Exploring Pyramids Around the World

1. Draw the square base (4 min)

With the ruler flat on the paper, draw a square five inches on each side in the middle of a large sheet of heavy construction paper. Measure every side before you draw the next one and write the 5 beside each side as you finish it. Four sides, four fives, or the folded pyramid will lean.

Word preview: base, inches

at least five inches on each side, in the middle of a large piece of heavy construction paper.

This will be the base of our model pyramid.

2. Draw the four triangles (5 min)

Use each side of your square as the bottom of a triangle. Draw four triangles that are three and a half inches tall, with the two slanted sides about four and one quarter inches long. Check one slanted side against the other before you move on to the next side of the square.

Word preview: faces, equal

With the ruler, draw four triangles that are three and a half inches tall.

The sides of the triangle should be about four and one quarter inches long.

Make sure the two sides of each triangle are equal in length.

3. Cut only the triangles (5 min)

Cut along the outside edges of the four triangles and stop at the square. The base has to stay joined to all four triangles, so run a finger around the four fold lines first and say do not cut here at each one. Then cut.

Once you've drawn the base and all four faces of the pyramid, use scissors to cut along the edges of the four triangles.

Don't cut the square base.

4. Fold, meet, and tape (6 min)

Fold each triangle up along the line it shares with the square. Bring the four tips together over the middle of the base and tape the points. Set the model down and check that it rests flat on its square base. If one tip sits off to the side, unfold and remeasure the triangle that came up short.

The triangles should meet each other at the top of the pyramid.

Use tape to hold the four points together and you have made a three-dimensional or three-d model of the great pyramid at Giza.

1. Draw the square base (4 min)

Draw a square five inches on each side in the middle of the heavy paper, measuring every side before you draw the next. Write the 5 beside each one.

Word preview: base, inches

at least five inches on each side, in the middle of a large piece of heavy construction paper.

2. Draw the four triangles (5 min)

Use each side of the square as the bottom of a triangle three and a half inches tall, with slanted sides about four and one quarter inches. Check the two slanted sides against each other on every triangle.

Word preview: faces, equal

With the ruler, draw four triangles that are three and a half inches tall.

The sides of the triangle should be about four and one quarter inches long.

1. Count the faces (4 min)

Take the folded paper pyramid and run a flat hand over every surface, sticking one dot on each surface as you go so none gets counted twice. Count the dots aloud and say what you found: one square face and four triangle faces, five faces in all.

Word preview: faces

Pyramids, cubes, and most other 3D shapes have sides called faces.

The great pyramid has a square base and four triangular faces.

2. Trace the edges where faces meet (5 min)

Faces meet in lines. Draw over every one of those lines with the crayon. Work all the way around the bottom first, then up each slant to the top. No line gets coloured twice. Count the coloured lines and say the number aloud.

Word preview: edges

Faces are flat surfaces that meet at the edges of the shape.

3. Find every vertex (5 min)

Press a fingertip on each point where three or more of your coloured lines run together and stick a dot on it. Count the dots: four down at the base, one up at the top. Write the three counts on the index card, faces first, then edges, then vertices.

Word preview: vertex

The point or corner where three or more edges meet is called a vertex.

4. Say the count to another pair (6 min)

Trade models with another pair and check their card against their model, touching each face, each edge, and each vertex as you count it. Then say the whole sentence with your own numbers inside it: this pyramid has five faces, eight edges, and five vertices, and the face it rests on is its base.

Word preview: base

The base is the bottom of the object.

1. Count the faces (4 min)

Run a flat hand over every surface of the folded pyramid, sticking one dot on each so none is counted twice. Say the count aloud: one square face, four triangle faces, five in all.

Word preview: faces

Pyramids, cubes, and most other 3D shapes have sides called faces.

2. Find every vertex (5 min)

Press a fingertip on each point where three or more edges run together and stick a dot on it. Count the dots, four at the base and one at the top, and write the number on the card.

Word preview: vertex

The point or corner where three or more edges meet is called a vertex.

