Reference Service & Instruction Final Project

Specific Library Type and Patron Group

The Skokie Middle School Resource Center, located in Winnetka, IL, is a

special library specifically tailored for students in 5th and 6th grade and
their instructors. The students range between 10 and 12 years of age. This
library provides mini-courses, materials, equipment, special programs,
and volunteers to help support and supplement the classroom curriculum
at Skokie School. Books, periodicals, videotapes, and equipment are
purchased for school-wide use through this department.

Topic and Relevance

As part of the 6th grade social studies curriculum, the students explore
historical aspects of ancient civilizations, including Ancient Egypt. The
reference resources below are meant to aide students in finding relevant
and age appropriate information about Ancient Egyptian tombs and
mummification. These authoritative, current, and informative sources will
help them develop their understanding about this topic to further their
research.

1. Hollar, Sherman, ed. Ancient Egypt. New York: Britannica Educational

Publishing with Rosen Educational Services, 2012. Ancient
Civilizations. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 June 2016.

This database covers every topic on Ancient Egypt. It is very easy to

navigate from it’s table of contents and through its different sub topics in
each chapter. Students will find the index very useful when searching for
keywords such as “tomb” and “mummy”. Vivid pictures and photographs
also help illustrate the details of Egyptian tombs and locations. It is very
user friendly for a middle school student.

2. Ancient Egypt, George Hart, American Edition, 2014

DK eyewitness books do a fantastic job of using eye-catching, detailed

visuals in order to make learning seemingly difficult concepts to younger
readers. This book in particular has a large section devoted to the
mummification process and burial ceremonies. If students don’t find this
section from merely flipping through the pages, the table of contents is
very simple to find where to locate common Egyptian topics.

3. "Dynastic Egypt." Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest.

Ed. Kathleen Kuiper. New York: Britannica Educational Publishing with
 Rosen Educational Services, 2011. 150-175. The Britannica Guide to
Ancient Civilizations. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 June
2016.

Where this database lacks visuals, it makes up in it’s extensive

information. Topics covered include Ancient Egyptian early period,
different kingdoms, religion, language and writing, art and architecture,
etc. The higher reading level would be great for appropriately challenging
more advanced readers in this grade. It has an extensive chapter
pertaining to tomb construction and architecture.

4. Ancient Egypt, Ken Jennings, First Edition, 2015

In this quirky non-fiction book, students are engaged in the topic of

Ancient Egyptian life through humor and bizarre facts. Though the section
is not large, students can find interesting antidotes about Egyptian burial
beliefs and why they might shave their own eyebrows if their cat passed
away. This would be a good book to get reluctant researchers hooked and
invested in finding out more. Ken Jennings is also very popular and a
credible source of information ever since his long run on the game show
Jeopardy. He is a well read scholar and has a lot of schooling under his
belt to back up all of the knowledge he has acquired.

5. Ralph Masiello’s Ancient Egypt Drawing Book, Ralph Masiello, 2008

This is an interesting book to put into a middle school student’s hands.

The pages in this book have very clean and clear drawings of all different
aspects of Ancient Egypt. Each drawing about mummification has labels
and information to explain its importance. Often students are asked to
recreate what it would look like during the mummification process; the
pictures in this book would be very helpful for a student to use as a
model.

6. King Tut’s Tomb, Amanda Doering, 2009

This book is suitable for more struggling readers since is is simpler to

understand. The pages in this book are set up to look similar to how
pages look on the internet…photos to catch the eye and a paragraph of
information underneath, interesting and colorful fonts, and quick facts at
the bottom of the page. If a student is trying to find out more about
specific pharaohs’ tombs, this would be a great source for them.

7. The Mummy’s Curse, Jeremy Westphal, 2012

This book goes beyond surface level information about Egyptian tombs. It
explains the curse that revolves around Tutankhamen’s tomb! Colorful
pictures illustrate this easy to read non-fiction book, geared for middle
 school students. Students will learn that there is more to the tombs than
just the objects that lay inside.

8. Ancient Egypt, Penelope Arlon, First Edition, 2014

Scholastic books are always great for their vivid pictures, captions, and
use of timelines. There are chapters on both mummies and tombs in this
book and it is very accessible for the reading level of 6th graders.

