Pyramids
Days 9 – 10
Kindergarten and Primary Grades
Literacy Links: The pyramids are the stone tombs of Egypt's kings - the Pharaohs - and one of
the world's greatest historical mysteries. They have stood for thousands of years, filled with many
hidden secrets: clues about what life (and death) was like in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians
believed that if the pharaoh's body could be mummified after death the pharaoh would live
forever. The tombs were designed to protect the buried Pharaoh's body and his belongings. Most
of the pyramids can be found on the western side of the Nile River, just into the dry desert. The
dry desert heat worked to keep the Pharaohs's body and his belongings from decomposing and
rotting away. The reason they built the pyramids next to the Nile River was so it would be easier
to get the blocks to the pyramid. The stones could be bought nearer to the pyramid building site
by boat. The Great Pyramid is the largest and most famous of the pyramids. It was built for the
Pharaoh Khuf. It is over 140 metres high and took 20 years to build. The Sphinx stands in front of
all the pyramids in Giza. It has the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh.
Welcome and Calendar:
Music/Songs: Music from Africa
Display Table: Ancient Egyptian articles
Books: Egyptian Pyramid" and "Who was King Tut?
"King Tut’s Tomb" and “Tutankhamen’s Gift”
Computer: http://www.usborne-quicklinks.com
Video: Scooby Doo in Ancient Egypt
Homework: What are pyramids? Who was King Tut?
Buried Egyptian Food: Crocodile eggs were discovered at crocodile burials, and
mummified joints of meat, food for the afterlife, were entombed with the
deceased. Snack today is an edible pyramid of dough and pretzel sticks.
Cooperative Activities: Pyramids
Because they were considered living gods, ancient Egyptian kings had their coffins
buried in a special place. These special places were pyramids. Just exactly what
is a pyramid? Pyramids are very large stone structures with square bases and
triangular sides. There are about 100 ancient Egyptian pyramids still standing.
Ancient Egyptians didn’t build true pyramids right away. It took hundreds of years
for them to get it exactly right. Some early pyramids looked like steps. Others had
sides that curved. About 4,500 years ago, King Khufu had the Great Pyramid built.
It is the biggest pyramid in the world. It has over 2 million stones and took over 20
years to build. No one knows for sure how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids
– they had no machines as we do now. Most people think they used sledges – a
sledge is a simple machine that uses logs and a board to roll heavy objects. It
probably took between 20,000 and 30,000 workers to build a pyramid. Select a
book that describes how the pyramids were built thousands of years ago without
any of the machines we use now.. Then let kids construct an edible pyramid from
soynut butter dough and pretzel sticks. (See science)
King Tut: The Boy King:
You might know King Tutankhamen by another name: King Tut! He was just nine
years old when he became king. This is why he is nicknamed the Boy King. He
wasn’t an especially great king and he died around the age of 19. So why is he one
of the most famous of all ancient kings? It’s because of his tomb. In order to keep
the kings’ tombs safe from grave robbers, the ancient Egyptians began burying
their dead in a secret place (about 3,500 years ago). This secret place was called
Valley of the Kings. King Tut was one of the kings buried there. But unlike a lot of
other tombs, King Tut’s tomb wasn’t found until 1922 by an archaeologist (Howard
Carter. An archaeologist is someone who studies ancient cultures by looking at
artifacts). It had been sealed and hidden for thousands of years! King Tut’s tomb
held so many treasures that it took over 10 years to remove and clean them all.
Gold was everywhere! The treasure included solid gold sandals and ivory board
games called Senet. Today King Tut’s treasure travels to museums all over the
world but King Tut (the mummy) is still in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Kids can
dig out buried treasure!
Play Valley of the Kings:
In this game, the kids hunt for hidden treasure. They can pretend they are part of
Howard Carter’s team searching for King Tut’s long-lost tomb! This game can be
played indoors or outside. You should have a rock covered in foil for each child except one. These are pieces of treasure. The person without any treasure is the
hider. Choose a place to be your “temple”. The players stay at the temple. The
hider collects all the treasure from the players and hides each piece in a different
place in another room or area (outside the temple) where the kids can’t see. After
its hidden, the players go out searching for it. When someone finds a piece of
treasure he brings it back to the temple. The last person to find a treasure
becomes the new hider!
Language and Literacy:
Vocabulary: Arrange the words in the shape of a pyramid:
Valley of the Kings
hieroglyphics
curse
cartouche
tattoos
sphinx
archaeologist
pharaohs
gods and goddesses
temple
amulet
gold
scarab
scribes mummy
pyramid treasure sarcophagus tomb
Words, Grammar and Writing Activities:
Pretend you are a newspaper reporter at an excavation sight of a pyramid. Write
your story.