1. Take one inch from each side (5 min)

Lay the fourteen-inch strip flat and mark one inch in from the left end, then one inch in from the right end. Count the inches left between your two marks. Say the arithmetic out loud while you point: fourteen, take one, take one more, twelve.

Word preview: inches

On the first sheet, draw a square that is 14 inches on each side.

Now measure in one inch from each side of the square and draw a square that is 12 inches on each side.

2. Count the six squares back by twos (4 min)

Write the run of square sizes on the recording strip. Start at 14 and take two away each time, until the book's list runs out. 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4. Read your run back against the book's list and fix any number that does not match.

Word preview: square, smaller

Repeat these steps to create the remaining mastabas, using a 12 inch square, a 10 inch square, an 8 inch square, a 6 inch square, and a 4 inch square.

3. Deal the sizes in order (5 min)

Shuffle the six number cards, then deal them out largest to smallest, the way the mastabas are stacked. After each card, say the difference between it and the card before: twelve, that is two less than fourteen. If a card lands out of place the difference will not be two, and that is your signal to move it.

Word preview: mastaba

Stack the mastabas on top of each other, from largest to smallest, using tape to hold them together.

Each mastaba was smaller than the one below it.

4. Stop where the book stops (6 min)

Count the cards in your finished run and check that number against the book: six. Then say what the next two numbers would be if the rule kept going, two and then zero, and say why a builder has to stop at four instead.

He designed a tomb that looked like six mastabas stacked on top of each other.

1. Take one inch from each side (5 min)

Mark one inch in from each end of the fourteen-inch strip and count the inches left between the marks. Say it out loud: fourteen, take one, take one more, twelve.

Word preview: inches

Now measure in one inch from each side of the square and draw a square that is 12 inches on each side.

2. Count the six squares back by twos (4 min)

Write the run of square sizes from 14, taking two away each time, and stop where the book's list stops: 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4. Check it against the book's list.

Word preview: square, smaller

Repeat these steps to create the remaining mastabas, using a 12 inch square, a 10 inch square, an 8 inch square, a 6 inch square, and a 4 inch square.

1. Find the two heights (4 min)

Read the two sentences on the strip and underline the feet in each: 853 for the Trans-America Building, about 480 for the Great Pyramid. Write both numbers at the top of your sheet, the taller building first, and keep the word about in front of the 480.

Word preview: height

It is 853 feet tall, almost twice the height of the great pyramid at Giza.

The Great Pyramid is around 4500 years old and was about 480 feet tall when it was first built.

2. Double the smaller one (5 min)

Twice the Great Pyramid's height means one 480 and then another 480. Add them on your sheet with the ones under the ones and the tens under the tens, regrouping where you need to. Write the total where your partner can see it.

Word preview: twice

3. Put 960 and 853 side by side (5 min)

Subtract once to find how far the real building falls short of doubled, 960 take away 853. Subtract again to find how far it stands above the pyramid, 853 take away 480. Circle the smaller of your two differences.

4. Say what the numbers show (6 min)

The book says almost twice. Say that sentence back to a partner with your own numbers inside it. Twice about 480 feet is 960 feet. The building is 853 feet, so it stops 107 feet short of twice as tall. Then say which wording the numbers hold up, almost twice or exactly twice, and put a finger on the 107 as your reason.

Word preview: twice

It is 853 feet tall, almost twice the height of the great pyramid at Giza.

1. Find the two heights (4 min)

Underline the feet in each sentence on the strip and write both numbers at the top of your sheet: 853, and about 480.

Word preview: tall, height

It is 853 feet tall, almost twice the height of the great pyramid at Giza.

The Great Pyramid is around 4500 years old and was about 480 feet tall when it was first built.

2. Double the smaller one (5 min)

Add 480 and 480 on your sheet, ones under ones and tens under tens, regrouping where you need to, and write the total in large figures.

Word preview: twice

1. Cut both base squares (5 min)

Measure and cut two squares: one five inches on each side for the great pyramid model, one two and a half inches on each side for the Nubian model. Write the side length on each square the moment you cut it out.

Word preview: base, smaller

at least five inches on each side, in the middle of a large piece of heavy construction paper.

Make the square base for this pyramid smaller than the great pyramid base.

