Module+5+The+Red+Pyramid

T H E R E D P Y R A M I D BY: RICK RIORDAN



-KB

-Kristen Heer

The Red Pyramid is the first book in the Kane Chronicle Series written by the siblings. The story ties modern day adolescent drama and journey together with older Egyptian dangers with plenty of play on Egyptian God, family dynamics, and what seems to be a grand journey! -Lauren Mescall R ick Riordan, author and former middle-school social studies teacher, stated that the idea for //__The Red Pyramid__// and //The Kane Chronicles// series originated from the fact that during his career teaching the only more popular subject than Ancient Greece was Ancient Egypt. The idea of having a brother and sister who were multiracial came from two siblings that he taught, as well as the fact that Egypt is an ancient multicultural society, although the European tradition has been to separate Egypt from African history. -deLacy Kennedy

A website to see a little bit about the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Provides some insight to what the Gods, symbols, and culture represented. http://egyptian-gods.org/ -Lauren Mescall


 * Interest Level: Grade 6 - Grade 8 **
 * Grade Level Equivalent: 3.7 **
 * Guided Reading: Y **
 * Genre/Theme: **
 * ** Adventure **
 * ** Legends and Myths **
 * ** Dictionaries **
 * ** Series **
 * Topics covered in book: **
 * ** Heroism and Bravery **
 * ** Families and Social Structures **
 * ** Monsters **
 * ** Supernatural **
 * ** Death/grief **
 * ** Culture **

-deLacy Kennedy

For a quick guide to Egyptian facts, Pharaohs, and some of the Gods mentioned in the story, this BrainPop video is a good stepping stone for introducing the topic, or book. ([]) -Lauren Mescall

[|The Red Pyramid - Including: Chapters, Synopsis, Characters] -Sarah Stanton =** A book trailer for //The Red Pyramid// **= media type="youtube" key="wAjrdCHKs6Y" height="315" width="560" -KB

[|Click HERE for Rick Riordan's website] Rick Riordan's page features information on the author himself, more about other books he has authored, news and a blog! -Amanda Guenther

[|Rick Riordan] interview about writing

[|interview] with Rick Riordan talking about The Red Pyramid media type="custom" key="15464254" -deLacy Kennedy

**Rick Riordan Discusses The Kane Chronicles** media type="youtube" key="AvLRF3qEKbQ" height="315" width="560"

-Amanda Guenther


 * **CARTER**

Fourteen year old Carter Kane has been home-schooled by his father. || **SADIE**

Twelve year old Sadie Kane has been attending British boarding school and living with her grandparents. ||
 * **Amulet**

Carter possesses the eye of Horus. It has been said that Set and Horus fought, the result was Set defeat Osiris. It symbolizes sacrifice, healing, restoration, and protection. || **Amulet**

Sadie possesses a Tyet, which means Magic Knot or the Knot of Isis. The amulet makes it almost impossible for someone to track her magically.


 * This symbol is also important for Sadie because later on in the book she**
 * realizes that she is a host for the goddess Isis and that she is really a part**
 * of her. Carter and Sadie were selected by each of the god/goddesses because**
 * they are brother and sister but also because of how strong their family blood**
 * line is. Only Horus and Isis together can defeat the power of Set and avenge**
 * the death of Osiris.- deLacy Kennedy**



**This is another amulet given to Sadie by her mother and father at the end of the book. It is called a "djed" and it is her father's symbol- the spine of Osiris. It is a powerful symbol that stands for stability and strength. -deLacy Kennedy** || -Amanda Guenther

1- Q: **Why do some gods and goddesses have animal heads?**  A: Some gods and goddesses were identified with particular animals. There was often a connection between the god or goddess and the actions of the animal. For example, the goddess of war, named Sekhmet was sometimes shown with the head of a lioness to show that she was
 * [|This website]**is a great resource site to read over the ancient Egyptian myth about the creation of the world that talks about the Gods and Goddesses included in The Red Pyramid! There is also a great chart that has all of the Gods and Goddesses and a description of each. Two questions that I asked myself while reading the book were asked and answer, I included them below:

2- Q: **How did people worship the gods and goddesses?**  A: The ancient Egyptians thought that it was very important to please the gods and goddesses. For that reason, worshipping the deities was a large part of life in ancient Egypt. Some gods and goddesses were worshipped by the Pharaoh and priests in large temples. These were the 'official' gods and goddesses of the state, like Amun, Horus and Bastet. Other gods and goddesses were worshipped by ordinary people in their homes. These wee the gods and goddesses like Bes and Tawaret who protected people from the dangers of daily life, like scorpion bites, crocodile attacks and childbirth. **-deLacy Kennedy**


