year 4 egyptian homework

Ancient Egypt

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Year 4 Ancient Egypt KS2

Ancient egypt, ancient egypt teaching resources, other ancient egypt resources.

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Ancient Egyptians

History lessons.

The Ancient Egyptians Lessons Pack contains a complete 10-lesson history unit of work for Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11), with detailed lesson plans, Powerpoint slides, teacher guides and printable activity sheets.

WHAT YOU GET

> 10 lesson Powerpoint files > 10 detailed lesson plans > Teachers' notes, including curriculum coverage > Pupil activity sheets for all lessons The ten sessions in this unit aim to give an overview of the Ancient Egyptian civilisation , focussing on the period between the time of the first pharaoh around 3100 BC to the Roman invasion in 31 BC, when Egypt became part of the Roman Empire. Across the unit, pupils will look at the impact of notable people and events as well as broader themes of significance, achievements, chronology and legacy . As with all of our KS2History units, there is an emphasis on allowing pupils to consider the sources of evidence that form our understanding of this period of history and to make links to modern times.

Individual Lessons

1. Who were the Ancient Egyptians? (FREE)

2. Why was Ancient Egypt the ‘Gift of the Nile’?

3. Who were the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs?

4. Why did the Ancient Egyptians build the pyramids?

5. What did the Ancient Egyptians do for fun?

6. What was mummification in Ancient Egypt?

7. Who were the Ancient Egyptian gods?

8. What did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics mean?

9. What was discovered inside Tutankhamun’s tomb?

10. Who was Cleopatra and how is she remembered?

Ancient Egyptians Resource Pack (Download)

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Ancient Egyptians Teaching Ideas

• October 11, 2021

This post is written by history specialist Anne.

Are you studying the Ancient Egyptians as part of your KS2 history lessons? Do you want some inspiring, engaging and creative resources to use with your children? Then take a look at our fantastic presentations, worksheets and creative activities which will immerse your children into the lives of the Ancient Egyptians, with our  Ancient Egyptians teaching ideas.

Pyramids and pharaohs teaching ideas

The pyramids are iconic symbols of the Ancient Egyptian civilisation. This  pyramids and pharaohs presentation gives children an idea of how and why the pyramids were built. Use it to illustrate what the pyramids look like today and the skill that was required to build these huge structures. Look at some of the treasures that Howard Carter discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb, and follow this up with this fact file and diary writing activity . Children can even have a go at building their own pyramid models !

Mummification resources

No study of the Ancient Egyptians would be complete without learning about the process of mummification! Our mummification lesson presentation takes you step by step through the process (guts and all), and explains why the Egyptians took such care to preserve the bodies of the dead. This provides the perfect introduction to lots of creative activities linked to mummification.

Ancient Egyptians daily life teaching resources

Not only were the Ancient Egyptians master builders and famed for mummifying the dead, but they were also great inventors! They discovered ways to irrigate water for their farms, created make-up, paper, and developed  their own writing and number systems. Learn about their skills and everyday lives with this presentation on daily life in Ancient Egypt. With a mixture of colourful illustrations and real-life photographs, it offers a real insight into the lives of this ancient civilization.

Children can have a go at decoding hieroglyphics , and even become Ancient Egyptian make-up artists with these make-up activity sheets .

Gods and goddesses teaching resources

The Ancient Egyptians had very strong beliefs about the afterlife and the roles of their gods and goddesses. We have created a presentation to introduce the gods and goddesses. It shows how historians have learnt about the Egyptians’ religious beliefs from the statues, carvings and artwork discovered in the pyramids and tombs. We also have a gods and goddesses fact file activity so children can record the facts they have learnt and can even design their own god or goddess with this create your own god or goddess activity .

Literacy links to Ancient Egyptians

As well as lots of factfile and writing activities, we have created this exclusive and original Egyptians poetry comprehension and guided reading . It has differentiated questions so it can be adapted for use with Key Stage 1, Lower and Upper Key Stage 2 to match their learning objectives. The poem can also be used as a SPAG activity and WAGOLL to provide the pupils with a model of how to write their own poem.

Explore the rest of our Ancient Egypt resources here.

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Egyptian life and culture

Who were the Egyptians?

Egypt is a country in Africa. People have lived in that region for thousands and thousands of years. The Ancient Egyptians settled around the Nile River, and built pyramids that you can still see there today.

The Ancient Egyptians knew a lot about maths, medicine and farming. They also made their own paper out of reeds called papyrus, and wrote using pictures called hieroglyphics.

