Introduction Achieve! HistoryAchieve!

The Achieve! series of History titles has been developed for teachers who require modified, curriculum-focused
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because of poor literacy skills. Many of the pages will also be suitable as supplementary material for regular classes.
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The Ancient World: Egypt 1 enables students to develop their historical knowledge and understanding of ancient
for the needs of low literacy students.
Egypt through the study of the land’s physical features and the significance of the Nile, everyday Egyptian life and
society, the importance of religion, death and funerary customs, and the influence of war, trade and significant
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individuals. The content addresses key historical skills and concepts, including understanding sources and
evidence, reasons for change and continuity, locating and categorising information and different perspectives.
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knowledge, understanding and skills.
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learnt through using the worksheets.
used either to stimulate discussion or as a part
clear objectives, background information,
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The Ancient World – Egypt 1 The Ancient World – Greece 1 The Ancient World – Rome 1
ISBN 978 1 92168 055 7 ISBN 978 1 92168 056 4 ISBN 978 1 92168 057 1

4 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
This book was commissioned by Jennifer Gough,
project management was undertaken by Vanessa Lanaway,
editing by Kirstie Innes-Will,
cover and page design by Gail McManus Graphics,
typesetting by Romy Pearse
illustrations by David Dickson.
Ally Chumley writes educational resources for teachers and learners across a range of subjects. She’s been a
teacher for over 15 years and enjoys the challenge of making difficult concepts accessible and inspiring in the
classroom. Her formal credentials include Bachelor and Master of Education degrees. Ally lives on the mid-north
coast of New South Wales with her husband and two boys.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011

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978 1192209
ISBN 978 92570042
9663 7
Contents
Teacher’s notes – Discovering Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Achieve!
Introduction 4
The second Resource sheet, ‘An extraordinary
civilisation’, introduces students to the names of
1 Objectives
Discovering Ancient Egypt 5 6 Daily
three lifeof
types inEgyptian
Ancient artefacts
Egypt – stele, ostracon and38
ACHHS205 ACHHS206 ACHHS209 ACDSEH033 ACHHS213
l To learn about the basic chronology of sarcophagus. Direct students to practise saying and
Timeline of Ancient
dynasties and Egypt
periods in Ancient Egypt 6 Lifestylethe key words.
writing 39
An extraordinary civilisation 7 Food and drink 40
l To learn some key historical terms The Activity sheet ‘Unearthing the past’ reinforces
Unearthing the past 8 An Egyptian feast 41
l To observe and describe artefacts from the content of the Resource sheet ‘An extraordinary
Primary sources 9 Egyptian clothing (1) 42
Ancient Egypt civilisation’. Discuss each category of primary sources
The Narmer Palette (1) 10 Egyptian clothing (2) 43
in the table to help students become familiar with any
The Narmer Palette (2) 11 Egyptian clothing (3) 44
Prior knowledge new terms.
In the Activity sheet ‘Primary sources’ students study
Students need no prior knowledge to complete
2 ‘The Gift of the Nile’ 12 7 Ancient
four Egyptianartefacts.
iconic Egyptian religionYou could display some45
these activities.
ACDSEH002 ACHHS210 ACDSEH032 ACDSEH033
larger photos of these pieces. Tell them what pectoral
The land of Egypt 13 Egyptian
means godson the chest). This activity gives students
(worn 46
The Nile river 14 Egyptian goddesses
experience in writing down their observations. 47
The agricultural calendar 15 The priesthood 48
The two-page Activity sheet ‘The Narmer Palette’
Background
Using the Nile’s resources (1) 16 Serving the gods
gives students practice at interpreting an artefact.
49
Using the
Ancient Nile’sisresources
Egypt (2) civilisation because
a fascinating 17
Discuss the symbols and their meanings shown on
of its great wealth, its impressive buildings (some of the first sheet,
8 Death before students
and funerary go on to complete 50
customs
which
3 are still
Blessed by standing
the godstoday), its stunning artefacts 18 the second sheet.
ACDSEH033
and its socialACHHS210
ACDSEH002 organisation. The Egyptians developed Tombs 51
a writing
Egypt’s systemand
mineral thatrock
historians can read today. They 19
resources Extension activity
Preserving the dead 52
used and
Gold weights and measures,
gemstones (1) and controlled much 20 Explain to students that historians also use secondary53
Mummies
of theand
Gold world’s food and
gemstones (2)gold resources in their time. 21 Egyptiantoart
sources find out about other times. A secondary 54
The Egyptians
Egypt’s had an advanced understanding of 22
plant resources source is something that was written or recorded by
mathematics
Egypt’s and astronomy.
food resources (1) We can see this in the 23 someone that knew things about the time period, but
precise food
Egypt’s manner in which
resources (2)they built their temples, 24 9 Warfare in Egypt 55
who may notACDSEH034
ACDSEH033 have been part of it. Ask students to locate
tombs and monuments.
Organising resources For example, in some tombs 25 and
The summarise the content of a secondary source 56
warrior pharaohs
and temples, special windows were designed to about Egyptian history, using the library, a textbook 57
Conflict within Egypt
allow shafts of sunlight inside on only 22 December or internet resources.
4 Governing Egypt 26 Weapons of warfare 58
each year. ACHHS214
ACDSEH032 Identifying weapons
Answers 59
The god-kings
Starter activity 27 Unearthing the past 1 pyramids; 2 tomb; 3 mastabas
Being pharaoh 28 410monuments; 5 statue; 6 stele; 7 illustrations found 60
Discuss
The the basic concepts described in the
government 29 Foreign relations
background material with students. Ask them what on tomb
ACDSEH129 8 sarcophagi; 9 ostracon; 10 artefacts,
walls;ACDSEH034
The importance of writing 30 objects made bypartners
people.
they know about Ancient Egypt already. Introduce Egypt’s trading 61
them to the terms artefact and primary source. Trading
The withPalette
Narmer the neighbours
(2) 1 Herodotus believed that 62
5 Egyptian society 31 Booty and tribute
Narmer had united Lower and Upper Egypt. 2 They are 63
Resource and Activity sheets
ACDSEH032 ACHHS213 The first peace
intertwining treaty
their necks, to show that they are unified.64
Social hierarchy
The first Resource sheet, ‘Timeline of Ancient 32 3 a bull 4 a smiting stick 5 They have been captured,
The noble class students with a basic chronology
Egypt’, provides 33 tied up and beheaded. 6 To emphasise the strength and
Workers
of Ancient(1)Egypt and defines the key terms period 34 power of the pharaoh and the military power of Egypt.
Workers (2) If you have not done so before, discuss
and dynasty. 35 7 The central circle made by the linked necks.
Women
with students the way time is counted ‘BCE’ (i.e. 36
Slaves
backwards from the year 1 CE). Encourage students 37
to keep referring back to this Resource sheet as they
work through
Australian the
Curriculum activities
content codes in this unit and the rest
ofAustralian
© the book. Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 2010.
This is an extract from the Australian Curriculum. ACARA neither endorses nor verifies the accuracy of the information
provided and accepts no responsibility for incomplete or inaccurate information. You can find the unaltered and most
up to date version of this material at http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Home
This material is reproduced with the permission of ACARA.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 5
Introduction Achieve!
The Achieve! series of History titles has been developed for teachers who require modified, curriculum-focused
activities for secondary school students who struggle to read and comprehend regular classroom materials
because of poor literacy skills. Many of the pages will also be suitable as supplementary material for regular classes.
The Ancient World: Egypt 1 enables students to develop their historical knowledge and understanding of ancient
Egypt through the study of the land’s physical features and the significance of the Nile, everyday Egyptian life and
society, the importance of religion, death and funerary customs, and the influence of war, trade and significant
individuals. The content addresses key historical skills and concepts, including understanding sources and
evidence, reasons for change and continuity, locating and categorising information and different perspectives.
The CD contains all the pages that are featured in the book, as well as a file of illustrations that can be used
for other worksheets These documents can be easily edited to suit the individual needs of students.
This book is divided into ten units containing photocopiable resource sheets and activity worksheets. This
will allow teachers to use the material in a variety of ways. For example, the unit could be taught as a lesson with
students in groups of varying sizes. Alternatively, a single resource sheet and related activity sheets can be used
as support material, for individual homework, assessment or revision.
The teacher’s notes provide valuable guidance about using each unit, and contain the following elements.

