The Mummy Games

With Your Host, Mrs. Heath-opatra

My students just finished their Egyptian mummy unit.  We followed similar steps to my lesson posted here and here last year.  And had equally awesome results.  But this year, since we ended our lesson right before winter break, I invented The Mummy Games for a bit of Egyptian inspired fun on our last day before we could sleep in for two weeks.  Unfortunately we had a late start due to poor weather and were already dismissing early, so I only had time with one of my sixth grade classes.  But they had a blast!  They were even reminiscing about it today (we just got back from break).

A run down of the Mummy Games:

• I let the kids split themselves into 5 teams of 5 (if a team only had 4, it wasn't a big deal, they just had to make sure everyone participated)
• I gave a brief rundown of how the games would go and what challenges they would face and what to expect (I gave each team a copy of the following and explained it a bit)

• I had a line drawn on the floor with painters tape that each team started behind
• The first task was to wrap up one team member in toilet paper so that they were mostly covered/wrapped up like a mummy
• The mummy had to then walk without bending their legs and arms out in front of them (mummy-style) from the tape line down to my whiteboard which had enveloped labeled 1,3 and 4 taped to it
• Each team had their own set of envelopes
• The mummy grabbed envelope 1 for their team and raced back (still walking mummy-style) with its contents
• The team found inside of their envelope instructions which lead them to building an Egyptian/Pharaoh's headdress (template found and printed from this site) which you can see me wearing in the photo at the beginning of this blog entry
• Another team member had to wear the headdress and run to "The Nile River" and were warned to beware the crocodiles





• Each team had their own Nile River which was a tub of water (tinted blue with tempera paint) and floating marker caps.  Inside one marker cap was the Pharaoh's treasure aka yellow beads glued inside; the Pharaoh (kid wearing headdress) had to find their treasure and bring it back to their team

  

  The Nile River

  

  The Pharaoh's Treasure (yellow beads glued inside of a marker cap)

  

  Crocodiles (googley eyes and sharpie on marker caps)

• The mummy had to race back to the whiteboard to grab envelope 3.  Inside they found a message/instruction written in hieroglyphics which they had to decode with a legend, also found inside of the envelope
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Instructions in hieroglyphics



I highlighted the letters "E" and "I" since they used the same hieroglyphic.  The students had to use their better judgement when decoding

• The deciphered message told them to mummify their pet dinosaur (a toy dinosaur and bandages were available and labeled as "3" on a separate table for them to grab and then mummify
• The mummy raced and grabbed envelope "4" which included another hieroglyphics message

• When deciphered, they were told to use the materials provided (cups) to build a pyramid around their mummified dinosaur and the Pharaoh's treasure
• The first team to correctly decipher the messages and complete the tasks won!

All of the supplies (minus the envelopes /contents and Nile Rivers) on one table, and labeled per task given

It was such a great time!  The kids had a blast and were really good sports about the whole thing!  We had a little extra time at the end of the period and it was their idea to play hot potato with the remaining toilet paper and watch all of those who ended up in the middle get mummified by default...it was hysterical and I loved that it was their idea!

The Day of the Dead Skeleton Even Participated!