Former NJ State Teacher of Year Shares Artifacts and Anecdotes on Ancient Egypt
Who better to bring the history of a 5,000-year-old civilian to life in a classroom than retired educator and former New Jersey State Teacher of the Year Tracey Fallon, who has witnessed the culture up close. Fallon spent Friday, February 9th with sixth-graders in Chris Spina’s social studies classes at Orchard Valley Middle School providing historical perspective on Ancient Egypt and sharing personal anecdotes from his time exploring the country, visiting the pyramids and sailing on the Nile River.
Through slides and personal artifacts that he shared with the students, Fallon recounted the stories of some of the great pharaohs including King Tut and Cleopatra, the hieroglyphics that communicated their stories, and the culture and customs of Ancient Egypt.
Guest speaker Tracey Fallon showed a replica of one of the top pieces that adorned one of 100 canes owned by King Tut.
Tracey Fallon explained the significance of Shabti dolls that were placed in Egyptian tombs as one’s replacement worker when called upon by the god Osiris for service in the afterlife. The more Shabti Dolls found in a tomb, the greater the wealth of the one buried there.
Orchard Valley Middle School sixth-graders (from left) Cassidy Branno and Arianna Christmann were treated to some of the Egyptian artifacts shared by guest speaker Tracey Fallon.