9. 100 Things You Should Know About Mummies, John Malam, 2011

This book is an engaging resource for students to learn a plethora of facts

about how mummies are prepared, who’s job it is to preserve the body,
famous mummies, etc. The best part of this book are the pictures. They
show how well this process has preserved the bodies, even though they
are hundreds of years old.

10. Brain Pop, brainpop.com

If a school has access to the Brain Pop’s website, students can search for
all different subjects from all content areas. The videos featuring Tim and
Moby keep kids engaged and interesting in learning new content.
Students can search for the term “mummy” and find an interesting and
humorous 4 minute educational video explaining the process of
mummification. There are also quizzes they can take to see what they
retained from the video, comic strips and extension activities that they can
do to learn more about mummies.

11. World Book Encyclopedia, Published by World Book Publications, 2016

The World Book is a great place for students to start their research. This
source does a nice job laying out information in a way that makes sense
to someone that is learning how to use different resources to find the
information they need. The pictures they use to identify mummies and
Egyptian tombs are very interesting. This is also a good source to teach
students about different text features.

12. Google Earth, http://earth.google.com

Google Earth is a phenomenal tool for showing students where Egyptian

tombs actually are by bringing them there on a 3D globe. Students are
able to travel inside the Valley of the King’s actual tomb and see how
Egyptian’s built the tunnels to be confusing and dangerous to try and
deter tomb robbers.

13. Ancient Egypt, Geraldine Harris, 1990

This book has an array of facts about Ancient Egypt. What is most helpful
for students using this resource with finding information about mummies
 and tombs is the maps, illustrations, and charts they use. Students can
start to understand why Egyptians buried someone their kings in certain
places and built other tombs to fake out tomb robbers.

14. National Geographic Kids, www.ngkids.com

This site has wonderful, eye catching pictures and videos that accompany
the information to make it fun to learn. Some parts are interactive, others
you learn through step by step. One step by step page that was great was
the “How to Make a Mummy”. Each step had easy to understand
illustrations with descriptions; and at the bottom of the link it even had a
video the students can watch to continue their learning. National
Geographic has been a reliable source of information for years for people
of all ages.

15. History, http://www.history.com/topics/tombs

History is a very credible source as they have been making video content
as well as having their own channel. This specific link is great to expose
higher reading leveled children to so they can learn the connection of
Egyptian tombs of ancient times to other tombs around the world. It is a
good way to give them perspective that Egyptians are not the only people
to have beliefs in having tombs for the people who has passed.

16. The Mummy Makers of Egypt, Tamara Bower, 2015

This is a beautifully illustrated book that explains to students the steps

and tools needed to embalm and mummify a body. The language is easy
to read, making the concept of something so peculiar easier to
understand.

17. Creepy Egyptian Mummies, David Stewart, 2011

The topics concerning mummies in this source is very diverse. They cover
the process of how a mummy is made, famous Egyptian mummies,
dilemmas concerning mummies that have been misplaced, and even
animal mummies. Chapters are short and easily accessible for 6th graders
of all reading levels.

18. Kids Discover, http://www.kidsdiscover.com

For over 25 years, Kids Discover has crafted non-fiction material for
children. Students can search for “pyramids” on this website and find
great content from actual pages of books this company has created. The
cross cut section of a pyramid shows you the many different tunnels that
lead to the tombs buried deep inside it. The pictures are wonderful and
the additional information that is provided with having access to their
website is a bonus.

19. Encyclopedia Britannica, http://academic.eb.com.dom.idm.oclc.org

Encyclopedia Britannica can be a bit “wordy” and tricky to navigate,

however, with the guidance of a teacher, students can find helpful
information about mummies on this resource. There are also short
educational videos they can watch that talk about probable causes of
death for some of these mummies as well as why they are so well
preserved even after hundred of years of being buried.

20. The Kids’ Guide to Mummies, Joan Axelrod-Contrada, 2011

This colorful non-fiction book is very accessible to middle school

students. The pictures are interesting and catch the eye of curious
learners. Students can learn more about how mummies are assembled,
secrets of the tombs, animal mummies, and the connections to modern
day mummies. Were they preserved the same way as Ancient Egyptian
mummies? The index at the end of this book is also a great tool for
students to utilize.