Objectives – These are the key skills and knowledge Resource and activity worksheets – The resource
learnt through using the worksheets. sheets do not always contain activities and are
used either to stimulate discussion or as a part
Prior knowledge – This refers to the skills and of the unit’s activities. The activity worksheets
knowledge required for students to complete the may be used sequentially or as stand-alone tasks,
tasks. Some activities are more challenging than depending on the needs of the student.
others, however, as a rule, students should have a
reading comprehension age of six to nine years to Extension activities – Additional tasks are suggested
be able to attempt the activities. to recap on the main skills or knowledge taught
in the lesson, as well as ways to extend, assess or
Background – This section provides additional include technology in the lesson.
guidance to help teachers to present a successful
lesson. It may include definitions or further Curriculum links – The Australian Curriculum: Year 7 –
background notes about the subject matter. The Ancient World: The Mediterranean

Starter activity – Warm-up activities are provided to

put the content into proper context and to gain
student interest and attention.

4 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Teacher’s notes – Discovering Ancient Egypt Achieve!
The second Resource sheet, ‘An extraordinary
civilisation’, introduces students to the names of
Objectives three types of Egyptian artefacts – stele, ostracon and
l To learn about the basic chronology of sarcophagus. Direct students to practise saying and
dynasties and periods in Ancient Egypt writing the key words.
l To learn some key historical terms The Activity sheet ‘Unearthing the past’ reinforces
l To observe and describe artefacts from the content of the Resource sheet ‘An extraordinary
Ancient Egypt civilisation’. Discuss each category of primary sources
in the table to help students become familiar with any
Prior knowledge new terms.
In the Activity sheet ‘Primary sources’ students study
Students need no prior knowledge to complete
four iconic Egyptian artefacts. You could display some
these activities.
larger photos of these pieces. Tell them what pectoral
means (worn on the chest). This activity gives students
experience in writing down their observations.
The two-page Activity sheet ‘The Narmer Palette’
Background gives students practice at interpreting an artefact.
Ancient Egypt is a fascinating civilisation because Discuss the symbols and their meanings shown on
of its great wealth, its impressive buildings (some of the first sheet, before students go on to complete
which are still standing today), its stunning artefacts the second sheet.
and its social organisation. The Egyptians developed
a writing system that historians can read today. They Extension activity
used weights and measures, and controlled much Explain to students that historians also use secondary
of the world’s food and gold resources in their time. sources to find out about other times. A secondary
The Egyptians had an advanced understanding of source is something that was written or recorded by
mathematics and astronomy. We can see this in the someone that knew things about the time period, but
precise manner in which they built their temples, who may not have been part of it. Ask students to locate
tombs and monuments. For example, in some tombs and summarise the content of a secondary source
and temples, special windows were designed to about Egyptian history, using the library, a textbook
allow shafts of sunlight inside on only 22 December or internet resources.
each year.
Answers
Starter activity Unearthing the past 1 pyramids; 2 tomb; 3 mastabas
Discuss the basic concepts described in the 4 monuments; 5 statue; 6 stele; 7 illustrations found
background material with students. Ask them what on tomb walls; 8 sarcophagi; 9 ostracon; 10 artefacts,
they know about Ancient Egypt already. Introduce objects made by people.
them to the terms artefact and primary source. The Narmer Palette (2) 1 Herodotus believed that
Narmer had united Lower and Upper Egypt. 2 They are
Resource and Activity sheets intertwining their necks, to show that they are unified.
The first Resource sheet, ‘Timeline of Ancient 3 a bull 4 a smiting stick 5 They have been captured,
Egypt’, provides students with a basic chronology tied up and beheaded. 6 To emphasise the strength and
of Ancient Egypt and defines the key terms period power of the pharaoh and the military power of Egypt.
and dynasty. If you have not done so before, discuss 7 The central circle made by the linked necks.
with students the way time is counted ‘BCE’ (i.e.
backwards from the year 1 CE). Encourage students
to keep referring back to this Resource sheet as they
work through the activities in this unit and the rest
of the book.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 5
Resource sheet – Discovering Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Timeline of Ancient Egypt
The civilisation of Ancient Egypt lasted for more than 3000 years. Historians have broken
this time up into periods and dynasties. A period is a long stretch of time, during which
Ancient Egyptian culture, technology, politics and lifestyle were largely unchanged.
A dynasty is a period of time in which a particular family held power. For example,
a pharaoh, his son and his grandson would all be part of the same dynasty. There were
31 dynasties in Egypt’s history.
Historians record time before or after the year 1 CE, which marks the beginning
of what we call the Common Era (CE). All dates before 1 CE are called BCE (Before the
Common Era).

