Discovery Education



Student Objectives

• Examine the ways in which some ancient religious beliefs came about.

• Compare the features religious leaders and religions have in common as well as significant differences.

Materials

• Discovery School video on unitedstreaming: Great Egyptians: Akhenaten: The Rebel Pharaoh and the Mystery of Tutankhamen

Search for this video by using the video title (or a portion of it) as the keyword.

Selected clips that support this lesson plan:

• Akhenaten Becomes Pharaoh and Rejects Thebes

• Akhenaten: The World's First Monotheist

• Great Egyptians: Akhenaten: The Rebel Pharaoh video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player

• Encyclopedias (including encyclopedias of religion)

• Biographical reference works for important figures in world religions

Procedures

1. Use the life story of Akhenaten and the short-lived monotheistic religion that he established as the basis of a research project into other religions or belief systems that have been founded or profoundly influenced by an individual (as opposed to the many ancient religions that evolved over time and have not been attributed to one man or woman). Begin by asking volunteers to name world religions. What individuals were responsible for founding or spreading this religion? (At this point, do not include sects within Christianity or Judaism, for example, or philosophical systems such as Confucianism and the Society for Ethical Culture.)

2. Create and distribute a chart of ancient and modern founders or significant movers in world religions. Consider including the following individuals in the first column, headed “Individual” list the names either in alphabetical order, as here, or in another order you prefer:

• Akhenaten

• Buddha

• Jesus

• Laozi (Daoism)

• Mabuchi (Shintoism)

• Mohammed

• Moses

• Zoroaster

3. Head the next six columns “Dates,” “Birthplace,” “Family Facts,” “Significant Life Events,” “Major Teachings,” “Influence on the 21st Century (did the religion survive the death of the individual?)”.

4. Work with your class to fill in the six columns for Akhenaten. If necessary, have students do their own research on Akhenaten to complete these columns.

5. After you and the class have discussed what students have written in the Akhenaten row, assign students the task of filling in the other rows on their own. In addition to their chart, they should submit a bibliography of research sources.

6. Once students have completed their chart, ask them to write a paragraph answering the following question: What personality traits or other characteristics did all or most of these men share? Give examples.

7. After you’ve collected and read the students’ charts, bibliographies, and paragraphs, hold a class discussion about the issue of leadership traits among people who founded or influenced world religions.

Discussion Questions

1. The narrator in this documentary suggests that Akhenaten may have foreshadowed the monotheistic teachings of Moses and the hope inspired by the message of Jesus. Debate whether or not this contention is supported by the evidence. In what ways was the message of Akhenaten like or unlike that of these later religious figures?

2. Akhenaten has been called the most original religious thinker the ancient world had ever seen. Is this true? Analyze and compare the teachings of other significant religious figures and make a determination. What makes Akhenaten’s message original?

3. Explain why Akhenaten focused on the sun as the symbol of his one god. Did he believe that the sun itself was a god? Discuss what other physical phenomena he might have selected to represent god. What would the criteria for selection be?

4. What did the priests of the other Egyptian gods think about Akhenaten’s new religious message? What sorts of threats do you think they felt this new religion posed for them?

Assessment

Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.

• 3 points: Student’s paragraph includes several complete facts; extremely clear and complete paragraph with many examples.

• 2 points: Student’s paragraph includes some facts; moderately clear and complete paragraph with a few examples.

• 1 point: Student’s paragraph contains many missing facts; unclear and incomplete paragraph without sufficient examples.

Vocabulary

entourage

Definition: One’s attendants or associates.

Context: When the royal entourage went to the temples to make offerings to the God Amen and to celebrate the festivals, we can imagine little Akhenaten left behind in the palace.

homage

Definition: Expression of high regard.

Context: Up and down the Nile, workers built vast temples to pay homage to the hundreds of gods.

Marfan’s syndrome

Definition: A hereditary disorder of connective tissue that is characterized by abnormal elongation of the bones and often by ocular (eye) and circulatory defects.

Context: The final word on the source of Akhenaten’s apparent deformities may be written right now by a group of scientists working on a disease known as Marfan’s syndrome—a genetic defect that damages the body’s connective tissue.

monotheism

Definition: The doctrine or belief that there is but one God.

Context: He had foreshadowed the monotheism of Moses and the tranquility and hope of Christ well before the people of ancient Egypt were able to accept it.

mystical

Definition: Having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence.

Context: Akhenaten had boundary markers carved surrounding the site of his new city telling of his mystical vision.

Academic Standards

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)

McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit .

This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:

• World History—Early Civilizations and the Rise of Pastoral Peoples: Understands the major characteristics of civilization and the development of civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley.

• World History—Early Civilizations and the Rise of Pastoral Peoples: Understands the political, social, and cultural consequences of population movements and militarization in Eurasia in the second millennium BCE.

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has developed national standards to provide guidelines for teaching social studies. To view the standards online, go to .

This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards:

• Time, Continuity, and Change

Support Materials

Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools offered on the Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit

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Grade Level: 6-8

Curriculum Focus: Religions of the World

Lesson Duration: Two class periods

Looking at the Origins of Ancient Religions Lesson Plan

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