 * Crossing the threshold, tests, enemies and allies **

__Khufu:__ While it's true that this baboon is somewhat a minor character, the inclusion of a baboon is not completely random. Sadie and Carter are in a temple of Thoth. They were often depicted as Thoth's assiasstants. Read more here __Set:__ An enemy. The god of evil and chaos. __Thoth:__ The Egyptian god of learning and writing __Bast:__ An ally. The Egyptian cat. She is hosted in Sadie’s cat, Muffin.

__Zia:__ An ally. She is an Egyptian magician and the object of Carter's desire. The siblings meet Zia before crossing the threshold. Typically, in the monomyth cycle, the hero or hero's meet the mentor prior to crossing the threshold.

-Amanda Guenther __ The Set Animal __. An enemy. The Set Animal is the perfect hunter, and the Red Lord's symbolic creature sent after people to attack and kill. It is as big as a horse, perfect scent, muscled body with reddish fur, reptilian tail and oversized sticking up ears that could rotate 360 degrees, long and curved snout, razor sharp teeth and glowing eyes. -deLacy Kennedy Symbols of Egyptian Gods Hieroglyphics of Gods names -deLacy Kennedy

[[image:http://s2.hubimg.com/u/238593_f520.jpg]]
=Ancient Egyptian Creation Myth= media type="youtube" key="tcxgzMwcqN8" height="315" width="420" This video features the stories of Osiris, Isis and Seth

-Amanda Guenther


 * Throughout the book Carter and Sadie are constantly coming upon hieroglyphics. These are some that they found, and using their powers were able to read: **

This is the hieroglyphic symbol "Per Ankh" which means the House of Life. This house was where the siblings were initially able to find safety with their uncle Amos after their father was sucked into the Rosetta Stone:. The House of Life was founded by the god before the siblings came along, Thoth.

"Hi-nehm" which means join together. This was used for example by Amos to show the children how the curators would mend the Rosetta Stone that their father broke by breaking a pan and then saying Hi-nehm to magically mend the pan.

This is the symbol for "open" this symbol was used a few times, but an example was when Sadie and Carter's father was attempting to use the Rosetta Stone.

This symbol, "Ha-di" is to destroy. Carter used this to open the doors to the forbidden library in The House of Life. "Blood of the Pharaohs." All of the Pharaoh's names are located inside of the "cartouches" (circles). The circles symbolize magic ropes that are supposed to protect the holder of the name from evil magic or other magicians holding their names. //

Symbol for quiet, "Hah-ri." Sadie, with Isis's help, uses her magic to stop an earthquake and again to put Amos, who is wounded, back to sleep. **-deLacy Kennedy**

=** Teaching //The Red Pyramid// in the classroom **= I came across an interesting website that had a lot of wonderful ideas on how to bring //The Red Pyramid// to life in a classroom setting. There are activities and possible discussion questions that can be brought up when teaching //The Red Pyramid.//

Here is an example of an activity from the website:

Have your students create modern Egyptian art to be showcased in a "museum walkthrough" style. Examples of this could include hieroglyphics, pottery, and other artifacts that are time period relevant. Decorate for your Egyptian event by printing out artwork reflective of this time period to use in setting the tone. Think about visiting your local party store for available materials and supplies in an Egyptian theme. Make an art project out of creating life- sized mummies or statues. You could also allow your students to research an artifact that was invented by the Egyptians and bring it in to showcase for the museum event. (courtesy of Rick Riordan's website).
 * Decorate like an Egyptian: **

=** Create your own pyramids: **= Talk with your students about the construction of Egyptian pyramids-- they didn't have the use of modern tools and technology like we do today and yet they created these massive works of art! Get students thinking about the construction of the pyramids by allowing them to create their own. Have them use different materials to construct their pyramid to be put on display in your classroom. Have other students walk around and look at their classmate's pyramids. Afterwards, have them reflect on what they created. Were their pyramids similar to their classmates? What discoveries did they make when creating their pyramids?