Date 5000–3100 BCE

Pre-Dynastic Period
3100–2700 BCE
Developments Archaic Period 2700–2200 BCE
Farming begins along Old Kingdom
Developments 2200–2050 BCE
the Nile River.
Upper and Lower Egypt Developments First Intermediate
Writing develops. are united by Narmer. Pharaohs build huge Period
People are buried in pyramids (triangular-shaped
Developments
sandpits and mastabas buildings) for their tombs.
The pharaohs lose
(flat-roofed rectangular The pharaoh is seen as a
power for some years.
tombs). god-king.

Date 2050–1800 BCE

Middle Kingdom
1800–1570 BCE
Developments Second Intermediate 1570–1100 BCE
Art and literature Period New Kingdom
develops. 1100–332 BCE
Developments Developments Late Dynastic Period
Pharaohs rule with A foreign people called The Hyksos are defeated and
strong governments. the Hyksos arrived. Developments
removed from Egypt.
Egypt’s power
King Tutankhamun rules. decreases.
Egypt becomes a powerful Foreigners begin
trading nation. to rule Egypt.
Rock-cut tombs replace
pyramids for burials.

Date 332–28 BCE

Ptolemaic Period Developments
A Greek ruler (Ptolemy) takes over Egypt.
Queen Cleopatra rules until Egypt becomes part of the Roman Empire.

6 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Resource sheet – Discovering Ancient Egypt Achieve!
An extraordinary civilisation
Ancient Egyptians made some extraordinary achievements. They were masters of
engineering, building and mathematics. They had no heavy machinery such as we use
today. Everything they built was created by hand, using many workers. Some people could
work for over twenty years on a project such as a pyramid.
The Ancient Egyptians also made scientific discoveries and understood astronomy and
advanced medical treatments, including dentistry and brain surgery. These clever people
built the world’s first ships, traded in gold and precious stones, made glass and controlled
much of their world’s food resources. They built a wealthy empire and left behind the
world’s most impressive ancient monuments.
When studying history, we call any objects made by people artefacts. Lots of Egyptian
records and writings have been dug up by archaeologists – people who study objects
from the past. Many of our English words for Egyptian artefacts come from the Greek
language. Here are three:

stele sounds like steel-i

Definition: a slab of stone with writing and symbols
carved on it
Plural: stela (sounds like steel-a)
(more than one)

ostracon sounds like oss-tra-con

Definition: a small, baked piece of clay with Egyptian
writing on it
Plural: ostraca (sounds like oss-tra-ka)

sarcophagus sounds like sar-coff-a-guss

Definition: a golden coffin in which pharaohs were
usually buried. King Tutankhamun’s
sarcophagus is a priceless treasure found
in Egypt by archaeologists.
Plural: sarcophagi (sounds like sar-coff-a-guy).

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 7
Activity sheet – Discovering Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Unearthing the past
We know a lot about the Ancient Egyptians because
of the artefacts they left us. In history, we call artefacts
from the time we are studying primary sources.

+ Complete the names of these primary sources,

their plurals and their descriptions. The Colossus of Rameses

Primary source (singular) Plural Description

1 pyramid huge, triangular shaped
building

2 tombs place where the dead

were buried

3 mastaba flat-roofed rectangular

tomb

4 monument important buildings from

the past

5 statues images of people carved

from stone

6 stela engravings on slabs

of stone

7 painting paintings

8 sarcophagus richly decorated coffins

for pharaohs

9 ostraca clay engraved with

hieroglyphics

10 artefact

8 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Discovering Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Primary sources
We can study artefacts to find out more about life in Ancient Egypt. Remember, artefacts
from the time being studied are called primary sources.

+ Write a brief description of each of the primary sources shown in the table. The first
one has been done for you.

Primary source Description

The Great Pyramid of Khufu is a tall,

triangular building made of huge blocks
of stone. Inside it is a pharaoh’s tomb.
It is the largest of the three pyramids
at Giza. It is around 4000 years old.
the Great Pyramid of Khufu

Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus

golden
pectoral necklace

the Great Sphinx

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 9
Resource sheet – Discovering Ancient Egypt Achieve!
The Narmer Palette (1)
The Narmer Palette is a small, flat dish used to hold paints or inks, either for painting
tombs or for applying make-up. It is one of the oldest artefacts we have from Egypt.

smiting stick

Narmer’s
enemies Narmer

The Narmer Palette central circle The Narmer Palette

(front) formed by (back)
linking necks

The Crown of Lower Egypt and the Crown of Upper Egypt

make the Double Crown of unified Egypt.

The bull, a symbol of the pharaoh’s power Captured enemies of Egypt

10 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Discovering Ancient Egypt Achieve!
The Narmer Palette (2)
In ancient times, before there had been any pharaohs (powerful kings), Lower Egypt
and Upper Egypt were ruled separately. The two regions were first united under a single
government by a king called Narmer. About 2500 years ago, an Ancient Greek historian
called Herodotus wrote about Narmer. When archaeologists found an artefact called
the Narmer Palette, historians realised that Herodotus had been right about this king’s
name and his achievement of joining the land of Egypt.

