WebQuest King Tutankhamun: Was It Murder?

A WebQuest
Was It Murder?
The Death of King Tutankhamun:
The Boy King

Welcome to the King Tut WebQuest! I'm anxious for you to help solve this mystery. Be sure to check out everything around my tomb.
Thanks!

Introduction

King Tut has been fascinating students and adults alike since the discovery of his tomb in 1922. Why has so much interest been generated about this unremarkable pharaoh? Could it be the fabulous gold and treasure discovered in his tomb? Or is it the mystery surrounding the boy king's early death? You and your renowned team have been hired by the Egyptian government to determine if King Tut was murdered. Your team will have only 3 days to complete your work.

Task

Your team must gain as much knowledge about King Tut and the circumstances surrounding his death as possible. Your team consists of a medical examiner, a reporter, an archaeologist, a history professor, and a historian (optional). Each member of the team will visit a site and respond to the following questions:

1. How old was King Tut when he died?
2. Does the author suggest any foul play?
3. What information did you find concerning his death?
4. Who (if anybody) does the author suggest may have killed him?
5. Who succeeded Tut to the throne?
6. Is this site a reliable source? Explain.
7. What other "facts" are included about his death?

Following the site visits the team will meet and analyze the data.

Process/Resources

To return to this page at any time click on the King Tutankhamun: Was It Murder? banner at the top of any page.

Meet with your team of 4 or 5 and choose your roles: medical examiner, reporter, archaeologist, professor, or historian

Each team member will visit the site listed in the table below.

Print out these questions and record your responses as you visit your assigned site.

The medical examiner will visit Tut's Death

The reporter will visit Tutankhamun: Boy King

The archaeologist will visit Egypt: Was "sly Ay" a nice guy?

The historian (optional) will visit Tutankhamun's Life

The history professor will visit Mysteries of Egypt

Teams members will work together and synthesize their information from their site visits. Was King Tutankhamun murdered? The team will write a persuasive essay stating and defending their position on this topic. If you need help on writing a persuasive essay click here. Students should submit their essay for posting on the web.

Team members will read this page to gain some chronological history of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom.
Did you find all five fun facts scattered around this page? You'll need them to answer the questions in the following assessment!
Each member of the team will complete this assessment to check their individual knowledge. Be sure to click on the button when you have finished the assessment, you'll be surprised!
Teachers and students may want to visit this page to view the Illinois State Standards and State Goals/Standards/Benchmarks that this WebQuest meets.

Evaluation

As a guideline print out this rubric to evaluate your essay and then make any necessary revisions. Your teacher will use this tool to evaluate your project too.

Conclusion

Well that solves the mystery! We all know that is not the case, but you have done some research, learned to determine what a reliable source is, and learned about ancient Egypt along the way. Maybe some day we will know if Tut was murdered. What kind of scientific breakthrough would it take to solve this mystery? Maybe you will be the one to discover it! If so, don't forget our old friend Tut!

Visit the Washington Intermediate School Web site. If you have any questions or suggestions email the Webmaster at wash@pekin.net

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