Ancient Egypt has one of the most rich and engrossing histories of any civilization. It also happens to be one of the most popular topic areas in primary education.
If you and your class are taking on Ancient Egypt this term, take a look through this collection of 16 unique activity ideas, spanning English, Maths, Science and more, that are sure to excite your class.
Ancient Egypt teaching ideas for KS1 or KS2
1. Crack the hieroglyphic code
Hieroglyphs are a fantastic way to apply the age of the Egyptians to basic coding skills. In this resource, you can challenge the class to match symbols to letters, cracking the hieroglyphic code and laying the foundations for pattern recognition, an essential skill in coding.
Learn more: Hope Education
2. Use Egyptian symbols as maths problems
You can also apply the idea of Egyptian symbols to maths. Assign a number to certain symbols and use them as the basis of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems. Tailor the sums to match the maths proficiency of your class.
Learn more: TES
3. Read out some fun facts
Great as an ice breaker or introduction to the topic. Read out some fun facts about the period, inflaming the imagination of your class. For example, did you know that 15 metres of bandages would be used to during mummification of a body!?
Learn more: Hope Education
4. Create a new god
There are over 2,000 gods in ancient Egyptian mythology, but why not ask to class to create one more? Get creative and draw a brand-new Egyptian god, inspired by some of the ones you’ve learned about in class.
Learn more: Kids Konnect
5. Build a pyramid
When it comes to craft ideas with an ancient Egyptian twist, there is only one place to go – the pyramids. Grab some clay, gold paints and sprinkling of patience and your class can muster up their own model pyramid.
Learn more: Hope Education
6. Bring Egyptian life to science
Egyptian life was clearly very different to those of your class. Take some of the daily-life learning and apply it to science. An example from STEM.org is examining the properties of materials used for certain things (like boats or clothes) from then vs today.
Learn more: STEM.org
7. Howard Carter comprehension
The story of Howard Carter and the curse of Tutankhamun is a fascinating one who’s spooky mysteries with will excite your class. Apply that learning to some comprehension with this cut out and stick activity that challenges the class to get the events of it all into chronological order.
Learn more: Hope Education
8. Mummify a tomato
More science fun now. Mummification is surely the most fascinating of ancient Egyptian rituals, and your class can get some insight into the process of it all with just a tomato and some sand. Let it fester for a few days and inspect the rotten results – yuck!
Learn more: Teach Primary
9. Paint an Egyptian mask
Another opportunity to get a little arty with ancient Egypt. Masks and headdresses are one of the most distinctive parts of a Pharaoh and their sarcophagus. Print out a template onto some card and paint your own.
Learn more: Hobbycraft
10. Inspect the timeline and create a quiz
There are hundreds of years of history to explore with ancient Egyptians, more than any term could hope to cover. However, running through a timeline of key events can be a strong foundation for learning about the period. Afterwards, why not quiz the class on what they have learned?
Learn more: Hope Education
11. Learn about the mummification process
Delve into the incredibly gruesome world of mummification with this worksheet that details the process at each level. From there, you could bring in some of the other activities for further learning, like mummifying a tomato (step 8) or crafting your own sarcophagus.
Learn more: Hope Education
12. Problem-solve the pyramids
The pyramids are a engineering marvel, so much so that many historians still scratch their heads at how this ancient civilization managed it. They can also be the basis of some pretty impressive maths, investigating the volume of 3D shapes.
Learn more: Twinkl
13. Learn and write about daily life
Back to the stark contrast in daily life that young people had in the times of the ancient Egyptians. Take that knowledge and apply it to creative writing, tasking your class with writing a diary entry written from the perspective of a child in ancient Egypt.
Learn more: History for kids