Ramses II: The Ancient
Egypt Media Game Created by Ruth Paget for AP Students
Objectives:
1-Learn
to break down large books for group reading to learn information quickly
2-Learn
to create memorable stories
3-Analyze
images of the Battle of Kadesh 1285 BC to identify elements of propaganda
4-Learn
about Egyptian daily life and brainstorm other venues than temple carvings for
the spread of propaganda
5-Play
a communications game designed to show difficulties of battleground conditions
6-Play
ancient Egyptian strategy games – mancala and senet
7-Sample
Egyptian food
Historical Background:
In
1285 BC, the armies of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II (1304 BC – 1214 BC)
clashed with those of the Hittite King Muwatallis (Reign 1320 BC – 1294 BC)
outside the walls of Kadesh, a fortified city, located in what is now
modern-day Western Syria.
Pharoah
Ramses II attacked with a force of 22,000 chariots and light-armored infantry
against a force of 20,000 Hittites under King Muwatallis.
Battle
Outcome:
A
draw despite the 2,000 extra troops in the Egyptian army of Ramses II.
Ramses
II chose to portray this battle as an overwhelming victory for Egypt. In this Ramses II game, you will learn how
Ramses II could change the perception of this battle in Egypt.
Tasks
There
are 5 tasks to complete in this game to achieve the 7 objectives above.
The
first four tasks involve reading by two teams.
The books I have suggested go from easier to harder. There is a group meeting at the end of play
with suggestions for a party.
Managing Group Reading
I
will use the book Ancient Egypt: A
Social History by B. G. Trigger et al as an example. This book has 33 chapters covered in 364
pages.
If
you break down reading this book into several chapters per person, you can
reduce reading time and learn the material quickly. The method for doing this follows:
-8
team members with 33 chapters to read – Divide the number of chapters by 8 team
members to start
-33
chapters ÷ 8 members = 4 chapters to read per team member plus 1 remaining
chapter
-For
each chapter you have read, write down 5 to 10 of the chapter’s main points
-Type
up your main points by chapter and send them to the group scribe (secretary)
who knows how to combine text from several team members into a single document
-The
team can decide who should read the leftover chapter to complete the book
reading. A suggestion could be for a
member with a short chapter to read the leftover one.
-Note:
If you do not want to use chapters, you can use page numbers to do the team
reading assignments. However, authors
organize material to make learning easier.
You might miss out on some of the material, if you ignore the author’s
method of organizing the material.
Team Set-Up
-Break
up a group into two teams
-Both
teams will complete tasks 1 – 4 in their team
-For
Task 5, the two teams will come together to play a communications game, play
ancient Egyptian strategy games, and sample Egyptian food.
Number of Tasks to
Complete: 5
Task 1: Learn About the
Leaders at the Battle of Kadesh 1285 BC
-Read about Ancient
Egypt in encyclopedias
-Read
about the Hittite Empire in encyclopedias
-Read about Pharaoh
Ramses II in encyclopedias and books and on websites. Compare the information you find to see if
there are any differences. Note sources.
-Read
about King Muwatallis in encyclopedias and books and on websites. Compare the information you find to see if
there are any differences. Note sources.
-Read
about the Battle at Kadesh 1285 BC in encyclopedias and books and on websites.
-If
you find differences in descriptions, try to establish guidelines for which
facts to use. Note your guidelines down,
reasons, and facts that you are using.
Questions
to think about as you read:
-Why
did the Egyptians not win the Battle at Kadesh 1285 BC despite having 2,000
more troops than the Hittites?
-What
were battle communications like at the Battle of Kadesh 1285?
-Look
up images of the Battle at Kadesh 1285 BC at the Temples at Abu Simbel and
Thebes. What was Ramses trying to convey
with these images?
Task 2: Introduction to
Storytelling
Ramses
II’s version of the Battle at Kadesh 1285 BC has come down to us in the
modern-day thanks to art and storytelling of this event at the Temples of Abu
Simbel and Thebes and other monuments.
For
this task, you will learn some secrets of storytelling and the role of stories
in memory and recall:
-As
a group, read Made to Stick: Why Some
Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath.
Note 5 to 10 main points in your assigned chapters.
-As
a group, read The Power of Story:
Teaching Through Storytelling by Rives Collins and Pamela J. Cooper
-Telling
the Story of the Battle at Kadesh 1285 BC Exercise
-Note
3 main points of the Battle at Kadesh 1285 BC, the climax when both sides
retreated from fighting, and the battle’s aftermath for Egypt and the Hittites
-Type
up 1 or 2 paragraphs using the information above and send it to the team scribe
to assemble into one document. The
scribe will send out the stories to the team for comparison.
Task 3: Introduction to
Egyptian Daily Life
-As
a group, read Red Land, Black Land:
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz. For your assigned chapters, note 5 to 10 main
points.
-Where
could stories that were depicted at the Temples at Abu Simbel and Thebes of the
Battle at Kadesh 1285 BC be repeated in ancient Egyptian society? Use Red
Land, Black Land as a guide.
Task 4: Introduction to
Ancient Egyptian Propaganda
-As
a group, read How Propaganda Works by
Jason Stanley. For your assigned
chapters, note 5 to 10 main points for each chapter.
-Define
propaganda in one sentence.
-How
was Ramses II’s depiction of the Battle of Kadesh 1285 BC at the Temples of Abu
Simbel and Thebes similar to principles that Jason Stanley writes about in How Propaganda Works.
Preparing for Task 5
At
the end of Tasks 1 – 4, everyone should type up their book chapter notes and
send them to the group scribe to combine into one document for the team.
This
document will be mailed to all team members and the scribe of the other
group. The scribe will mail the other
group’s document out to team members as well.
Before
the combined meeting in Task 5, both teams should read both sets of notes.
Task 5: Combined Teams
Communications Game and Party
-As
a combine group, you will play the communications game entitled “Telephone.”
-One
group member will write down a secret message of 4 things to do. This person will whisper the message in
another person’s ear with one repeat possible.
-Repeat
this process with every member of the group.
-The
last person to get the message will write it down.
-Compare
the original message with the end message that is written down.
-There
are often differences between the two messages.
-What
does this telephone game tell you about battlefield communications at the
Battle of Kadesh 1285 BC?
-Repeat
the game once more to see if you obtain better results.
-(The
telephone game should take 30 to 45 minutes to play followed by a party.)
-After
the meeting, the teams will the ancient Egyptian games of mancala and
senet. Ramses II undoubtedly learned to
play these strategy games as a young boy.
-These
games sell between $22 - $32 as of 3/5/2020 on Amazon.
-The
following book provides strategy on how to win board games:
-Board Games of the World: The History, Boards, Rules, and Strategies of
Board Games by H. L. Fourie
-Sample
some Egyptian food at your party.
Appetizers (mezze) are a great introduction to Egyptian recipes. The suggested following cookbooks provide
recipes:
1-Egyptian Food Made Easy by Shama Faraz
2-My Egyptian Grandmother’s Kitchen:
Traditional Dishes Sweet and Savory by Magda Mehdawy
3-The New Middle Eastern Cookbook by
Claudia Roden
4-Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture by
Amy Riolo
5-The Pharaoh’s Kitchen: Recipes for Ancient
Egypt’s Enduring Food Traditions by Magda Mehdawy
Have
fun!
Ramses
II Game Created by Ruth Paget for AP Students, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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