5-day Lesson Plan on Ancient Egyptian Civilization for 7th Grade Class
Day 1:

Topic: Introduction
o Objective: Questioning Session – Background Knowledge – Geography
 What do you know of Ancient Egypt?
 Complete KWL as a class on the board – just K and W – what they know
and wonder
 Short lecture on location of Ancient Egypt – not current geographical
location – discuss importance of Nile – why would water be so important
to a civilization?
o Rationale: Importance of geographical location of ancient civilization –
countering many of the myths and beliefs of Ancient Egypt
o Assessment: Took part in questioning session
Day 2:

Topic: Language
o Objective: Importance of language to an ancient civilization
 One of the longest lasting language in history – why? How can writing be
in symbols instead of words as we are used to?
 Writing in hieroglyphics
 Activity: writing names in hieroglyphics
 Begin documentary titled “Egypt: Engineering an Empire”
o Rationale: Importance of written language – pros and cons of such a
complicated way of writing
o Assessment: Turn in hieroglyphics
Day 3:

Topic: Culture and Religion
o Objective: Understand the impact that religion has on the culture of an ancient
civilization
 Finish documentary

Short lecture on the culture and religion of Ancient Egypt (tombs, gods,
goddesses, reasons behind mummification)
 Jigsaw Activity
 First group: each group gets their own god or goddess with
description of their role in Ancient Egypt
 Second group: each group member responsible of explaining their
god and goddess to new group
o Rationale: Importance of religion of an ancient civilization – especially gods and
goddesses in daily life
o Assessment: Completed jigsaw activity
Day 4:

Topic: Architecture, Society, and Gender Roles
o Objective: Understanding the pioneers Ancient Egyptians were in architecture
and changing gender roles
 Short lecture on architecture (pyramids) and importance of women
(Cleopatra, Nefertiti), but also of men (pharaohs)
 Go to computer lab: Complete pyramid worksheet of the social hierarchy
at the time
o Rationale: Understanding the legacy of Ancient Egyptian architecture on the
world, the emergence of women in society, and extreme hierarchical society
o Assessment: Turn in pyramid worksheet
Day 5:

Topic: Review and wrap-up
o Objective: What did we learn?
 Complete L (learned) section of the KWL chart on day one on the board
 Take unit test
 Format: MC, short answer
o Rationale: Finding out what the students learned on Ancient Egypt
o Assessment: Unit test