About 2.5 inches on each side.

2. Lay one on the other (4 min)

Set the small square into one corner of the large square with two sides lined up exactly. Mark how much of the big side is left uncovered and measure that piece. Say what you measured out loud: two and a half inches, the same length as the small square's side.

3. Cover the big square (5 min)

Slide the small square around the big one and count how many times it has to be laid down to cover the big square with no gaps and no overlaps. Then mark the big square into that many parts to show your count.

4. Put a third base in order (6 min)

The smallest mastaba of the step pyramid is four inches on each side. Take that square and put all three in order from widest to narrowest. Then say each gap out loud. Five to four is one inch. Four to two and a half is one and a half inches.

Word preview: inches

Repeat these steps to create the remaining mastabas, using a 12 inch square, a 10 inch square, an 8 inch square, a 6 inch square, and a 4 inch square.

1. Cut both base squares (5 min)

Measure and cut a square five inches on each side and a square two and a half inches on each side, writing the side length on each one as you finish it.

Word preview: base, smaller

at least five inches on each side, in the middle of a large piece of heavy construction paper.

About 2.5 inches on each side.

2. Lay one on the other (4 min)

Set the small square in a corner of the large one with two sides lined up, then measure the strip of the big side that is left uncovered and say the length aloud.

1. Read the sentence two ways (4 min)

Students read the book's instruction aloud from a strip, then read a second strip in which each side has become one side, and say in their own words what each version tells a builder's hands to do, before any ruler is picked up.

2. Cut both inner squares (5 min)

From two fourteen-inch paper squares, students measure in one inch following each wording, from every side on the first square and from a single side on the second, and cut out the inner square each wording produces.

3. Measure what each wording left (5 min)

Students measure both inner squares and write the two results, twelve inches and thirteen inches, saying the subtraction that made each one: fourteen take one and one more, and fourteen take one.

4. Check against the book's number and say why (6 min)

Students set both squares beside the book's next instruction, point at the one that matches the twelve inches it names, and say the sentence that explains the difference: each takes an inch off both ends, so the width loses two inches and not one.

1. Read the sentence two ways (4 min)

Students read the book's instruction aloud from a strip, then read a second strip in which each side has become one side, and say in their own words what each version tells a builder's hands to do, before any ruler is picked up.

2. Cut both inner squares (5 min)

From two fourteen-inch paper squares, students measure in one inch following each wording, from every side on the first square and from a single side on the second, and cut out the inner square each wording produces.

1. Hunt for the missing measurement (5 min)

Students read the Trans-America model instructions looking for a triangle height, report back that no number is given anywhere on the page, and mark the two sentences that tell them where to look instead.

2. Read the sentences that fund the number (4 min)

Students read both sentences aloud, then turn back to the great pyramid instructions and read the height sentence there, writing three and a half inches on the build card with the sentence that supplied it beside it.

3. Double it and draw it (5 min)

Students double three and a half inches, write seven on the card, and draw a triangle seven inches tall above a base line, measuring the finished height to prove it.

4. Say the number with its line (6 min)

Students give the whole answer to a partner, first the number and then the sentence that produced it. A number offered without its sentence goes back, and so does a sentence offered without its number.

1. Read the sentences that fund the number (4 min)

Students read both sentences aloud, then turn back to the great pyramid instructions and read the height sentence there, writing three and a half inches on the build card with the sentence that supplied it beside it.

2. Double it and draw it (5 min)

Students double three and a half inches, write seven on the card, and draw a triangle seven inches tall above a base line, measuring the finished height to prove it.

1. Pull both heights out of the book (4 min)

Students find and read aloud the two sentences that give the heights and write 853 and about 480 at the top of their grid paper.

2. Draw the two bars and find the gap (4 min)

Students draw two bars on grid paper, the longer labelled 853 and the shorter 480, then subtract and label the length by which the longer bar runs past the shorter one: 373 feet.

3. Say it both ways over one diagram (5 min)

Students write both sentences under the diagram, the building 373 feet taller and the pyramid 373 feet shorter, and say each aloud with a finger on the bar it names, checking that both sentences point at the same 373.

