Social+Studies

5th grade wrap-up

 * the civilization the i enjoyed studying the most is maya.
 * i found that the most interesting thing about the ancient civilization in general is that they can build amazing things with tools that are made of stone and metal.

how are you doing/where do you see improvement in skills like.

 * identifying key facts in reading. i think that i am doing well but i will sometimes miss a fact.
 * note taking. i am doing great and i make sure that i do not take info that is not needed.
 * report writing. i can struggle sometimes if i do not have good resources. but other wise i am good.
 * geography. in social studies geography in my best skill by far.
 * connecting info. i think that i could use a little bit of improvement on connecting info.

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i really thought that this research project was a lot of work. wait it was a lot of work because they put you in a situation were your parents have to help you. that is what my dad said. but of corse my parents would not help me so i did it all by myself. and that is very annoying when you are 11 years old and you have trouble focusing. but the hardiest part of them all was the note taking because i had no help and we could not talk. but on the other hand it was the best project of the year!!!!!

and here is my paper, The belief that there was an afterlife in ancient Egypt was very common. They had to prepare the body for the afterlife. That would mean that they had to mummify the dead person. Mummification was a part of a religious belief that the Egyptians needed to follow. The ancient Egyptians believed that they were the inventors of mummification. The early Egyptians looked over the pattern of life, death, and rebirth. They began to wonder if there was an afterlife like a life after death and if the cycle might apply to their life after death. They also wondered if it was possible that, like the sun and the plants, they to could have an afterlife. The thought of having an afterlife stopped Egyptians from being afraid of death. Due to their belief in life after death, Egyptians would bury bodies of the dead along with tools, cooking utensils, and food in shallow graves. They thought that the dead would need these things because the body still needed nourishment to live in the afterlife. And for a person to live in the next world, the ancient Egyptians believed that the body must stay intact. They hoped that as long as the body was preserved, the soul could live. To preserve the body, the ancient Egyptians would put it in a coffin so it would be protected from wild animals. They wanted their rebirth in the afterlife to be like the story of Ra. Ra was the sun god who traveled the sky during his lifetime. He started in the eastern horizon as a child. He made his way to the heavens as he aged. As an old man Ra traveled to the western sky. Ra would die then spend the night in the land of the dead. He would repeat this journey again the next day starting in the eastern horizon. The ancient Egyptians were inspired by the story of Ra. They were confident that they would reawaken like him in the afterlife. There are three different types of mummification. They were cheap, mid-range, and luxury. The most elaborate method was reserved for the royal family. When they started, the first thing that they did was to make a small hole in the left side of the body to air out the body. Next, they used a metal hook and they shoved it up the nose. It would break though the skull. Once they broke through the skull, they whipped it around and pulled out the brain. Next, the brain, intestines, and other vital organs were removed and washed in palm wine. The only organ left inside the body was the heart. Now the body was stuffed with natron to suck out all of the moisture. The natron would stay in the body for 40-70 days. After 40-70 days the natron was removed. Then the body cavity was washed with palm wine. If the dead person were getting cheap or mid-range mummification, the body would be stuffed with sawdust. But if the dead body were getting luxury mummification, it would be stuffed with spices. Next the body would be wrapped in linen cloths. If you were luxury mummification, you would have a molded mask after being wrapped in linen clothes. The molded mask was a portrait of your face put on top of the linen cloths. The mask was made out of wood or clay. The mask acted as decoration for your head. The wrapped dead person would then be considered a mummy. The mummy would be put in a wooden coffin. Wooden coffins were often painted with beautiful pictures or carved to be the shape of the mummy. After you were put in the coffin, all of the stuff that you would need in the afterlife would be put in your tomb. As the years went by the mummification process changed. The weighing of the heart was the test that you had to pass if you wanted to gain access to the afterlife. Anubis leads your spirit to the scales of justice. To prove innocence, the heart of the dead was weighted against the feather of truth. Osiris was there with Isis, and several other gods, to look over and await the verdict. If the heart was balanced perfectly with the feather of truth your heart and soul were ok to go to the afterlife. But, if your heart weighted down the feather of truth your heart would be fed to the devourer. The devourer was a monster waiting to eat your heart if you did too many bad deeds. The devourer was a horrible looking creature that was part crocodile, part loin, and part hippo. Thoth, the ibis headed god of wisdom, recorded the verdict. If the verdict was good you could go to the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians were the inventors of mummification. They believed it would get them a spot in the afterlife. Mummification would allow them to live on after death forever and give them an second chance!

and here is my project,