Ancient Egypt lesson plans can easily become overwhelming, but organizing your content is the best thing you can do - for yourself and for your students. When teaching ancient civilizations with a seven-part structure, you will see an immediate difference in your classroom. Your lesson plans will be easier to write, your units will flow and make sense, and your students will be able to comprehend concepts and see connections like never before.
Here's how to create engaging and informative lesson plans about Ancient Egypt, covering various aspects of this fascinating civilization.
I. Introduction to Ancient Egypt
The teacher should begin the lesson by briefly reviewing the concepts of antiquity such as the timeline of ancient civilizations, and how geography influences the development of societies. This will serve as a foundation for introducing Ancient Egypt.
To capture students' attention, the teacher can share some fun facts about Ancient Egypt, such as the fact that Ancient Egypt was one of the first civilizations to use paper (made from papyrus), and that the ancient Egyptians invented the 365-day calendar that we still use today.
Problem Situations:
- Problem Situation 1: The teacher can pose the following question: "Why is Ancient Egypt often referred to as 'The Kingdom of the Nile'?" This question will encourage students to think about the importance of the Nile river to the Egyptian civilization, both in terms of natural resources and cultural development.
- Problem Situation 2: The teacher can pose the following question: "How did the ancient Egyptians manage to build the pyramids, one of the greatest wonders of the ancient world, without the modern technology we have today?" This question will pique students' curiosity and prepare them for the topic of Ancient Egypt's architectural and technological achievements.
Contextualization:
The teacher should then contextualize the importance of Ancient Egypt, explaining how the ancient Egyptian civilization influenced and contributed to the development of many aspects of modern society, including architecture, engineering, art, religion, and science.
Read also: The Language of the Pharaohs
II. Key Aspects of Ancient Egypt
It’s easy to get caught up in pyramids and mummies when you are teaching ancient Egypt. But as you can see, there are lots of other essential components to ancient Egyptian history.
If you focus on teaching these essential lessons, then you can take the extra time you have for your unit and dive into a project that goes more in depth on a topic that is of interest to your students.
A. Geography and the Nile River
Every unit begins with location. Students will learn that in ancient times, Egypt depended on the yearly flooding of the Nile. The Nile valley provided abundant resources that allowed the culture of ancient Egypt to flourish, and this civilization became known as the “gift of the Nile.”
Activity: Nile River Simulation
Engage students with a no-prep, game-based Nile River Simulation. In this activity, students will choose where to live along the Nile River, farm, trade goods, and learn about geography. This simulation features six different rounds of competition. Each round, students must make decisions and roll the dice to see what they might’ve experienced living along the Nile.
Read also: Pharaohs: A detailed look
B. Social Structure and Daily Life
The focus of this lesson is to teach students about the daily lives of ancient Egyptians from every social class. Life varied dramatically for people based upon where they were in the social order, and students will examine how people from all walks of life lived.
People had lots of different roles in ancient Egypt. Men and women in ancient Egypt dressed in white linen. They may have put perfume on their head and makeup on their eyes.
C. Government and Leadership
Learning about seven of Egypt's most famous pharaohs will be the focus of this lesson. Students will also discuss leadership styles and draw conclusions about how leadership style contributed or detracted from the success of each of these pharaohs.
Explain how Narmer unified Egypt in 3100 BC, and that the double crown was created by combining the white crown of Upper Egypt with the red crown of Lower Egypt.
Activity: Pharaoh Resume Project
Read also: The Art of Ancient Egypt
Teach students about the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt in a different way, using their resumes! Students have to look over and analyze each resume and decide who to hire for specific positions.
D. Religion and Mythology
Religion is an easy transition from the previous lesson, since in ancient times government and religion were heavily connected. When teaching about religion, focus on the type of religion, and why it began. Sometimes I touch on how it began, but I try to stay away from origin stories.
Ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods and goddesses. They built temples for their important gods. Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife.
Activity: Egyptian Mythology Instagram Project
This Egyptian Mythology activity is a great way for students to demonstrate their understanding of the Egyptian gods and goddesses in a creative way! In this activity, students create a selection of Instagram-styled posts for five of the gods/goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Each post includes an image, caption, and relevant hashtags that help explain who that god or goddess is.
E. Writing and Communication
Writing is arguably one of man’s greatest accomplishments. The focus of this lesson is on the use of hieroglyphs as a form of communication, record keeping, and a means for preserving and passing down history.
Hieroglyphics were the signs that Egyptians wrote with.