4. Do it with something you can hold (7 min)

Students measure and cut the two model base squares, five inches and two and a half inches on a side, lay one on the other to find the difference, and say both directions again with the words that fit width: wider than and narrower than.

1. Draw the two bars and find the gap (4 min)

Students draw two bars on grid paper, the longer labelled 853 and the shorter 480, then subtract and label the length by which the longer bar runs past the shorter one: 373 feet.

2. Say it both ways over one diagram (5 min)

Students write both sentences under the diagram, the building 373 feet taller and the pyramid 373 feet shorter, and say each aloud with a finger on the bar it names, checking that both sentences point at the same 373.

1. Underline what the book says a face is (5 min)

Read the printed run aloud with a partner, one sentence each. Underline the word faces and then underline the whole stretch that tells you what a face is. Say to your partner, in your own words, what a face is, and point at the words that let you say it.

Word preview: faces, edges, vertex, base

Pyramids, cubes, and most other 3D shapes have sides called faces. Faces are flat surfaces that meet at the edges of the shape. The point or corner where three or more edges meet is called a vertex. The base is the bottom of the object.

2. Sort the four words by how the book defines them (6 min)

Write faces, edges, vertex and base on four cards. For each card, copy from the printed run the exact words that give its meaning, and if the book never gives one, write NOT DEFINED HERE on the card. Lay the cards in the order the passage introduces the words. Tell your group which card was hardest to fill and why.

Word preview: faces, edges, vertex, base

Pyramids, cubes, and most other 3D shapes have sides called faces. Faces are flat surfaces that meet at the edges of the shape. The point or corner where three or more edges meet is called a vertex. The base is the bottom of the object.

3. Catch a second word the book stops to explain (5 min)

Read the printed run about the first tomb design. Find the sentence that stops the explanation to tell you what one word means, and read that sentence aloud. Then say what the writer expected you not to know, and what clue words told you a meaning was coming.

Word preview: mastaba, sloping

His first design for Joseph's tomb was a large mastaba, which was the kind of tomb that had been used in Egypt for many years. The word mastaba means bench. These ancient tombs looked like stone benches with sloping sides.

4. Explain one shape word to somebody who has not read it (4 min)

Pick one of your five cards. Without showing the card, tell a partner what the word means and use one thing in the room as your example. Your partner writes the word they think you described. Swap and repeat with a different word.

Word preview: faces, edges, vertex, base, mastaba, sloping

1. Underline what the book says a face is (5 min)

Read the printed run aloud with a partner, one sentence each. Underline the word faces and then underline the stretch that tells you what a face is. Say what a face is in your own words and point at the words that let you say it.

Word preview: faces, edges, vertex, base

Pyramids, cubes, and most other 3D shapes have sides called faces. Faces are flat surfaces that meet at the edges of the shape. The point or corner where three or more edges meet is called a vertex. The base is the bottom of the object.

2. Catch a second word the book stops to explain (4 min)

Read the printed run about the first tomb design. Find and read aloud the one sentence that stops to tell you what a word means. Say what the writer expected you not to know.

Word preview: mastaba, sloping

His first design for Joseph's tomb was a large mastaba, which was the kind of tomb that had been used in Egypt for many years. The word mastaba means bench. These ancient tombs looked like stone benches with sloping sides.

1. Read the two-sided sentence and name both sides (5 min)

Read the printed run about the pyramids of Mexico and Central America. Find the one sentence that talks about two places at once, and circle the word that joins the two halves. Say which half is about Egypt and which half is about Mexico and Central America.

Word preview: while, however, limestone, temples

These pyramids were built centuries after the Egyptian pyramids as temples for honoring gods. The Maya, Aztecs, and other Native Americans built huge pyramids in Mexico and Central America. Many of these pyramids were topped by temples where religious ceremonies took place. The pyramids of Mexico and Central America were made with many different kinds of stone, while Egyptian pyramids were made only from limestone.

2. Fill two columns from two different pages (6 min)

Head one column of your chart In Egypt and the other Somewhere else. Read the printed Nubia run and write into the chart what it says about size and about how steep the sides are. Write only what the passage actually says; if a box has no evidence in front of you, leave it empty and say so out loud.