Top 10 facts

• The Egyptians settled in northeast Africa, and that’s where the country of Egypt is today.
• They lived in a very dry area, but they got water from the Nile River (the longest river in the world!) so they could grow crops.
• Farming techniques to water crops included using machines like the sakia and the shaduf – these are still used in Egypt today.
• The Egyptians created paper using reeds, called papyrus. They wrote using pictures called hieroglyphics that stood for different words.
• Only certain people studied how to write, and they worked as scribes.
• Scribes were ranked in the middle of the order of social groups in Egypt – the pharaoh was at the very top of this list, and slaves were at the very bottom.
• The Egyptians built pyramids as places to bury their kings and queens, who were called pharaohs.
• The Egyptians were very good at maths – they had to be, to work out how to build pyramids so perfectly!
• Both men and women wore make-up. The wealthier people were, the more make-up they’d wear.
• Egypt was conquered by Rome and became part of the Roman Empire .

Egyptian timeline

• c7500 BC People began to build homes and farm in the Nile Valley
• c3000 BC Hieroglyphics started to be used
• c2950 BC Upper and Lower Egypt were united into one kingdom by King Narmer (or Menes), and Memphis became the capital

• 2600-2150 BC The Old Kingdom
• 2181-2055 BC First Intermediate Period
• 2055-1650 BC Middle Kingdom
• 1650-1500 BC Second Intermediate Period
• 1500-1070 BC The New Kingdom
• 1473-1458 BC Queen Hatshepsut ruled

• 1279-1213 BC King Rameses II ruled
• 1069-664 BC Third Intermediate Period
• 669 BC Egypt was conquered by the Assyrians
• 664-332 BC Late Period
• 525 BC Egypt was conquered by the Persians
• 332 BC Alexander the Great from Greece conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria
• 196 BC The writings on the Rosetta Stone were carved
• 51-30 BC Cleopatra VII ruled; she was the last pharaoh

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Did you know?

• The Egyptians made paper from reeds called papyrus – it’s where we get the word ‘paper’ from! It took a long time to make papyrus, but it was easier than carrying around heavy clay tablets, which is what they did before.
• They wrote in pictures called hieroglyphics . Each picture means something so when you see a few different kinds of pictures in a row, you know what the writer is trying to say.
• The Egyptians used pictures for writing numbers too – different pictures stood for units, tens and hundreds.
• The Egyptians were very advanced at maths – they figured out how to work out tricky problems that helped other people after them understand more about maths. In fact, people who lived in other countries even knew that the Egyptians were the best at maths!
• The Egyptians made most of their clothes from linen, which is fabric that’s made from plants. They’d use different things to colour it, such as saffron to make it yellow and indigo to make it blue.
• Egyptians would shave their heads and wear wigs instead!
• Ancient Egyptians had a huge amount of respect for cats, and for a type of dog called a jackal. They also thought scarab beetles were very important; they represented rebirth and life after death.
• Egyptians loved perfume, and would wear it in solid cones on their head – the cones would melt during the day and keep them smelling nice when the weather was very hot.
• Both men and women wore make-up, black and green on their eyes and eyelashes, and red rouge for their cheeks.

Egyptian gallery:

• The Rosetta stone
• The Egyptian pharaoh Ramses
• An Egyptian tomb
• An image of the pharaoh Tutankhamen
• An engraving from the temple at Luxor
• The pyramid at Giza
• Amun-her-khepeshef, the son of Pharaoh Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari
• Hieroglyphs
• Illustrations of Egyptian figures
• Can you spot the Sphinx?
• Edfu Temple
• An Egyptian pharaoh design

The Egyptians were very good farmers . Over the centuries, they learned the best ways to grow crops in the dry land around the Nile River – but, they’d use different kinds of machines to get water from the river to their crops so the plants would grow. Some of the machines they used are:

• sakia – a type of water wheel that has buckets to scoop water out
• shaduf – a long stick that had a bucket on a rope on one end, and a heavy weight on the other; to water a field, the farmer would pull down on the weighted end so the bucket would come up, then swing the whole thing around to water a field next to the river.

Because farmers grew crops near the Nile, they had to schedule their growing season around times when the Nile flooded. This happened every year during June to September, so they’d plant new crops in October that would be ready to harvest in March. By the end of May, all of the crops would have been harvested in time for the Nile to flood again.

Egyptian farmers also had oxen pull ploughs through fields. We know about their farming techniques because of the paintings that archaeologists have found that the Egyptians made. The paintings show all sorts of things that the Egyptians did, such as tending livestock and harvesting the crops.

Make-up wasn’t always worn to dress up. Some make-up had practical uses as well, like black kohl used around the eyes. It shielded eyes from the sun, and it was also a kind of disinfectant that protected against eye diseases.

