120 Early World Civilizations: Supplemental Guide 6A | Writing in Ancient Egypt
Presenting the Read-Aloud 15 minutes
Writing in Ancient Egypt
Show image 6A-1: Meret and her father returning
Once in a while, Meret accompanied her father while he went
fi shing. Late one night, Meret and her father returned from a long
day of fi shing on the Nile River. They were both exhausted from
being out in the hot sun all afternoon and relieved to be back on
the banks of the river. Meret’s mother was waiting for them along
the shore. When she saw Meret, she scooped the tired girl up and
gave her a huge hug.
“I will sing you your bedtime song as we walk home, my child,”
she told Meret. Meret nodded, wearily looking up at her mother.
When her mother fi nished singing the beautiful song, Meret
asked curiously, “Mother, how did you learn that song?”
“I learned it from my mother, who learned it from her mother,”
Meret’s mother replied. “I learned everything I needed to know
by listening to my mother. I will teach you everything you need to
know, and I hope that you will be able to listen well.”
“I will,” Meret answered. “But isn’t there another way to pass on
information?”
Show image 6A-2: Hieroglyphs carved in stone^1
“Well, yes,” Meret’s mother answered. “The kings and scribes
know how to draw symbols called hieroglyphs that represent
the words we say. Then, someone else can come along and read
these symbols much later and understand exactly what was
written.”^2
“But why would we need to write things down, when we can
just pass them on by talking?” Meret inquired.1 [Have students describe what they
see in the picture.]
2 [Have students repeat the word
after you. Help them to understand
that these symbols stand for
spoken words, much like the letters
in the alphabet can be put together
to spell the words we say.]