Word preview: however, steeper, tombs

Like the Egyptian pyramids, Nubian pyramids were also built as tombs for rulers and court officials. However, the Nubian pyramids were much smaller than the Egyptian pyramids, and their sides were much steeper. The Nubian pyramids had special temples built around them. The temples were places to pray and leave gifts to honor the dead rulers and officials who were buried inside the pyramids.

3. Add a third pyramid to the same chart (5 min)

Read the printed Aztec run and add its row to the same chart. Underline the sentence that compares Aztec and Mayan pyramids to each other, and the sentence that compares both of them to Egyptian pyramids. Tell your partner which sentence needed a page you had already read.

Word preview: steeper, temples

The Aztecs used their pyramids for religious ceremonies. These pyramids had two large staircases leading up to the temple at the top. The levels, or steps, of the pyramid are much taller than those of a Mayan pyramid, and there are fewer of them. Both Aztec and Mayan pyramids were much smaller than Egyptian pyramids.

4. Say one likeness and one difference out loud (4 min)

Using your chart, say one sentence naming a likeness between Egyptian pyramids and one other kind, and one sentence naming a difference. Each sentence must use a joining word and must be backed by a line you wrote in the chart. Your partner points to the chart box you used.

Word preview: while, however, limestone, steeper, tombs, temples

1. Read the two-sided sentence and name both sides (5 min)

Read the printed run about the pyramids of Mexico and Central America. Circle the word that joins two places inside one sentence. Say which half of that sentence is about Egypt.

Word preview: while, limestone, temples

These pyramids were built centuries after the Egyptian pyramids as temples for honoring gods. The Maya, Aztecs, and other Native Americans built huge pyramids in Mexico and Central America. Many of these pyramids were topped by temples where religious ceremonies took place. The pyramids of Mexico and Central America were made with many different kinds of stone, while Egyptian pyramids were made only from limestone.

2. Fill two columns from two different pages (4 min)

Head one column In Egypt and the other Somewhere else. Read the printed Nubia run and fill in what it says about size and steepness. Leave a box empty if the passage in front of you does not say.

Word preview: however, steeper, tombs

Like the Egyptian pyramids, Nubian pyramids were also built as tombs for rulers and court officials. However, the Nubian pyramids were much smaller than the Egyptian pyramids, and their sides were much steeper. The Nubian pyramids had special temples built around them. The temples were places to pray and leave gifts to honor the dead rulers and officials who were buried inside the pyramids.

1. Number the moves in the order the book gives them (5 min)

Read the printed how-to run one sentence at a time and write the numbers 1 to 7 beside the seven moves. Circle every word that tells you when a move happens. Read your numbered list back to a partner and see whether the two lists match.

Word preview: first, now, then, measure, fold

On the first sheet, draw a square that is 14 inches on each side. Cut out the square. Now measure in one inch from each side of the square and draw a square that is 12 inches on each side. Draw lines to join the corners of the inner square to the outer corners. Cut along those lines. Now fold the edges under to form gently sloping sides. Tape the edges where the sloping sides meet.

2. Break the order on purpose and say what fails (6 min)

Cut your sequence strips apart and swap two of them. Read the broken order aloud to a partner exactly as it now stands. Say which move became impossible and which sentence in the printed run proves it, then put the strips back in the book's order.

Word preview: first, now, then

On the first sheet, draw a square that is 14 inches on each side. Cut out the square. Now measure in one inch from each side of the square and draw a square that is 12 inches on each side. Draw lines to join the corners of the inner square to the outer corners. Cut along those lines. Now fold the edges under to form gently sloping sides. Tape the edges where the sloping sides meet.

3. Retell the how-to without reading it (5 min)

Turn the printed run below face down. Retell all seven moves to a partner in order, starting every move with a word that tells when - first, next, then, after that, last. Your partner holds the sequence strips and lays one down each time you name its move, then turns the passage back over so you can check the order together.