+ Look at the symbols and their meanings on the Resource sheet ‘The Narmer
Palette (1)’, study the Narmer Palette, then answer these questions.
1 What did Herodotus believe?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2 Why do you think the creatures in the central panel on the front are shown
linking necks? ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

3 What other animal symbol represents the power of the pharaoh?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

4 What is Narmer holding in his left hand? _________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

5 What has happened to Narmer’s enemies (on the top right of the front side)?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

6 Why would the Narmer Palette show the enemies in this way?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

7 Which part of the Palette would have been used to hold paint or ink?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 11
Teacher’s notes – ‘The Gift of the Nile’ Achieve!
After students have read the Activity sheet ‘The Nile
river’, have them practise saying the key words aloud.
Objectives Discuss the importance of water in a desert country.
l To learn about the geography of Egypt and its The Activity sheet ‘The agricultural calendar’
key regions allows students to think about how life in Egypt was
l To understand the importance of the Nile river influenced by its geography and climate. Ask students
to Egypt. to discuss the following question with a partner: How
might the Egyptians have been able to predict the flood
Prior knowledge levels each year? Then present the answer (below):
Students should be able to find the African The Nileometer was a structure built near the river.
continent and the land of Egypt on a map. It had a series of steps that measured and marked the
flood levels each year. Through his government, the
pharaoh had the data recorded. Mathematics was applied
so the pharaoh could predict the flood’s cycles and levels
Background each year – telling people where to plant and where to
Ancient Egypt consisted of two regions: Lower Egypt build safely. They could also control the rising waters with
in the north (comprising the marshy delta where the a system of canals and levee banks. Because this ‘power’
Nile flows into the Mediterranean Sea) and Upper seemed so mysterious, this reinforced people’s belief that
Egypt in the south (the desert region through which the pharaoh was a god.
a thin, fertile strip of agricultural land runs on either The two-page Activity ‘Using the Nile’s resources’
side of the Nile). illustrates the various ways that Ancient Egyptians
The Egyptians were fortunate to have a land used the Nile’s resources and how it was so central
with a lot of natural resources, including gold and to Egyptian life. Discuss the activities shown in the
other precious minerals. The Nile with its regular illustration with students.
floods was by far the most valuable resource of all.
Extension activity
The floodwaters left behind a layer of rich, black soil,
which was replenished each year. This allowed the Explain to students that nowadays the Nile’s inundation
Egyptians to grow crops and keep herds of animals. no longer occurs, because of the building of the Aswan
The way the Egyptians adapted to the Nile’s changes Dam (Lake Nassar). Have them discuss the likely effects
was the key to their development into a powerful this has had on agriculture in Egypt. Discuss where they
empire. could find more information about this.

Starter activity Answers

The agricultural calendar February – time to plant and
Present to students a map showing Egypt’s position
tend crops; June – harvesting of crops; July – free time;
on the African continent. Discuss the geography of
August – free time; September – free time; October –
Egypt with them. Discuss what a delta is. Explain the
flood time
way that direction was described – that Upper Egypt
actually lies to the south, but was given its name Using the Nile’s resources (2) 1 drinking water; 2 fertile
because it is closer to the source of the Nile. soil; 3 water for washing; 4 water for crops and herds;
5 fish and waterfowl to eat; 6 swimming to cool off;
Resource and Activity sheets 7 transport; 8 mud for making bricks; 9 papyrus for
paper; 10 bulrushes for weaving
The Activity sheet ‘The land of Egypt’ helps students
familiarise themselves with the geography of
Ancient Egypt by having them trace the map into
their workbooks.

12 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – ‘The Gift of the Nile’ Achieve!
The land of Egypt
The land of Egypt lies in North Africa. The Ancient Egyptians built a powerful civilisation
that lasted for over 3000 years. Today, the people of Egypt enjoy modern lifestyles
very different to those of their ancestors, but the land still looks similar to how it was
in the ancient past. Around 450 BCE, a Greek historian called Herodotus named Egypt
the ‘Gift of the Nile’, because the river made it possible for people to live in Egypt.

+ 1 Trace this map into

your workbook. Colour
it to create your own
map of Egypt as it was
in ancient times.

2 Label the following

features:

the Nile river

the Mediterranean Sea
Upper Egypt
Lower Egypt
Memphis (capital city)
Thebes (capital city)
Giza
the Eastern desert
the Western deserts
Alexandria
Edfu

3 Use symbols to make a key for your map. For example, you might use crowns to show
where the capital cities are located.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 13
Activity sheet – ‘The Gift of the Nile’ Achieve!
The Nile river
The Ancient Egyptians built a powerful desert civilisation because of the Nile river.
The Nile stretches for over 6400 kilometres, flowing from south to north. The Nile breaks
into lots of smaller streams at a place called the Nile delta. The delta region is part of
the territory once called Lower Egypt, which lies at the northern end of Egypt. Upper
Egypt lies to the south.
The Ancient Egyptians called the flooding of the Nile river ‘the inundation’. The way
they learnt to adapt to the Nile’s changing flood levels made them successful at farming.

+ 1 Use the words in the word list to complete the water droplets.

Storing _____
Building ______ water in walls
and levee banks to Learning to predict
______ the height of flood patterns by
the flood waters keeping ______

Keys to successful
agriculture
Inventing the Developing a
shaduf, a _____ system of _____ along
that helped irrigate the river to tell others
(water) _____ in dry about _____ flood
crops alerts waters
seasons
control canals
tool flood
records rising

14 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – ‘The Gift of the Nile’ Achieve!
The agricultural calendar
In a desert country such as Egypt, water is the most precious resource. The Nile river
provided plenty of fresh water for all sorts of purposes. It also provided many other
benefits to ordinary people and to Egypt as a nation. By understanding the flood patterns
of the Nile river, the Egyptians were able to produce the food crops they needed to
survive. Egyptian society was built around three phases that were governed by the Nile:
● flood time (when water and mud covered the land),
● seed time (when the waters were going down),
● harvest time (when the crops were fully grown).
Between July and September each year, farm workers had time to do other things,
including working for the government on public building projects. When the floodwaters
returned in October, they covered the land with a new layer of fertile soil. After the waters
receded and the soil had dried, the land was ready for planting again.

+ 1 Write these six descriptions of farming activity into the correct months.

flood time free time time to plant and tend crops

free time harvesting of crops free time

February June July

August September October

2 How might the Egyptians have been able to predict the flood levels each year?
Discuss this question with a partner, then share your ideas with the class.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 15
 Activity sheet – ‘The Gift of the Nile’ Achieve!
This picture shows the variety of ways that the Egyptian people used the Nile river.
Using the Nile’s resources (1)

16 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – ‘The Gift of the Nile’ Achieve!
Using the Nile’s resources (2)
+ T o complete this task about how the Nile was used by the Egyptians, use the clues
below to work out the missing letters. Then match each activity to where it is shown
in ‘Using the Nile’s resources (1)’ by numbering the boxes.