=** Create your own Egyptian god **= There are many different gods and goddesses in The Kane Chronicles, as well as throughout Ancient Egypt. Have your students think about what their idea of the ultimate god would be? What would their god be a deity of? Summer vacations? Fashion? Put students in groups and have them come up with a new god or goddess from Ancient Egypt to add to the ranks of the famous deities already in existence. While creating their god, have them consider these questions: 1- The name of their god/goddess. 2-Is their god good or evil? 3-What is their gods primary power and main weapon? 4-What is their biggest weakness? 5-Where does your god reside? 6-Who are your gods enemies? Friends? Have students present their finished product to the class so they can see what their classmates came up with!

You can find more ideas here:

-[|Lesson Plan ideas and activities] -KB This is a great site! Nice find!! -deLacy

=**Sample Student Projects:**=
 * There are many different creative project ideas that can come from The Red Pyramid.**



**The first project shown shows a student made virtual poster that gives a synopsis of the book, character pictures, a video, and an introduction to the book. This would be a great way for students to utilize the technology that we have, do research, and creatively put their thoughts on The Red Pyramid together.**[|This image was found here.]



**The second picture shows a character poster, focusing on the Cat-Goddess, Bast. Making character posters is a great way for students to look deeper into the mythology of the book, while also using details from the text to support their creative decisions. One way to enhance this project would be for students to do extra research regarding different the different Egyptian myths, and having them compare the mythical character in the book, to the stories from mythology.**[|This image was found here.]



**The third picture takes significant words from The Red Pyramid and places them all in one place! This could be a great way for a teacher to introduce the book to students, and possibly make predictions on what might come throughout the reading.**[|This image was found here.]



**The fourth picture is again a poster depicting one students vision of how The Red Pyramid should be presented.**[|This image was found here.]

media type="youtube" key="XfG8HXDHHTc" height="315" width="420" align="center"


 * The last upload, is a video found on YouTube, where students were asked to have a talk show surrounding the characters and events from The Red Pyramid. By having students temporarily step into the shoes of a character, they are able to begin to relate, and think about what another character would think about or say. This helps to give them a deeper understanding of the text. After this project, it may also be effective to have students write a journal talking about how they are similar/different from the characters in their traits, using specific examples from the text.**

//*These are all creative, and fun ways to have students work with the text, and attempt to get the most out of the book that they can! These projects are also great for visual, auditory, and tactile learners. - Sarah Stanton//

The Next Part of the Story
This is an activity I came up with for the end of the book. After reading the story which is presented as a recording by the siblings have students work together to make some sort of presentation putting themselves in the same universe as the book. Have them come up with their own mini adventure featuring them and some of the elements of the book but also incorporating their own knowledge of Egyptian culture and mythology. The presentation itself could be a video project, a sound clip or a different type of multimedia project. -Joe Ho

[|CLICK HERE TO DO A PUZZLE ON THE RED PYRAMID]

-Amanda Guenther Really nice project ideas Amanda! The students would absolutely benefit from them and also enjoy the process of doing them because like you said they are great for visual, auditory and tactile learners. I added a few more ideas below! **Animals** **and** **Ancient** **Egypt** <span style="color: #cf00ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14.66px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;">Animals held a sacred part of ancient Egyptian culture.There are many different animals that play key parts in this story. Your task is to identify the characters that either take on the form of animals or are animals in the story. You must include each animal’s name,physical description, importance to the story, and a colored drawing of each.

<span style="color: #cf00ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21.33px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">**Egyptian** **Gods** **and** **Pharaohs** <span style="color: #cf00ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14.66px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">There are many Egyptian gods and Pharaohs mentioned in this book. Your task is to identify as many as possible. You must include the name of the character, a description of the character,his/her importance to the story and in history, and a colored picture depicting the character. <span style="color: #cf00ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21.33px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">**Game** **Board** <span style="color: #cf00ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14.66px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;">Make up a board game about the story on a larger piece of tag board. Your game must contain at least **ten** **events** that happened in the story. Your game board must tell the main events of the story. <span style="color: #cf00ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 21.33px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">**Making a Map** <span style="color: #cf00ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">The Kane siblings had to venture into many different places through out this story. Your task is to create a map showing the different places they went. Please use colors, landmarks and anything else that will help us follow the siblings adventurous path. <span style="color: #dd00ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">**-deLacy Kennedy**

Here is a quick quiz to test student's knowledge of The Red Pyramid!**

1) What animal does Bast have the head of?

2) Who is the father of Nut?

3) Which god lost his eye after fighting Set?

4) What is the name of Set's wife?

5) Who is the goddess of war and medicine?

6) Thorh is sometimes depicted as a baboon and what other creature?

7) Who killed Osiris?

8) What god is often depicted as a wild dog?

