Swift Middle School's annual Egyptian Fair is as much about the process as it is about the project.

This year, sixth-grade students gathered in the school's great hall Jan. 13 to display their projects for family members, classmates, and fourth-graders from adjacent Clermont Elementary.

"This is the culmination of the hard work the kids do," said Swift social studies teacher Ben Miller, who coordinates the project with Literacy Enrichment Across Disciplines (LEAD) teacher Susan Dawson. "We do a research project. The kids also create an object that has something to do with Egypt. And we have a tri-fold board, a science fair-type board, the kids create. This is their chance to show it off to everybody."

Swift students walk around to evaluate their classmates' projects and then vote for their favorites. The top five groups present their works to Clermont fifth-graders at the end of the school day.

That marks the end of a process that begins after Thanksgiving, runs throughout December, then resumes after the holiday break.

Miller said Solanco School District chose Egypt as one of the topics used each year to teach state-mandated skills such as compiling research. "(The students) are learning how to find sources, learning how to cite sources, and coming up with research questions that will require big, beefy answers instead of a one-word yes or no," said Miller.

Zachary Dempsey, Jack Doumont, and Mason Myers made up one group.

"We made a Rosetta Stone pyramid and (a) sphinx," Zachary said.

Jack noted the group also did some of the work at home, in addition to the time spent in Miller's and Dawson's classrooms.

"It helps you learn more about ancient Egypt, the geography, how they lived, what happened to them when they died, and their language," Mason said.

Brinley Vaughan, Palmer Haga, and Cassidy Grumbling formed another group.

"Our project is about ancient Egypt and how things work and how things are made," Brinley said.

The group used cardboard to construct a model of a boat commonly used by Egyptians, complete with both a sail and oars.

"I made a boat, which is how they traveled and took food to each other," said Palmer.

The students also picked up other lessons unrelated to the subject matter.

"We learned how to work together better as a team and cooperating," Cassidy said. "Even when something wasn't going good with our project, we all came together to try to solve it."

That is a major emphasis of the project, according to Miller.

"I think the biggest thing is, yes, Egypt and the content," Miller said. "Equally, and sometimes even more, important is learning how to work with a team, how to work on due dates, how to work on delegating responsibility, and getting things done to the quality they can do."