1 d r _ n k _ n g water add two s

2 fert_le so__ add two s and an ‘l’

3 _ _ _ _ _ for washing unscramble the first word

(tawer)

4 shaduf collects water for crops the missing word means

and h _ _ _ s ‘groups of animals’

5 f _ s _ and w _ t _ r _ o _ l to eat the second word is a bird similar to a duck

6 s _ i _ _ i n g to cool off a leisure activity

7 tran_____ the last five letters spell a word that means

‘something people play’

8 mud for making b _ _ _ k s these are used in building

9 _ _ p _ r u _ for paper add the letters ‘p a y s’ in order

10 _ _ _ r u s h e s for weaving add a male cow minus an ‘l’

11 Colour the illustration in.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 17
Teacher’s notes – Blessed by the gods Achieve!
The Activity sheet ‘Gold and gemstones (1)’ introduces
students to the ways gold and gems were used. After
Objectives they have completed it, have them form groups and draw
l To learn about the natural resources of mind maps about the uses of gold in our society today
Ancient Egypt compared to Ancient Egypt. Share responses with the
l To learn how the Ancient Egyptians used class. After students complete the Activity sheet ‘Gold
these resources and gemstones (2)’ ask them to practise pronouncing the
l To gain an understanding of the importance names of the gemstones aloud.
of agriculture and livestock in ancient The Activity sheet ‘Egypt’s plant resources’
communities. familiarises students with the ways Ancient Egyptians
used the key natural resources of papyrus, bulrushes,
Prior knowledge mud, flax and date palm fibre.
Students should know what a natural resource is, The two-page Activity ‘Egypt’s food resources’
and be familiar with the basic geography of Egypt. introduces students to the resources Egyptians relied
on for food and then has them study the tomb painting
‘Fowling in the marshes’. If you can find one, show
students a coloured picture of the painting. Discuss the
Background range of colours used.
The Activity sheet ‘Organising resources’ is a
Egypt was a land blessed with natural resources.
classifying activity which reinforces some of the terms
The Nile river provided water and fertile soil, which
learnt in this unit. As a class, brainstorm different uses
enabled the Egyptians to farm grain crops, vegetables
of these resources.
and livestock. Fish, waterfowl, mud and plants were
also available. The Egyptians made linen, sandals, Extension activity
pottery, furniture, jewellery and other everyday items.
Revisit the Activity sheet ‘Egypt’s plant resources’ and
Most people ate well, and the predictable growing
have students brainstorm some additional uses for
seasons enabled many to pursue other forms of work
bulrushes, papyrus, mud, flax and date palm fibre. Have
and leisure activities. With the wealth generated
them make a list of possible uses for each one.
from selling and trading food, the early Egyptians
could afford to spend time and manpower on mining Answers
operations for gold, gems and building stone. Gold and gemstones (2) amethyst, carnelian, jasper,
lapis lazuli, onyx, turquoise
Starter activity
Egypt’s food resources waterfowl, hunter, papyrus,
Ask students to make a list of the natural resources fish, cat.
that may have been available to the Ancient Egyptians.
Organising resources Metals: copper, iron, tin, gold, lead;
At the end of the lesson, have them check off their
Building stone: basalt, granite, limestone, sandstone;
predictions and see how many they got correct.
Gems and decorative stones: amethyst, quartzite,
Resource and Activity sheets carnelian, jasper, alabaster, turquoise; Other minerals:
topsoil, natron, mud, gypsum, ochre, flint; Food:
Distribute the Resource sheet ‘Egypt’s mineral and
waterfowl, fish, dates, figs, hares; Natural fibres: papyrus,
rock resources’. Ask students to take turns reading
bulrushes, flax, date palm fibre
a paragraph aloud. Discuss the variety of resources
available, and generate a list of dot points that
summarise how they would have affected daily
life in Egypt. Students are asked to think about
what a miner’s life may have been like and write
a description of a typical day in their workbooks.

18 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Resource sheet – Blessed by the gods Achieve!
Egypt’s mineral and rock resources
Read the following paragraphs.

● Ancient Egypt was a land rich in natural resources. A valuable mineral resource
during flood season was the mud from the Nile. This was mixed with straw, moulded
into block shapes and dried in the sun to make building bricks.

● Miners worked in the desert

to supply Egypt with metals
such as gold, copper, tin,
lead and iron. Workers dug
out minerals by hand, using
tools made of flint – which
was another useful natural
resource.

● Natron, a mixture of natural

salts, was used by the
Egyptians to make dried
foods and to mummify
dead bodies. Another useful
mineral resource was a
chalky substance called
gypsum, from which plaster
was made to coat the inside walls of buildings.

● Stone for constructing buildings and monuments was an important resource in

Egypt. The Egyptians quarried building stone and gathered other useful mineral
resources from around their region. They used sandstone, limestone, granite
and basalt to make monuments, including pyramids, temples, obelisks, statues,
figurines and other sculptures.

+ 1 Think about what it would have been like to be a miner in Ancient Egypt.
In your workbook, describe a typical day in your working life.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 19
Activity sheet – Blessed by the gods Achieve!
Gold and gemstones (1)
The Egyptians also invested their resources, time and labour in mining for gold and precious
gemstones. Carnelian, jasper, quartzite, amethyst, alabaster, onyx, lapis lazuli and turquoise
were used to decorate objects and buildings, as well as in jewellery making. Gold and other
precious materials were used:
● to create a great display of wealth and power

● to honour the gods of Egypt and the pharaoh

● to ensure that buildings and certain objects would last

● in jewellery, to make people look more attractive

+ 1 Think about the ways we use gold and precious stones in our society today. In what
ways do we use gold differently to the Egyptians? Write your answer in your workbook.
2 Colour these gemstones according to the key provided.

Colour key
jasper – yellow
lapis lazuli – rich blue
amethyst – light purple (or lilac) carnelian jasper turquoise
carnelian – pinkish-red
turquoise – blue-green (or aqua)
onyx – black
onyx lapis lazuli amethyst

3 Colour the necklace

according to the
colour key provided.

20 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Blessed by the gods Achieve!
Gold and gemstones (2)
This picture of a necklace is a maze that contains the names of six precious and
semi-precious gemstones.

+ 1 Trace a path through the maze by linking letters to form the names of these
gemstones. Be careful, don’t go the wrong way.

+ 2 Write the names of the six gemstones in these spaces as you find them in the
maze. Then colour the necklace in the six colours of these gemstones.

