Textual Analysis Lesson: The Making of a Mummy
Lesson Plan
Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy | 750L

- Learning Goal
- Use the Textual Analysis process to answer comprehension questions about a text.
- Duration
- Approximately 1 Day (20-25 minutes)
- Necessary Materials
- Provided: “The Making of a Mummy” Reading Passage (Student Packet, pp. 10-11), “The Making of a Mummy” Textual Analysis Questions (Student Packet, p. 12)
Before the Lesson:
Read Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy,Chapters 1-4; Complete Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 1-4
Activation and Motivation
Ask students what they know about mummies. Ask, "What are mummies? Where have mummies been found? Have you heard of any famous mummies?" Explain to students that Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy includes details of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, a sarcophagus, hieroglyphics, and mummies. Ask students if they think there are mummies in Hollywood, California. (They might respond that there could be mummy items in movie studios, museums, etc.)
Explain to students that the class will be reading a passage entitled “The Making of a Mummy” to learn more information about how mummies were made in Ancient Egypt. Provide students with a teaser for the book: The information from this passage might be useful as you read further into Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy.
Instruct students to carefully follow the steps for Textual Analysis to successfully read the passage and answer the questions that follow. Be sure to have students discuss and prove their answers when they have finished.
Before Reading
- Read the passage title, introduction, and any captions.
- Look at any pictures or photographs.
- Read the first two sentences only.
- Stop! Brainstorm what you think the text is going to be mostly about.
- Read and label the Textual Analysis questions with the Concepts of Comprehension.
- Do not read the answer choices. Spend only a few seconds labeling each question with the appropriate Concepts of Comprehension.
During Reading
- Read the whole section of text that was assigned.
- As you read, underline or highlight any information that may help you answer the question.
After Reading
- Have students answer questions 1-4 independently. Guide students through questions 5-7, using the steps outlined below in Step 5.
- Use the process of elimination for any questions for which you are not positive of the answer.
- Prove all of your answers by underlining or copying evidence from the text. Go back and check your work. Do your answers make sense? Can you prove each answer?
- Share your answers with the group. Use text evidence to explain why you think an answer is correct.
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Guidance for Questions 4-7:
- Help students pay careful attention to the language of Question #4. The question is asking about what is “not a good reason” for why poor Egyptians were not mummified. Use the process of elimination to cross out the answers that seem like good reasons. For example, in answer choices A and D, it makes sense that if mummification cost money and labor, poor Egyptians would not be able to mummify their dead. I will eliminate those choices because they seem like good reasons. When I read answer choice B, I will conclude that I do not know enough about the beliefs of poor Egyptians to eliminate this as a good reason. When a question asks us to draw a conclusion beyond the text, we can use the process of elimination to help us narrow down the answers.
- Help students correctly answer Question #6, by looking for a key sequence word- “after.” They should reread the steps and think about what Egyptians did next after the body was dried out.
TIP:
Build Student Vocabulary archaeologist
Texts & Materials
Standards Alignment
(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)
Use in Social Studies class and explore the concept of Egyptians and how they wrapped the dead.