Teacher-led reading: See above
Guided Reading: Groups: New words can be put on the word wall
Phonics: Kindergarten Primary Grades as indicated by relevant reading
Handwriting Without Tears: - Preschool, Kindergarten Grades 1 and 2
workbooks or copied worksheets will be provided to kids according to
groups and current abilities.
Joke: Knock, knock. Who’s there? Sphinx. Sphinx who? Me sphinx you’ve
forgotten me already!
Bonus Joke: Which pharaoh played a musical instrument? King Toot!
Discuss the riddle of the Sphinx. Have students create their own riddles.
French: Africa: L’Afrique ancient: ancien fish: poisson pharoah: pharoah
pyramid: pyramide desert: desert treasure: tresor river: fleuve
Science: Pyramids: How’d they build them?
How do you think the ancient Egyptians built those giant pyramids without any
machinery? There are over 2 million stones in the Great Pyramid. Each of these
stones weighs thousands of pounds! Ancient Egyptians didn’t have jackhammers
or bulldozers to cut the stones. Sometimes they used simple hand tools like
chisels. Other times they cut a small hole in the stone and jam a piece of wood into
it. Then they’d pour water onto the wood. The water made the wood expand (get
bigger). When this happened, the wood pushed the stone apart and broke it. See
and colour the illustration. Write/draw or dictate on back about your own ideas.
Was King Tut’s Tomb Cursed? Some people believe in curses. Do you? Legend
has it that King Tut’s tomb had a curse. This warning said “ Death shall come on
swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the king”. Some people believed that
King Tut looked for revenge on anyone who broke into his tomb. This was because
some of the people who helped to find King Tut’s tomb got sick. However, many
modern scientists believe that a bacteria or mold in the tomb was what made the
visitors sick. People like mysterious things though. And so the idea that King Tut’s
tomb was cursed lives on! Let kids try their own archaeological dig. Give each
child a paper plate, one plaster cake and a pick and brush to dig out the buried
treasure!
Fine Motor Skills and Pretend Play Activities:
Egyptian Puzzle: Construct the puzzle and name the objects
World Map Puzzle: Construct the puzzle and find Africa – then Egypt
Block Pyramid: Make a pyramid using blocks or sugar cubes.
Art Activities: The Art of Ancient Egypt.
Make an Edible Pyramid: mix together soy nut butter, powdered milk, powdered
sugar and honey. Knead the dough until its smooth. 1. Pinch off sections of the
dough and roll 5 balls for each corner of the pyramid. 2. Give out 8 pretzel sticks to
each child. Make a pretzel rod square using 4 pretzels and 4 dough balls. Then use
the remaining 4 sticks and dough ball to make the pyramid shape. Enjoy!
Ancient Egypt Class Book: List the different topics that the class learned about
over the past 1-2 weeks. Then let kids tell about the things they liked best, least,
that were scary, or fun or what they might want to discover more about. Kids can
draw their favourite things or an Ancient Egypt Alphabet Book. Have slips of paper
with the letters a-z, and a word/picture describing the object for students to draw
out of a basket. Have each student take one out of the basket. Help kids write the
letter and the object’s name and then draw a picture of the item. Title each page
like "A is for Anubis" etc. The students can write/dictate about any Ancient
Egyptian fact, not just the topics discussed in class. Have each student illustrate
their letter page. When kids complete a page and has it approved, have them draw
another slip from the basket until all of the slips are gone. Combine all of the letters,
read them to the class. Add a front and back coverthen laminate them and compile
them to make a class book. After the class has enjoyed the book for a while, place it
in the library for others to enjoy.
Mathematics:
Teach and display geometric solids. Compare and contrast a cone and a
pyramid.
Some pyramids were built 5,000 years ago. Help kids count by 1000’s and
learn that there are 3 zeros when we write thousands.
Touchmath JK/SK: Regular individualized program
Touchmath Grades 1 and 2: Regular Individualized worksheets/books
Grades 1 and 2 Math Word Problem of the Week
Gross Motor Activities: Toys and Games
Ancient Egyptian children played with many toys. One of the more popular ones
was balls made of hollow painted clay and filled with seeds. They played ball games
standing, jumping high in the air, or even piggyback. These games were popular,
especially with girls. Dolls were made out of wood, with twine threaded with clay
beads for hair. These were called paddle dolls. They may have been for children, or
to accompany the deceased in the afterlife. Thinking about what we learned:
Did you like the story? Why or why not? What are some of the things you learned
about pyramids in Ancient Egypt?