_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 21
Activity sheet – Blessed by the gods Achieve!
Egypt’s plant resources
The Ancient Egyptians made good use of the resources nature provided for them.
Papyrus was used to make paper for writing and was woven into ropes used in boat-
making. Bulrushes, another kind of river reed, were woven into mats, baskets and other
useful items. Mud was used to build houses.
Linen for clothing, drapes and sails was woven from flax, which is a grass crop that
grew well in Egypt. The flax seeds were crushed for their oil, which was useful for cooking.
The tough fibre from date palm trees was used to make all sorts of woven items,
including sandals. Wild animals and birds, including hares, waterfowl and fish provided
food, and dates and palm sugar from the date palm tree were useful for sweetening foods.

+ 1 In the table below, list one or more uses for each of the resources listed.

Resource Uses
mud

papyrus

flax

bulrushes

date palm trees

22 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Blessed by the gods Achieve!
Egypt’s food resources (1)
The yearly flooding of the Nile provided Egypt with fertile, black soil. The Ancient
Egyptians used this to grow grass and grain crops. Success in agriculture allowed them
to raise herds of animals (livestock). Farmers grew emmer (a type of wheat), barley, oats,
corn and feed for their livestock, which included cattle, sheep and goats. They also grew
vegetables and fruits, including grapes, figs and dates.
Egyptians loved to hunt. They would paddle small boats into the water-filled marshes
to catch the fish and various wild birds that lived there. They trained cats to help them
catch the waterfowl, including wild ducks and geese, an important source of meat and
eggs. This activity was called ‘fowling’.

+ 1 On the next sheet is a representation of a famous tomb painting called ‘Fowling

in the marshes’. Unscramble the missing words, write them into the colour key,
then use it to colour in the painting.

Scrambled words
pyrapus shif act
awterwolf tunehr

Colour key

Colour the _______________________ with white bodies and light blue wings.

Colour the skirt of the _____________________ white, his skin reddish brown, his hair
black and his neckpiece yellow, white, blue and red.

Colour the seated female figure in the same way.

Colour the ___________________ plants with brown tips and blue stems.

Colour the _____________ grey and the ___________ yellow.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 23
Activity sheet – Blessed by the gods Achieve!
Egypt’s food resources (2)
Below is a representation of the famous tomb painting called ‘Fowling in the marshes’.
The painting shows an Egyptian, Nebamun, in a boat with his wife and daughter. He is
hunting birds in the marshes in the Nile.

+ 1 Use the colour key on the previous page to colour in the painting.

24 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Blessed by the gods Achieve!
Organising resources
Egypt is a land rich in natural resources.

+ 1 Organise these natural resources into their correct groups by writing them in the
correct baskets. Use the number clues to help you.

basalt tin carnelian bulrushes sandstone ochre

dates gypsum copper lead jasper date palm fibre
mud iron limestone flax hares waterfowl
gold papyrus alabaster topsoil flint quartzite
fish amethyst granite natron turquoise figs

Metals (5) Building stones (4) Gems and decorative stones (6)

Other minerals (6) Food (5) Natural fibres (4)

+ 2 Imagine you live in Ancient Egypt. What clever uses could you make of some of
these resources? Write your ideas in point form in your workbook.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 25
Teacher’s notes – Governing Egypt Achieve!
Resource and Activity sheets
Objectives The Activity sheet ‘The god-kings’ and the Activity
sheet ‘Being pharaoh’ are designed to help students
l To understand the roles and responsibilities
think about the impact that god-like status had on the
of a pharaoh
life of a leader. The questions at the end of the Activity
l To understand the structure and hierarchy
sheet ‘The god-kings’ can form the basis of a class
of Ancient Egyptian government discussion. Encourage students to refer back to it when
completing the Activity sheets ‘Being pharaoh’ and
‘The government’.
Prior knowledge
The Activity sheet ‘The government’ gives students
Students should understand the importance a word bank of modern terms for ancient jobs. This
of the Nile river as a system for transport and will help students to build up their vocabulary, as well
communication throughout Egypt. as their understanding of the role of the nomarch in
Ancient Egypt.
The Activity sheet ‘The importance of writing’ guides
students through creating a hieroglyphic alphabet,
Background which they can experiment with to create a coded
The government of Egypt had two aspects: human message.
and spiritual. The human face of the government
was a highly organised system of bureaucrats
Extension activity
that worked within a specific chain of command. Have students write a proclamation as pharaoh,
The spiritual side of government relied upon decreeing that their subjects must dedicate themselves
presenting the pharaoh as a god figure. This greatly to voluntary work for the government on one day each
influenced people’s opinions of the pharaoh and month. Begin the activity by asking students to think
his government, their loyalty and their preparedness about how they will phrase this proclamation to ensure
to obey. maximum cooperation. How could they use their god-
The pharaoh governed Egypt through king status to influence their subjects?
bureaucrats called nomarchs, who were each in
Answers
charge of a territory (nome). A chain of command
Being pharaoh 3 the flail; 4 sceptres, thrones, furs, lions,
existed among various administrators that enabled
ostrich
effective government throughout Egypt. Writing on
portable papyrus scrolls and using river transport The government taxation officer, accountant,
made long-distance communication possible, security guard, police commissioner, judge, general,
and thus the bureaucrats were able to control human resources executive, project manager, public
and monitor distant regions. News, laws and the relations officer
pharaoh’s messages and proclamations travelled
up and down the Nile via traders and administrators.
This sustained the strong central government, civil
order and a sense of unity as a nation.

Starter activity
Write the word ‘pharaoh’ on the board and ask
students what words and images come to mind.
What do they know about pharaohs? At the end of
the unit, revisit this activity and discuss the way that
the class’s views about the pharaohs have changed.

26 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Governing Egypt Achieve!
The god-kings
The power and status of Egypt’s pharaohs (leaders) grew over time, until people believed
that the pharaohs were not just kings, but gods. It suited the pharaohs to present
themselves as gods, because it made the people fear, respect and obey them. Pharaohs
enjoyed very wealthy lifestyles, and many fought hard to keep their family in power.
Some aspects of a pharaoh’s role are listed below.
Government aspects
● He was the chief ruler of Egypt.

● He made the laws and could enforce them, including punishing disobedience.

● He controlled the country’s wealth and workers with the help of one or two viziers

(prime ministers).
● He was the sole owner of all the land and controlled each nome (territory) through
administrators called nomarchs, who collected taxes and organised workers.
● He controlled the Egyptian army and owned all the military resources.
● He was the head of the priesthood.
Spiritual powers
● He was believed to be a descendant of the sun-god Re (one of the oldest gods).