9) What does Ra the god of creation wear on his head?

10) What color is set associated with?

-Amanda Guenther

This came from a 68 page reading comprehension packet. While I do think that is a bit too extensive, this sheet, almost like an advanced KWL, specifically made for The Red Pyramid this serves a good purpose for the strategy focus, and as a pre-read. Since you could use the Making Predictions strategy all throughout this book I think this is one of the few well crafted worksheets out there. (This worksheet found at []  )-Lauren Mescall

Topics for discussion for an older set of students: There is plenty of room for "teachable moments" in the story. Some of these including: -Death/greif -Immortality/deity -Diverse family dynamics -Lauren Mescall

Large lesson plan to tie into a unit after reading the Red Pyramid

= The Nile =
 * ** Subject: **World History
 * ** Grade(s): **6-8
 * ** Grade(s): **6-8

Objectives
Students will understand the following: || ** 1. ** || The Nile River played an important role in the lives of ancient Egyptians and still does today. ||
 * [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="1"]] || [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="9"]]
 * ** 2. ** || Ancient Egyptians had many of the same concerns as we do today: for example, food supply, technological advances, weather, natural habitats. ||
 * ** 3. ** || Part of ancient Egyptian society was literate. ||  ||

Materials
For this lesson, you will need: || • || Printed and electronic reference materials about ancient Egypt ||
 * [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="1"]] || [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="9"]]
 * • || Optional: word-processing and page-layout programs ||  ||

Procedures
Make clear to students that they cannot solely make up the data for their stories. They must do research so that their stories will be accurate. Stories should carry bylines and datelines. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #2d97d1; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif,'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Back to Top]
 * [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="1"]] || [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="9"]] || ** 1. ** || Announce to students that the whole class will work together to produce a newspaper that might have been published in ancient Egypt for elite members of society—those who could read and write. Although we know that the elite of ancient Egypt could read and write hieroglyphics, for the purpose of this project we have to suspend disbelief so that students can prepare a newspaper written in English and produced with advanced technology (word processors and scanners). ||
 * ** 2. ** || Assign small groups of students to different beats and services, perhaps along the lines of the following suggestions:
 * Managing editors to determine matters such as hierarchy of available stories, policy regarding advertising, subject of editorials
 * Agriculture beat to cover record harvest of grain
 * Technology beat to cover invention of waterwheel or shaduf
 * Zoology beat to cover sighting of animals not seen before along the Nile
 * Weather beat to predict upcoming flood
 * Art department to locate, copy, download, and scan illustrations for the newspaper's main stories (see Related Links)
 * Editorial staff to review and improve first drafts of reports; to revise, edit, and proofread as necessary; to write headlines that both fit and give information
 * Advertising department to work up ads for services or products available along the Nile
 * Columnists, editorial writers, and cartoonists to cover gossip, commentary on current events, other features
 * Puzzle creators
 * ** 3. ** || Teach students or review with them the elements of a straight news story, such as the following:
 * Answering the journalist's five W and How? questions
 * Putting most important facts first, saving less important details until later in the story (inverted pyramid structure)
 * Using objective rather than subjective words
 * Including enough details so that the reader feels like an eyewitness to an event
 * Quoting when a speaker's words are better than a journalist's ||
 * ** 4. ** || Teach students or review with them the ways in which feature stories may differ from straight news stories. For example, the former may, like editorials, offer value judgments by the reporter; the latter are as objective as possible. ||
 * ** 5. ** || Tell students how long the newspaper issue should be (for example, two pages), and give writers, editors, and others deadlines. ||
 * ** 6. ** || Ask students to give their newspaper a title—perhaps, // Ancient Egyptian News // . ||
 * ** 7. ** || Have the stories, captions, and other materials typed into a word-processing program, and if possible show students how to use a publishing program to create a newspaper appearance with multiple columns, headlines, pictures next to stories, and so on. If you do not have word-processing or publishing software, consider having the stories typed or handwritten in standard column widths, and cut and paste the articles, illustrations, and other matter into a multicolumn newspaper format. ||  ||

Adaptations
Adaptations for Older Students: Challenge older students to produce their newspaper online as a Web site. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #2d97d1; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif,'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Back to Top]
 * [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="1"]] || [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="9"]]

