Rocking Out with the

Egyptians!

This project connects to the sixth grade social studies and visual arts curriculum,
focusing on Ancient Egypt studies.

Curriculum/State Standards

This project meets standards in both the

visual arts and social studies.
6th Grade History Benchmark B4:
Introduce cultural and scientific
contributions from various cultures.
6th Grade Art Cultural Contexts
Benchmark B: Create a work of art that
incorporates the style or characteristics
of artwork from a culture other than their
own.

Overview

Students will each create a sandstone

rock carving (petroglyph) after studying
the Egyptian culture in social studies
class. Students will first see a PowerPoint
slide show at the start of the workshop to
learn more about the history and art of
petroglyphs. After students create their
art works they will write short descriptions
about their works. Creating ancient style
rock petroglyphs on a sheet rock type
of material reaches a great number of
students. It allows the students to really
experience and connect to the material
that they are learning in social studies.
The value of incorporating the arts is
clear, as students have a different way to
express themselves.

Objectives

The students will understand and the uses

and history of the petroglyph.
The students will be able to create their
own rock petroglyphs, including short
written descriptions.
The students will be able to identify and
show knowledge of the various Egyptian
symbols that they use
in their own art work.

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GRADE LEVEL

Materials

For the group of 240, each student would

need their own rock boards for carving.
These can be purchased from art supply
vendors in bulk packs. These are
purchased for about $1.85 per student.
Carving sticks come with the boards. I
like to also have various print outs and
slide shows of examples as well as all
the different Egyptian symbols, letters
that can be used in their own designs. I
use various books and online sources to
print these off. Newspapers to put under
each students work station.

Readiness Activity

For the purposes of how my school

utilized the project with this grant
money, the readiness activity was the
study of the Egyptian culture and the
use of petroglyphs in their social studies
classes. At the start of the workshop, I
will also refresh their memories showing
them a slide show of various petroglyphs
around the world, including ones from
Egypt.

Strategies/Activities

1. Students learn about the Ancient

Egyptians, hieroglyphics and petroglyphs
in their social studies classes. This will
provide students some background
info before we get started on our art
workshop to create their own carved rock
art boards.
2. As a group students will see a slide
show as a PowerPoint presentation on a
large screen. This slide show will show a
number of examples of petroglyphs from
around the world, including ones that are
from Egpyt. I will talk to them in more

THIS WINNING PROJECT IDEA SUBMITTED BY:

Lindsay Gustafson
Kettering Middle School
Kettering, OH

60-70
MINUTES

$443

TOTAL BUDGET

Rocking Out with the

Egyptians!
....continued....
detail about how and why they
were made.
3. Students will be given packets
to look at that contain various
symbols that are commonly
found in the Egyptian culture, as
well as the hieroglyphic alphabet.
These will help students to sketch
out and plan their designs.
4. After the designs are sketched,
students will be shown how to
start to carve out their designs
with the wooden stylus tools
provided with the rock art boards.
This will be done in multiple small
group demos. After students
know how to do the designs they
will begin to carve. Ideally you
will have a sheet of newspaper
under each students station so
that they can lift it and ball up
all the loose sand that comes off
when carving.
5. When the designs are done
being carved, I have them write
short paragraphs to tell what
they picked to include in their
designs and the reasons. They
tape this to the back of their art
works.
6. If you choose to, you can hot
glue a string of yarn to the back
so that the piece can be hung up.

Culminating Activity

The culminating activity has two

parts. First, the actual creation of
the rock petroglyphs, after reading
and studying about the history
of the petroglyph. It is a way
for the students to express what
they have learned in a creative
way. When all the rock carvings
were complete, they are hung up
in the hallways on display. This
allows other students and staff to
see all the creations. The display
also gives the students a sense
of pride and recognition for their

creative accomplishments.

Evaluation Method

Students were evaluated using

a four part rubric. The rubric
was created by myself, the art
teacher, but could also be used
by a social studies teacher to
evaluate the students. The rubric
categories include; drawing/plan
use of symbols in design; rock
carving skills/neatness; written
explanation; and overall effort.
Each category can earn up to 10
points. The total points for the
petroglyph art lesson would be 40
points.