● He was believed to control the flooding of the Nile river.

● The spirit of Horus, an important falcon-headed god, was believed to enter him

when he came to the throne.

● He was believed to become one with Osiris, the god of the underworld, when

he died.

+ Think about what it was like to be a pharaoh, and answer the following questions
in your workbook.
1 Why did the pharaohs present themselves as gods?
2 What do you think might have happened if people realised that the pharaohs
didn’t have spiritual powers?
3 Do you think it was right that the pharaohs led people to believe a lie so that
they could maintain their power?

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 27
Activity sheet – Governing Egypt Achieve!
Being pharaoh
The pharaoh was the most powerful person in Egypt. To keep this power within one family
he had to marry someone in his immediate family. Pharaohs therefore usually married
their sisters or half-sisters.

+ 1 How would you feel about having to marry your sister or brother?
Circle an emoticon.
yay! yuk! grrr!

2 Write down how you would feel if people worshipped you as if you were a god?
I would feel _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3 The crook was a shepherd’s stick

and the flail was a whip. These
items symbolised the pharaoh’s role
as the protector and the punisher
of his people. Which one do you
think represented the pharaoh’s The crook
power to discipline the people? and flail

__________________

4 Use these words to fill in the blanks

in the sentences below.

lions thrones furs ostrich sceptres

Pharaohs carried ___________________ and sat on golden __________________.

They wore patterned skins and ______________ from wild animals, including
______________________ and leopards.

Slaves kept them cool with large fans made from ___________________ feathers.

28 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Governing Egypt Achieve!
The government
The land of Egypt was separated into territories called nomes. Each nome was supervised
by an administrator called a nomarch. The nomarchs were under the command of the
pharaoh’s viziers (prime ministers). Nomarchs were a bit like the mayors of today, but with
a lot more individual power.

security guard accountant taxation officer

human resources executive judge project manager
police commissioner general public relations officer

+ 1 L ook at the list of jobs performed by nomarchs. From the box above, select the
title we would use today to describe the person who does that job.

● collecting taxes from the people ____________________________

● managing the nome’s money and resources ____________________________

● protecting the people in their nome ____________________________

● keeping law and order ____________________________

● interpreting and applying the law ____________________________

● organising military troops ____________________________

● appointing and supervising workers ____________________________

● overseeing public building projects ____________________________

● passing on messages from the pharaoh ____________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 29
Activity sheet – Governing Egypt Achieve!
The importance of writing
The Egyptians had two important resources that allowed them to develop written
language. These were papyrus, which they used to make paper, and ochre, which they
mixed with oil or water to make paint. Historians call the picture-writing of the Egyptians
hieroglyphics. Scribes (writers) used a pointed reed dipped in ink to draw on papyrus
and tomb walls. We call this type of writing instrument a stylus. Because papyrus scrolls
could be rolled up and carried around, writing became portable. This allowed people to
communicate over long distances. Boats were used to deliver messages from the capital
city, up and down the Nile river to distant towns.

+ 1 Copy the hieroglyphics into your workbook. Invent six more symbols of your
own and make each represent one letter of the alphabet.

+ 2 Make up a short coded message. Give a friend the code so they can decipher it.

30 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Teacher’s notes – Egyptian society Achieve!
Starter activity
Objectives Using the whiteboard, ask the class to contribute ideas
to a mind map about Egyptian society. In what ways was
l To examine the social hierarchy structure of
it different to ours? How was it similar?
Egyptian society
l To emphasise the key importance of written Resource and Activity sheets
language to the advancement of a society
The Activity sheets ‘Social hierarchy’ and ‘The noble
Prior knowledge class’ can be set for independent reading. Revise with
the class the technique of summarising by locating
Students need no prior knowledge to undertake and paraphrasing the main points of a text, then ask
these activities. students to make some point form summary notes in
their workbooks before they complete the activities.
Note: This may require a double lesson.
The two Activity sheets on ‘Workers’ are a puzzle
Background activity. Set a time limit of 20 minutes for students to
complete them. Check their answers at the end.
The social strata of Ancient Egyptian society
included slaves, farmers and labourers, general The Activity sheet ‘Women’ can be set for individual
workers, the military, administrators and bureaucrats, reading. The students are prompted to discover the
the nobility, the priesthood and royalty. The lower name of Hatshepsut and then reflect on her story.
classes were encouraged to believe that it was the Collect the sheets for marking and provide them with
will of the gods that they remain in their roles, but feedback.
occasionally people rose above the class into which The Activity sheet ‘Slaves’ includes an extended
they were born. writing task. You could set a time limit for this in class,
The development of written language, or you could make this an ICT activity, requiring
mathematics, a system of weights and measures, students to present it as a word-processed document
and the ability to write everything down and keep or a PowerPoint presentation.
records ensured that the administration could plan Extension activity
ahead and keep things in order.
The use of papyrus scrolls that could be easily Have the class expand the mind map created in the
carried enabled the network of officials – viziers starter activity, writing a series of detailed points
(prime ministers), nomarchs (local governors), of comparison between our society and that of the
administrators, scribes, priests, nobles, military Ancient Egyptians.
leaders and others – to sustain communications Answers
throughout the land. Social hierarchy Social hierarchy pyramid: pharaoh;
The cooperation and unity of the people were priests and scribes; nobles and military leaders; wealthy
ensured by emphasising – through the powerful and traders and merchants; skilled craftsmen and farmers;
wealthy priesthood – the importance of loyalty to peasants and labourers; slaves
the gods and their appointed human leaders. Workers (2) Word find solutions: building the pyramids;
digging up precious stones; guarding the temples;
painting tombs

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 31
Activity sheet – Egyptian society Achieve!
Social hierarchy
In Egyptian society people were thought of as members of particular groups, rather than
as individuals. Some groups were believed to be more important than others. This was a
good thing if you were born into the royal family or were part of the noble class. But it
wasn’t very good if your parents were working-class people or slaves. This type of class
system is based on luck. Interestingly, most people respected the system and knew their
place within it.

+ 1 U se the following information to fill in the pyramid diagram to show the order
of society:
The pharaoh was at the top, followed by priests and scribes. Next came the
nobles and military leaders. In equal fourth position were wealthy traders and
merchants. The next group was made up of skilled craftsmen and farmers.
Under them were peasants and labourers, and last of all were slaves.

