Among the dozens of books about ancient Egypt in Adam Solomon's classroom is one called Rich and Poor in Ancient Egypt.
At a quick glance, it resembles all the other books that Foote fifth graders use in their three-and-a-half-month study of ancient Egypt, with sections on family life, homes, food, religion, mummification, clothing and jewelry. But its pages tell a different—more complete—story about this famous and sometimes misunderstood civilization.
On opposing pages, the book contrasts in stark and relatable detail how the rich and poor lived in ancient Egypt. From the chapter on Death and Mummies: "Rich people had their bodies wrapped and preserved as mummies. Mummification was a long, complicated process that took 70 days. ...The very poorest were not even buried in coffins. They were simply thrown into shallow pits dug on the edge of the desert."
Last summer, the fifth grade teachers—Adam, Jake Burt and Jim Adams—set out to revamp the long-standing Grade 5 unit on ancient Egypt by incorporating more diverse source material that would shine a light on the Egyptians frequently left out of most history books: women, the poor and enslaved people.
"For a long time we have been using a book called Early Times as our main textbook about ancient Egypt. Mostly it follows the lives of wealthy people and men," explains Adam. "We took a step back and wanted to investigate what the lives of women and poor people were like because many sources romanticize life in ancient Egypt."
So the teachers began gathering new source material to offer a broader view of ancient Egyptian life. With the help of Head Librarian Jennifer Friedman, the teachers have found many interesting references to fold into their curriculum, such as a magazine article that described a strike by ancient Egyptian workers to protest labor conditions.
Fifth graders are also examining how women of ancient Egypt are portrayed. They discuss the fact that ancient Egyptian women could decide who to marry and had far more freedoms than the women of ancient Greece would 500 years later. Teachers also guide students to look beneath the surface-level portrayals of some of Egypt's most famous females, such as Cleopatra and Nefertiti.
"Even current Egyptologists describe Nefertiti as 'the most beautiful woman in ancient Egypt,'" says Jim. "You would never describe a male pharaoh that way, so we stop and talk about that portrayal."
Another famous female who goes against type is Hatshepsut, the second female pharaoh. "She was a real ruler," says Jake. "She made interesting, real choices—not all were good. She's a good antidote to 'women as object of beauty.'"
The new source material has by no means replaced the textbooks. For one thing, it's hard to find accounts of commoners, women, the poor and enslaved people. And traditional textbooks still fill an important role, emphasizes Jim. "Like any textbook, there are things Early Times does really well. But you can't rely on it to tell the whole story."
In fact, the teachers are using the traditional texts to develop their students' critical thinking and critical reading skills—asking them to consider whether, as one book suggests, that all Egyptians were happy. "We look at these sections to talk about what is fact and what's opinion," says Jim. Those discussions in turn empower students to become investigators themselves—to apply their critical thinking skills to seek out and evaluate sources to consider what is fact, what is supposition and what is stereotype.
To supplement these texts, fifth graders seek out information by examining a host of other sources: movies, exhibits at the Peabody Museum, first-person accounts, artwork and more. "We look at it from as many angles as we can," says Jim. "We want students to have a bigger, more balanced view of what life would have been like in ancient Egypt."