The papyrus that Egyptians made came from reeds that grew along the Nile River, which were called papyrus. To make paper, they would cut papyrus reeds into strips and spend quite a few days soaking them, rolling them out and repeating that process until the reeds were very thin. All of the thin reeds would be pounded together and clamped down to dry, then polished to smooth it out – the result was a thin yet very strong sheet that was ready to be written or drawn on.

The papyrus reeds were actually used for a lot of things besides paper. It was good for making mats to put on the floor, twisting into rope, plaiting together to make boats, and weaving to make baskets and sandals. The Egyptians also ate it, and used it to make different medicines.

The Egyptians made a lot of discoveries about medicine. We know this from reading what they wrote on papyrus, discovered later by archaeologists. They understood about heartbeats and listening for a healthy pulse, and knew how the body and organs worked because of the process of making mummies . They also learned about the ways that different plants healed different illnesses and injuries, such as aloe vera being good for healing burns.

Egyptian society was ranked into different classes, called a hierarchy. You couldn’t really move up the ranks, and people would usually stay around the rank that they were born into:

• Pharaoh – The pharaoh was at the top of the order, and thought to be a god.
• Vizier – Every pharaoh had a vizier; they were an advisor, they ran the pharaoh’s household, they acted as a judge, and they made sure that the Egyptians had enough food.
• Nobles and priests – Nobles included doctors, lawyers and military leaders. Priests were the ones who made sure the god in their temple was happy, and that they understood any messages the god was trying to say to them.
• Scribes and soldiers – Scribes were the only ones who were taught how to write; people in other professions (like priests) may have studied to be a scribe as well, but they could also have just hired someone to write things down for them. Being a soldier was a choice; they were given land to live on after they finished serving in the army.
• Craftsmen – This was a large group that included anyone who had a trade, such as potters, tailors, painters and blacksmiths.
• Farmers and slaves – The pharaoh and nobles hired farmers to work for them, and grow crops on their land; as payment, the farmers had a place to live, clothes to wear and food to eat. Slaves were people who were captured in battles with other civilisations, and they worked in the homes of the pharaoh and nobles or in temples.

Related Videos

Just for fun...

• Explore Ancient Egypt with an interactive exploration tool from the Children's University
• Walk around the Sphinx, clamber inside the Great Pyramid of Giza and seek out the pharaoh's burial chamber!
• Are you fit to rule as a pharaoh? Put your knowledge of Ancient Egypt to the test with a quiz !
• Take an Ancient Egyptian art lesson
• Use an interactive timeline of the Ancient Egyptian period
• Try some Ancient Egyptian number puzzles
• Write using a hieroglyphic typerwriter !
• Complete an Ancient Egypt online jigsaw puzzle
• Make your own Egyptian amulet , Egyptian mask and Egyptian costume with step-by-step guides from Hobbycraft
• Learn how to sound out your name in hieroglyphs , just like a scribe in Ancient Egypt
• Make a miniature cartonnage mummy case to discover how the Ancient Egyptians prepared for the journey to the afterlife
• Write your name in hieroglyphs in a cartouche and learn some Egyptian Maths with King Khasekhem
• Discover different aspects of life in Ancient Egypt with BBC Teach songs

Children's books about Ancient Egypt

See for yourself

• At the British Museum , you can see the Rosetta Stone and a statue of King Rameses II
• See Ancient Egyptian artefacts  from the Art Institute Chicago's collection
• Browse through a huge collection of Egyptian artefacts at the Manchester Museum
• Look closely at Egyptian statues  in the Brooklyn Museum
• See games from Ancient Egypt: a senet board game and a wooden toy cat

Find out more about Egyptian life and culture 

• Watch BBC Bitesize animations about Ancient Egypt and new animations about life in Ancient Egypt on BBC Teach
• A DKfindout! children's introduction to Ancient Egypt , with lots of diagrams and illustrations
• Scan through an interactive timeline of Ancient Egypt
• Read some historical fiction for kids about Ancient Egypt
• Print out Ancient Egypt resources from the British Museum
• Find out more about Egyptian myths
• The history of papyrus paper
• Join historian Greg Jenner for a  BBC Sounds kids' homeschool history lesson about Cleopatra  or a homeschool history podcast about Ancient Egyptian religion
• Read about Ancient Egyptian inventions
• Understand more about Ancient Egyptian gods and see Egyptian gods' animal heads
• Explore the Ancient Egyptian number system and writing system (hieroglyphics)
• The Egyptians' society
• Find out about everyday life in Ancient Egypt
• Experience a day in the life of ordinary Egyptians

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Y3 Ancient Egypt Topic Hieroglyphics

Subject: History

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

23 November 2014

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