Class 5

Ancient Egyptians

One of our topics this term is to learn about life in Ancient Egypt. This is a

fact-finding project to gather information about all things

Egyptian J

In this project – you can go on a fact-finding mission about the following: • Where is Egypt? What is the climate like?

• The River Nile and why it was so important to the Ancient Egyptians

• Building the Pyramids – how long did it take? How did they do it?

• Egyptian Gods – Who were the main ones?

• How did the Ancient Egyptians write? What were hieroglyphics?

• Mummification and the afterlife. What happened to the Ancient Egyptians when they died?

• Who was King Tutankhamun and how and where was his tomb discovered?

• Who was Howard Carter?

ACTIVITY GRID

Here are some activities with a few suggested website links for resources. Be creative with how you record information – on a computer, maybe a double-page creative colourful info sheet,

maybe models? Whatever you fancy J

HIEROGLYPHICS

The Ancient Egyptians recorded everything using a special type of

writing called ‘hieroglyphics’. Hieroglyphics were letters and words represented by pictures.

The pictures told stories and were carved and drawn into important King and Queen’s tombs when they died.

TASK – WHAT WAS THE HIEROGLYPHIC ALPHABET? CAN YOU

WRITE SOME SECRET HIEROGLYPHIC MESSAGES FOR YOUR FAMILY TO DE-CODE?

Extension: Maybe you can find some pictures of hieroglyphics that

have been found in ancient tombs. https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/history/egypt/hierogl

yphics-uncovered/

THE PYRAMIDS

When you think of the Egyptian pyramids, you probably think of

the picture below:

These are the Pyramids of Giza. Did you know, there are actually many, many more pyramids

scattered around Egypt?

The largest pyramid was built around 5000 years ago! It is strange to imagine how these huge stone structures were

actually built. On the largest pyramid it is estimated that around 2.3 million stones were used!! Each stone weighed about 3 tons

(about the weight of a small elephant – ish!)

SO – how on earth did they get the stones and built the pyramids?

https://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egyptian_pyramids.

php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtc0LQuA3z4

Who were the pyramids built for? How long did they take to build? How did they build them?

The AFTERLIFE and MUMMIFICATION

The Ancient Egyptians believed that when they died, they would go to the AFTERLIFE. To be ready for the afterlife, they needed to have their bodies

preserved and carefully prepared for the ‘journey’.

PART 1 – Preparing the body https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FiM8S2_nSg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygc1L2iCJQQ

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/egypt/mummies.htm

Major organs were taken out of the body and put in special jars called CANOPIC JARS. Can you find out about them?

What do the different ‘heads’ on each jar represent?

PART 2 – MUMMIFICATION

How did the Egyptians wrap the bodies?

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/history/egypt/how-to-make-a-mummy/

King Tutankhamun AKA – King Tut J

This is Tutankhamun’s world famous ‘death mask’. In fact, it is one of them – he had a few!

Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered by a famous archaeologist

called Howard Carter in 1922. Who was he and why is he so famous? His tomb was discovered undisturbed and full of the most

amazing artefacts. These have helped Egyptologists (people who study ancient Egypt) learn so much about life back then!

Find out about the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb:

How was it discovered? Where was it discovered?

What else is there? What was found inside?

Where is king Tut now?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avqafc6fZwc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmkDPaHSBzg

There is so much to learn about Ancient Egypt – this is just a small snapshot! Please feel free to do your own research J You could make some models of pyramids from lego or on Minecraft maybe. Whatever you choose, make sure it is fun!