut’s desire to rule as king and Cleopatra’s aspirations for her son to rule the Egyptian
and Roman empires.
4. Provide students with resources about each woman. Encourage them to research more details to
add to the historical accuracy of their diary entry. Note that it is often impossible to know for
sure what happened so long ago, and archaeologists and historians still debate a number of
details of Hatshepsut’s life. In addition, remind them that they are free to choose an event not
mentioned in the video or in class discussion. The following Web sites may be helpful in their
research:
•
The Queen Who Would be King (Hatshepsut)
http://www.bediz.com/hatshep/index.html
•
Queens of Egypt: Hatshepsut
http://w ww.touregypt.net/magazine/mag02012001/magf1.htm
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Queens of Egypt: Voyage to the Land of Punt (Hatshepsut)
http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag03012001/magf6.htm
•
Hatshepsut, Female Pharaoh of Egypt
http://touregypt.net/historicalessays/hatshepsut.htm
•
The Woman Who Was King (Hatshepsut)
http://www.eyelid.co.uk/k-q1.htm
•
Mysteries of Egypt: Hatshepsut
http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/eghats1e.html
•
Cleopatra VII: Ptolemaic Dynasty
http://www.t ouregypt.net/cleopatr.htm
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Queens of Egypt: Cleopatra
http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag04012001/magf4.htm
•
History of Alexandria: Cleopatra
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/History/cleo.html
5. Have students exchange diary entries with at least two other students who wrote about the
same queen.
6. Discuss the activity as a class. Which events did students write about? Which events do they
think were the most significant in the lives of each ruler? What people played important roles in
their lives?
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
• 3 points: Students were active in class discussions; demonstrated a clear understanding of the
two rulers, their lives, and their rise to power; provided several significant events in the lives of
the rulers; wrote a thoughtful diary entry with several accurate historical details.
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Female Pharaohs: Teacher’s Guide
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• 2 points: Students participated in class discussions; demonstrated an adequate understanding of
the two rulers, their lives, and their rise to power; provided a few significant events in the lives
of the rulers; wrote a clear, satisfactory diary entry with some accurate historical details.
• 1 point: Students did not participate in class discussions; demonstrated a weak understanding
of the two rulers, their lives, and their rise to power; did not provide any significant events in
the lives of the rulers; wrote an incomplete, vague diary entry with few or no historical details.
Vocabulary
heir
Definition: A person destined or entitled to inherit property or a hereditary title
Context: Marc Antony told the Roman Senate that Caesar had acknowledged Cesarion,
Cleopatra’s son, as his heir.
hieroglyphs
Definition: Pictorial characters in a system of writing
Context: Many walls inside the pyramids are covered with hieroglyphs that tell the stories of the
pharaohs.
obelisk
Definition: An upright, four-sided pillar, that gradually tapers as it rises and is topped by a
pyramid.
Context: Hatshepsut’s obelisk at Karnak Temple is one of the tallest ever built.
pharaoh
Definition: A ruler in ancient Egypt.
Context: Hatshepsut, the queen of Egypt, decided to wear men's clothing and declare herself
pharaoh.
regent
Definition: One who governs a kingdom in place of a sovereign who it too young, absent, or
disabled.
Context: When Tuthmosis III was young, it was natural for Hatshepsut to rule in his place as
regent.
sarcophagus
Definition: A stone coffin.
Context: The sarcophagus was probably carved for Hatshepsut when she was still queen, but
when she became king, she needed a new one for her position as pharaoh.
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Female Pharaohs: Teacher’s Guide
5
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
•
World History—Early Civilizations and the Rise of Pastoral Peoples: Understands the
political, social, and cultural consequences of population movements and militarization in
Eurasia in the second millennium B.C.E.
•
World History—Classical Traditions, Major Religions, and Giant Empires: Understand how
major religious and large-scale empires arose in the Mediterranean Basin, China, and India
from 500 BCE to 300 CE.
•
Understands major global trends from 1000 BCE to 300 CE
•
Historical Understanding: Understands the historical perspective.
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has developed national standards to provide
guidelines for teaching social studies. To view the standards online, go to
http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/
This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards:
•
Culture
•
Time, Continuity, and Change
•
Power, Authority, and Governance
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.