Word preview: first, now, then, measure, fold

On the first sheet, draw a square that is 14 inches on each side. Cut out the square. Now measure in one inch from each side of the square and draw a square that is 12 inches on each side. Draw lines to join the corners of the inner square to the outer corners. Cut along those lines. Now fold the edges under to form gently sloping sides. Tape the edges where the sloping sides meet.

4. Find the sentence that explains why the shape works (4 min)

Read the printed run about the six stacked tombs. Say which sentence tells you the reason the stack ends up looking like a pyramid, and read it aloud. Then say which of your seven moves in the how-to is the one that makes each layer smaller.

Word preview: mastabas, stacked

He designed a tomb that looked like six mastabas stacked on top of each other. Each mastaba was smaller than the one below it. This made a pyramid shape.

1. Number the moves in the order the book gives them (5 min)

Read the printed how-to run one sentence at a time and number the seven moves. Circle every word that tells you when a move happens. Read the numbered list back to a partner.

Word preview: first, now, then, measure, fold

On the first sheet, draw a square that is 14 inches on each side. Cut out the square. Now measure in one inch from each side of the square and draw a square that is 12 inches on each side. Draw lines to join the corners of the inner square to the outer corners. Cut along those lines. Now fold the edges under to form gently sloping sides. Tape the edges where the sloping sides meet.

2. Break the order on purpose and say what fails (4 min)

Swap two sequence strips and read the broken order aloud. Name the move that became impossible and the sentence in the printed run that proves it. Put the strips back in order.

Word preview: first, now, then

Now measure in one inch from each side of the square and draw a square that is 12 inches on each side. Draw lines to join the corners of the inner square to the outer corners. Cut along those lines. Now fold the edges under to form gently sloping sides. Tape the edges where the sloping sides meet.

1. Say what the whole run is mostly about (5 min)

Read the printed run about the modern building and say, in one sentence, what the whole run is mostly about. It must be one sentence, and it must cover every sentence in the run, not just the one you liked best. Try it twice and keep the shorter one.

Word preview: modern, machinery, estimated

The Trans-America Building is made from stone, concrete, glass, and steel. It is 853 feet tall, almost twice the height of the great pyramid at Giza. An estimated 10,000 to 100,000 people were needed to build the great pyramid, and it probably took about 30 years to build. Because of modern machinery and materials, the Trans-America Building was built in less than three years by only about 1,500 people.

2. Line up the details under it (6 min)

Write your one sentence at the top of the organizer. Underneath, copy three details from the printed run and, beside each, write how it holds your sentence up. If a detail does not hold your sentence up, either drop the detail or change the sentence, and say aloud which you chose.

Word preview: modern, machinery, estimated

The Trans-America Building is made from stone, concrete, glass, and steel. It is 853 feet tall, almost twice the height of the great pyramid at Giza. An estimated 10,000 to 100,000 people were needed to build the great pyramid, and it probably took about 30 years to build. Because of modern machinery and materials, the Trans-America Building was built in less than three years by only about 1,500 people.

3. Test your sentence against the run that comes before (5 min)

Read the printed run about the man who wanted sunlight on the street. Hold it against the main-idea sentence you wrote and say whether it still fits, needs widening, or belongs to a different idea. Write the version you end up with on the organizer and cross out the old one without erasing it.

Word preview: sunlight, downtown

In 1968, a man named John Beckett gave the United States its very own pyramid. One day, Beckett noticed how beautifully the sun shone through the trees in a city park in San Francisco, California. He decided to create a building that would allow sunlight to reach the street below in the same way. Today, a modern pyramid stands in downtown San Francisco, the Trans-America Building.

4. Give the section a heading of your own (4 min)

Read the printed sentence below and notice that it never names any building at all. Write a heading of no more than five words that would fit that sentence and everything else you have read in this lesson. Read the heading to your group and have them say which sentence of yours it came from, and keep it only if somebody can point at a sentence.

Word preview: modern, machinery, estimated, sunlight, downtown

Modern building materials and machinery have allowed architects to create buildings that are taller and bigger than the pyramids of long ago.

1. Say what the whole run is mostly about (5 min)

Read the printed run about the modern building and say in one sentence what the whole run is mostly about. It must cover every sentence in the run. Say it twice and keep the shorter version.