Activity: Hieroglyphic Decoding
A low-key but very fun challenge for students is to decode a variety of messages written in hieroglyphics. This resource has secret phrases students have to decipher, and helps them visualize what the hieroglyphics look like.
F. Golden Age and Achievements
Most civilizations have had a time in history where life was good and extra accomplishments could be made. Often referred to as the golden age, people were living good lives with their basic needs met. During this time, people (of particular classes) had time to explore and create new things.
The last two parts of the seven-part structure are considered arts and technology. Together they can be combined and referred to as the society’s accomplishments and achievements.
How I Would Build The Great Pyramids
Activity: Pyramid Building
- Context: Explain that pyramid building was one of the greatest architectural achievements of Ancient Egypt.
- Task: Each group should follow the instructions provided to build their cardboard pyramid.
- Group Discussion: After the completion of the activity, the teacher should facilitate a group discussion about the experience of building the pyramid.
III. Activities and Projects
Here are some ideas for engaging activities and projects:
- Ancient Egyptian Fairy Tales: Have the students rewrite their favorite fairy tale...Change the setting, and items to ancient Egyptian times.
- Ancient Egyptian Alphabet Book: Have slips of paper ready in a bucket for each student to draw. Include letters A-Z, Cover, Back Cover, and Table of Contents.
- Ancient Egypt Daily Life: Have each student write their own story about a day in Ancient Egypt.
- Barter Activity: Have a mock bazaar by getting a 5 lb candy bag, and pass it out (give some kids more than others... "Gee, this was a bad year for our Peanut Butter Cup crops!" Throw in other items to barter, such as pencils, stickers. Prepare for the activity by assigning each item a deben value.
- Make a Mummy: Break your students into 6 groups. Have each group measure 25 yards of toilet paper, ending up with 150 yards total. Wrap a student in the toilet paper.
- Decorative Decodes (Be an Archaeologist): Have students write (with black permanent marker) their full names in any order (middle, last, then first - or however) on a sheet of white typing paper using hieroglyphic symbols. When finished, stain the papers in tea water and mount them on black construction paper. Give the kids the next week to decode all the papers and figure out whose was whose.
- Gallery Walk about the Kingdom of Kush: This activity highlights 12 artifacts and information that provides an overview of what is known about ancient Kush.
IV. Resources
Here are some resources that can be used for teaching about Ancient Egypt:
- Ancient Egypt Slideshow for Google Slides: Teach your students about the GRAPES of Ancient Egypt! This 47-slide Google Slideshow provides a detailed overview of Ancient Egypt, including geography, pharaohs, hieroglyphics, and much more!
- Ancient Egypt Bell Ringers for Google Drive: This set includes 20 Ancient Egypt Bell Ringers for Google Drive that are 100% editable and ready to use.
- Printable Ancient Egypt Timeline: In this interactive timeline project, students construct a timeline that features reading passages, maps, and images.
- National Geographic History 101 video for Ancient Egypt: It’s about 4-5 minutes, and gives a nice overview of introductory subjects for the unit.
- TED-Ed video on the mummification process: This video goes over the major steps in the mummification process.
- BBC resource on the Great Pyramid of Giza: This resource from the BBC takes students into the Great Pyramid of Giza, and allows them to see the different chambers inside.
- Harvard University resource on Ancient Egypt: Students can visit several locations, look at panoramic views, images, videos, and it can be an amazing tool to design projects.
V. Review and Recap
The teacher should recap the main points covered during the lesson. This includes the significance of Ancient Egypt as one of the earliest civilizations, the historical and cultural landmarks of the ancient Egyptian civilization, and the analytical and interpretative skills developed through the exploration of historical sources.
A. Connection between Theory and Practice
The teacher should emphasize how the in-class activities allowed students to apply the theoretical concepts in a practical and engaging way. For instance, the "Pharaoh's Council" activity enabled students to explore the complexities of ancient Egyptian society and make decisions based on their historical knowledge. The pyramid building activity provided a hands-on perspective on the challenges and ingenuity involved in the construction of Egyptian monuments.
B. Suggestion of Further Materials
The teacher should suggest additional reading and viewing materials for students who wish to delve deeper into their understanding of Ancient Egypt.
C. Relevance of the Subject to Everyday Life
Finally, the teacher should highlight the importance of studying Ancient Egypt for understanding world history and culture. The teacher can mention how the achievements and traditions of Ancient Egypt continue to influence and impact modern society, from architecture and engineering to art, religion, and science.
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