Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE: Cleopatra

Teacher guide prepared by: Peggy Epstein, Language Arts Teacher with 25 years experience from the Hickman Mills School District, Kansas City, Missouri, and Shawnee Mission Schools, Overland Park, Kansas. Epstein has a Master's Degree in Instruction and Curriculum from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Objectives:

• to develop understanding of how historians use a variety of sources and methods to develop their ideas about the past
• to increase historical perspective
• to improve comprehension skills (particularly by utilizing scanning techniques and graphic organizers)
• to practice writing skills through a variety of activities, both practical and creative
• to participate in both small group and larger classroom discussions

NOTE: You might wish to wait to examine this article until after students have read through the issue and become familiar with Cleopatra, her contemporaries, and the time period.

Franck Goddio is excited by the work he has done uncovering the mysteries of Alexandria; it is easy to see his enthusiasm, particularly in this sentence: "It was like opening a treasure chest."

1. Ask students to brainstorm a list of what exactly is in that "treasure chest." In other words, what has been uncovered since Goddio decided in 1992 that it "seemed impossible that the city could have disappeared."
2. Then ask students to find references in the article about what factual information about Alexandria Goddio already knew before he started his quest--as well as which ancient sources proved useful and which did not.
3. Finally ask students to list which discoveries could not have been made without the aid of modern technology (and explain what those methods/instruments, etc. are).

Students who are interested in this article may also enjoy reading about the restoration work discussed in "At Work in the Gallery" (pages 46-49).

You might like to introduce this article with a discussion about the ways in which leaders are selected in a typical monarchy, explaining that "the Ptolemies had sometimes experienced difficulties choosing an heir."

1. Ask students to first find facts from the article about the following leaders:
   • Ptolemy VI
   • Ptolemy XI
   • Ptolemy XII
   • Ptolemy XIII
   (Note particularly that Ptolemy XIII was only about 12 when his father was murdered.)
2. Ask students to make a list of the actions Ptolemy XIII took--the ones listed in the last two paragraphs of page 10.

1. Referring to the illustrations in this issue, ask students to draw a little half-dollar size sketch of Cleopatra (A cartoonish version would be acceptable, of course.) on the center of a large sheet of paper.
2. In the four corners of the paper, ask students to draw circles of the same size, labeled as follows: Ptolemy III, Caesar, Anthony, Octavian. Draw lines from each to Cleopatra.
3. Ask students to write next to each corner circle facts about each man which relate in some way to Cleopatra. If these facts relate to one of the men, students should draw a line from one man to another.
4. Students might like to compare their spider-webby finished products showing how Cleopatra's relationship with each of these men contributed to the destiny of Egypt.

A Scanning Challenge:

1. With the magazines closed, ask students to copy the list below:

   B-2
   F-1
   D-1
   G-2
   O-1
   P-3
   S-1
   W-1

2. Explain that the article on pages 16 and 17 contains the name of twelve crops grown in Egypt at the time of Cleopatra: 2 starting with B, 1 starting with F, etc.
3. Ask students to scan the article for the names of those crops and write them down in alphabetical order as quickly as possible.

(Answers: barley, beans, dates, flax, garlic, grapes, olives, peaches, pears, peas, sesame, wheat)

Before reading the play aloud, students might enjoy suggesting names of current popular actors and actresses from either television or the movies who might be selected to play these parts.

You might even hold a "casting vote" and write the characters on the board along with the names of the actors and actresses who won the roles so that students can make the connection while the play is read aloud.

Students will create an "acronym poem" using information from these two articles. (They might also want to use information from other articles in the magazine or outside sources as well.)

Directions:

1. Write the name CLEOPATRA in capital letters, one letter to a line on every other line of a sheet of paper:

   C
   L
   E
   O
   P
   A
   T
   R
   A

2. Write a phrase that tells something about Cleopatra on each line. For example, for the "T" line, a possible phrase might be "Tried to keep Egypt independent and free."
3. Perhaps you might like to use this activity as an opportunity to discuss objective vs. subjective statements and ask students to include both facts and opinions about Cleopatra in their acronym poem.

Study Guide:

1. Name three uses the Romans found for marble.
2. What were the advantages of using marble?
3. What is a disadvantage of marble as a materiel?
4. What are three reasons statues might have fallen?
5. How were statues repaired (give two ways)?
6. Why were sculptors often able to quickly fill their clients' orders?
7. What are two substances that might damage outdoor sculptures? Why?
8. What is an accretion?
9. What can an accretion tell historians about a sculpture?
10. What might make colored stains on marble?

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Updated: 11/20/09 10:51 pm
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