Word preview: modern, machinery, estimated

The Trans-America Building is made from stone, concrete, glass, and steel. It is 853 feet tall, almost twice the height of the great pyramid at Giza. An estimated 10,000 to 100,000 people were needed to build the great pyramid, and it probably took about 30 years to build. Because of modern machinery and materials, the Trans-America Building was built in less than three years by only about 1,500 people.

2. Line up the details under it (4 min)

Write your one sentence at the top of the organizer and copy two details from the printed run underneath it. Beside each detail, say how it holds the sentence up. Drop any detail that does not.

Word preview: modern, machinery, estimated

It is 853 feet tall, almost twice the height of the great pyramid at Giza. An estimated 10,000 to 100,000 people were needed to build the great pyramid, and it probably took about 30 years to build. Because of modern machinery and materials, the Trans-America Building was built in less than three years by only about 1,500 people.

1. Find the questions the writer asks you (5 min)

Read the printed run about the pyramids of ancient Egypt and mark every sentence that ends in a question mark. Read those sentences aloud to a partner in the writer's voice. Say who the writer expects to answer them, and point to the sentence that tells you.

Word preview: purpose, enormous, civilizations

The pyramids of ancient Egypt have amazed people for thousands of years. Egypt is a country in Africa and was home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world. How did the ancient Egyptians build such enormous structures? What was the purpose of the pyramids? Over the years, many people have tried to figure out the answers to these questions.

2. Hunt down the answer to one of them (6 min)

Take the question about purpose and read the printed run about tombs. Write on your log the exact sentence that answers it, and write ANSWERED beside it. If a sentence only partly answers, write PART and say aloud what is still missing.

Word preview: purpose, tombs, officials

The pyramids were built as tombs for ancient Egyptian rulers and court officials. Ancient Egyptians believed that a person's soul, which they called the Ka, continued to live after the body died. They filled the pyramids with treasures and everyday things that they believed the dead person would need in the next life.

3. Decide whether the second question ever gets answered (5 min)

Read the printed run about what rulers were buried with. Ask whether it answers how the Egyptians built such enormous structures, and write ANSWERED, PART or NOT HERE on your log. Defend your mark to a partner using one sentence from the printed run.

Word preview: enormous, officials

Rulers were buried in their great pyramids with gold, furniture, clothing, and other things they would need in the next world. The burial chambers of many of the ancient pyramids were built to look like the inside of a royal palace, so the ruler's spirit would feel at home.

4. Write the question the book leaves you holding (4 min)

Look at any line on your log marked PART or NOT HERE and write it as a question of your own, ending in a question mark. Model it on the two question sentences in the printed run below, so yours starts the way a writer's question starts. Read it aloud, and your group says whether the printed run in front of them could answer it.

Word preview: purpose, enormous, civilizations, tombs, officials

The pyramids of ancient Egypt have amazed people for thousands of years. Egypt is a country in Africa and was home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world. How did the ancient Egyptians build such enormous structures? What was the purpose of the pyramids? Over the years, many people have tried to figure out the answers to these questions.

1. Find the questions the writer asks you (5 min)

Read the printed run about the pyramids of ancient Egypt and mark every sentence ending in a question mark. Read those sentences aloud in the writer's voice. Say who the writer expects to answer them.

Word preview: purpose, enormous, civilizations

The pyramids of ancient Egypt have amazed people for thousands of years. Egypt is a country in Africa and was home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world. How did the ancient Egyptians build such enormous structures? What was the purpose of the pyramids? Over the years, many people have tried to figure out the answers to these questions.

2. Hunt down the answer to one of them (4 min)

Take the question about purpose and read the printed run about tombs. Write on your log the exact sentence that answers it and mark it ANSWERED. Mark it PART instead if something is still missing, and say what.

Word preview: purpose, tombs, officials

The pyramids were built as tombs for ancient Egyptian rulers and court officials. Ancient Egyptians believed that a person's soul, which they called the Ka, continued to live after the body died. They filled the pyramids with treasures and everyday things that they believed the dead person would need in the next life.