Discussion Questions
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #2d97d1; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif,'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Back to Top]
 * [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="1"]] || [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="9"]] || ** 1. ** || The Greek historian Herodotus claimed that "Egypt is the gift of the River Nile." Would Egyptians today still agree with his words of appreciation? Why or why not? Analyze the ways that the Nile River contributes to their lives. ||
 * ** 2. ** || One product of the banks of the Nile was papyrus. This sturdy reed, which was made into a material that could be easily written on, advanced written communication. In ancient Egypt, though, only a small number of the elite could read and write. Discuss what life would be like today if only the wealthiest few citizens and religious leaders could read and write? ||
 * ** 3. ** || From the early colonists' establishments on the James River in Virginia to Lewis and Clark's travels on the Missouri River, Americans have depended on rivers for transportation, trade, and resources. What role have rivers played in the development of American cities and towns? Has a river been an important geographical feature in your area? In what way? ||
 * ** 4. ** || The land along the Nile River was the richest farmland in the ancient world. Farming in the area, however, took careful planning. Explain the steps that Egyptian farmers would take to farm the land. What dangers did they have to avoid? What signs would they look for? ||
 * ** 5. ** || Compare and contrast the Nile River and the Mississippi River. Analyze their length, the direction that they flow, their uses, their deltas, and the cultures and traditions that have developed along each river. ||
 * ** 6. ** || Debate the idea that "agriculture made wealth, and wealth made the Egyptian civilization." ||  ||

Evaluation
You can evaluate your students on their written work using the following three-point rubric:
 * [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="1"]] || [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="9"]]
 * ** Three points: **complete facts and details in news story and clearly stated positions and support in editorials, feature stories, or columns; error-free grammar, usage, mechanics


 * ** Two points: **more facts and details needed; some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #2d97d1; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif,'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Back to Top]
 * ** One point: **few facts and details; many errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics ||

Extensions
** Neighborhood Mythology ** Research tells us that Egyptians transformed the animals that surrounded them into mythological figures and deities. They observed the qualities that certain animals possessed and then transformed the animals into holy figures with heightened qualities. Ask your students, working in small groups, to create a god or goddess out of an animal that is native to your region. The goal is to have the class as a whole generate a complete pantheon of gods and goddesses. Have each group submit an illustration of its god or goddess and describe him or her in one paragraph for the rest of the class. Then ask the small groups to combine their mythological characters into an illustrated story, or myth. Just as the ancient Egyptians used mythological stories to explain major ancient developments in their culture, students should in their original myth explain a major event that took place in the history of your region.
 * [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="1"]] || [[image:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/images/lessonplans/spacer.gif width="1" height="9"]]

** A Smashing Success ** One of the world's most ancient forms of writing, hieroglyphics, can be used to communicate a wide variety of ideas. After researching Egyptian hieroglyphics, ask your students to devise their own hieroglyphic languages. Each student should develop a set of symbols and then use those symbols to encode a simple sentence. Once each student has generated a sentence, let students challenge one another to decode the sentences, giving one another clues as necessary. Once everyone has made a stab at translation, students can reveal their sentences. Lead a class discussion about the limitations, advantages, and translation difficulties of pictorial languages such a hieroglyphics. || (This lesson plan found [] ) This lesson plan is a great plan for students to grasp an idea of the importance of the Nile River. Both in Egyptian history and it's importance for the people in the surrounding areas both to survive, and as well as it's importance to their beliefs. Early in the story when they go to the Mansion, and the Grandparents house all are located in relation to a specific side of the river. Not only could students include that in their paper, but they can also tie it to current events or applicable to their lives. After creating the Newspaper about the Egyptian Nile river, find something similar based on your own classrooms geographical location, and instead of writing about the Nile and Sadie and Carter, it can be something your own students can relate to and make a connection to. (i.e. Erie Canal)-Lauren Mescall Really nice find with the table of lesson ideas! -deLacy

other helpful links: [] [] []

===**This was a website that I found that had really good lesson plan ideas. It comes with a CD for teachers to buy and it includes all of the materials you would need.**[|Website for Lesson Plan Ideas]=== -Kristen Heer

-This is a picture from a power point slide. I thought it would be a great idea to have children create a virtual field trip about this book. They can discuss all of the different characters, settings, and events by making a virtual field trip for the rest of the class. It would be a really good idea to have all of the children read different books so that when they present it to the class, everyone can learn about different books.


 * -Kristen Heer**

media type="youtube" key="itcTiQEVIo0" height="315" width="560"
 * Kristen Heer**


 * I also came across this website, which is someone else's unique Wiki page. It's a page on all of the characters from the Red Pyramid. It's actually really cool! Check it out.**
 * [|Another Wiki]**