Year 8 History Immersion Day
King Tutankhamun Roadshow Year 8 History Immersion Day
On Friday 8 March, all Year 8 students were involved in a History Incursion Day, which immersed them into the life of the Ancient Egyptians. Students were transported back into the Ancient past for the whole day, as they learned about the many daily rituals and ways of life of Ancient societies. More notably, they learnt a lot about the youngest pharaoh to have ever ruled Egypt – King Tutankhamun.
Year 8 Mandatory History explores Ancient Egypt and this incursion was completely aligned with the NSW History Syllabus for Stage 4, providing students with an authentic and tailored experience. The interactive History Day included;
- ‘The Amazing Tut Roadshow Audio Visual’ which occurred in the Tut trailer. The Tut trailer is a travelling museum and interactive audio show, which is full of an array of authentic ancient artefacts, genuine replicas and informative videos.
- Table of Writing – including the origin of Writing starting from picture and the earliest alphabets in the world. Students were able to see what the ancient Egyptians wrote on, how to make papyrus and parchment, examine lots of illustrations and discover the origin of codex. They also stamped their own name in hieroglyphics.
- Tutankhamun’s Tomb Paintings – students were exposed to a full-size replica of the paintings in Tut’s Tomb. They then saw and learnt how the Ancient Egyptians drew in their tombs, using a grid pattern.
- Seals in the Ancient World – students participated in an interactive lesson where they studied many seals of the Ancient world and then had the opportunity to design and carve their own out of clay.
- Experience Forensic Archaeology; students were given the chance to become archaeologists for the day; exploring and understanding the world of Tutankhamun and the Ancient past. They touched 2000 year old pottery – the oldest man-made articles ever touched in the world, and learnt how to identify a skull and identify the type of injury that may have occurred.
The day was facilitated by Dr Wayne French, a Tutankhamun enthusiast and expert in the field. Unfortunately, Wayne was unable to be with us this year due to illness, however, his team and the teaching staff at St Joseph’s went above and beyond to ensure the day still went on.
Thank you to Mrs Holden, Mrs Rensburg, Mr Villari, and Ms George for being willing to become ‘experts’ in the field and help run the workshops throughout the day.
It was an experience like no other and the students enjoyed the day, representing themselves and the school well.
I would like to congratulate all involved on putting their best foot forward and exercising their strengths of curiosity and gratitude throughout the day. Everyone gained a lot out of this valuable experience.
Wendy Thomas
Leader of Learning – HSIE