32 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Egyptian society Achieve!
The noble class
In Egypt, people had different lifestyles according to the amount of wealth they had, just
like people do today. The most privileged (fortunate) class in society was made up of
people we call nobles. A person could be considered a noble for a number of reasons.

I am the pharaoh’s first cousin.

I wear fine clothing and jewellery and my
husband and I have already had expensive
tombs made for when we die. Servants cook,
clean, bring us trays of food and do all
the housework.

I hold an important
position in the pharaoh’s
government. I am a vizier,
which is similar to the role
of prime minister.
I was lucky enough to be born
into a wealthy noble family. Because my
parents are nobles, I am too. I live with my family
in a lovely home that is richly decorated and well
furnished. Our house has a beautiful garden
I am a highly and a swimming pool with lotus flowers
honoured military floating on the water.
leader – commander in
chief of the pharaoh’s
army. As a noble man,
I enjoy more privileges
than many other
people in Egypt.

+ 1 H ow would the lifestyle of a vizier differ from the life of a slave? Write a short
paragraph about the differences in the following things:

• their work • their clothing • their family life.

• their homes • their leisure activities
© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 33
Activity sheet – Egyptian society Achieve!
Workers (1)
This is a three-part puzzle about the kinds of jobs people did in Ancient Egypt. The puzzle
grid is on a separate page.
1 Separate these letter chains into 23 separate jobs. Write them into the spaces below.

scribecraftsmanweavercookpotterbrickmakerjewellerstonemasonbaker
goldsmithfarmercarpenterwinemakerboatbuildersculptor
fowlertradersoldiermineradministratorhandmaidenmerchantfisherman

2 Find each of these words in the puzzle on ‘Workers (2)’. Words may be written across,
down, backwards and diagonally. Cross the words off your list (above) as you find
them. Circle the words as you find them in the puzzle grid.
3 The leftover letters spell out four specific projects that workers were employed by
the pharaoh to perform. The first letter after each eye symbol begins the key phrase.
Write them in the spaces below.

34 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Egyptian society Achieve!
Workers (2)
+ Follow the instructions on ‘Workers (1)’ to complete this puzzle.

F O W L E R B U I L D N S I N G

I T E H E R E T N E P R A C P B Y

S R A A M R E I D L O S M R I R D

H S V D I R G B G T I S I N I G

E U E P R E M R A F T P T B R C N

R E R C N I O U K S E S F E T K E

M O N I E S G E U R A A R O M D

A D M I N I S T R A T O R O D A I

N I N J E W E L L E R G C T H K A

B O A T B U I L D E R E E T E E M

M P W I N E M A K E R L D E S R D

P A I N T I S T O N E M A S O N

N G T R O T P L U C S O M B R S A

T N A H C R E M G O L D S M I T H

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 35
Activity sheet – Egyptian society Achieve!
Women
+ 1 Complete the following passage using the words in the box below.
husband inheritance payments custody choice name

Egyptian law gave women a number of important rights.

A woman had the right to:
● own land in her own _______
● receive an _____________ from her father
● leave this inheritance to any person of her _______
● divorce her __________ under certain circumstances
● __________ of her children if there was a divorce or separation
● support __________ from the children’s father after a divorce
or separation.
2 As a general rule, women could not hold a position in government. Interestingly,
one Egyptian woman actually ruled Egypt as pharaoh. Use the clues below to
find out her name.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
● The first three letters spell something you wear on your head beginning with ‘h’.
● The next four letters are spelt like the word ‘sheep’, but with only one ‘e’.
● The last three letters spell a word that sounds like ‘soot’ but has a ‘u’ instead of
two ‘o’s.
This female ruler wore a false beard as a symbol, and presented herself as pharaoh.
They accepted her as their ruler, and she built up a powerful trading empire, which
greatly increased Egypt’s wealth. But to do this, she had to take the throne by force
from her stepson, Thutmose III. When he grew older, Thutmose may have had his
stepmother murdered. He then removed every trace of her name from monuments
and other written records. But he could not remove her memory completely.

+ 3 W hy do you think Thutmose wanted to erase the people’s memories of his

stepmother?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

36 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Egyptian society Achieve!
Slaves
Some people in Egypt were served by slaves. Historians are not sure whether these
workers were forced into slavery, or whether they were low-paid servants. It seems that
slaves in Egypt were not considered to be the ‘property’ of a master. Rather, they were
employed to perform certain duties that wealthier people did not wish to do.
Activities of slaves
The activities of slaves included watering, planting and harvesting crops, cleaning the
house, chopping firewood, moving cows to new grazing areas, feeding goats and pet cats
and dogs, and moving bricks, timber and equipment for use in building projects.

+ 1 Summarise this information by finding some examples from the paragraph above
to fill these spaces:
● farming duties such as ________________________________________________.
● household jobs, like ________________________ and ______________________.
● caring for animals, such as ______________________ and ___________________.
● transporting materials and products. For example, ____________________________.

Sometimes people became slaves because they had a debt that they could not afford to
repay. Others were prisoners of war, or had committed a crime that required punishment.
If your parents were slaves, usually you would become a slave too.

2 Imagine you are a slave 1 __________________________________________

living in Ancient Egypt. __________________________________________
Your name is Anut and __________________________________________
you work for the pharaoh.
2 __________________________________________
Your duties are to take
__________________________________________
care of the pharaoh
__________________________________________
whenever he makes a
public appearance. Write 3 __________________________________________
three things you would __________________________________________
do in your typical day. __________________________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 37
Teacher’s notes – Daily life in Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Activity and Resource sheets
Objectives Before having students read and complete Activity
sheet ‘Lifestyle’, read them this information:
l To understand the way the Egyptians lived in
ancient times The people of Egypt believed that they were pleasing
the gods by working hard and by obeying the pharaoh and
l To find similarities and differences between
his government. The pharaoh was presented not merely
ancient and modern lifestyles
as a king, but as a god. He was therefore the head of the
Prior knowledge priesthood as well as the administrative government and
the military.
Students need no prior knowledge to undertake
these activities. Discuss the impact that believing the pharaoh was a
god would have had on daily life.
The Activity sheet ‘Food and drink’ includes some
language tasks. Read the text aloud and allow students
time to complete these tasks.
Background
The Activity sheet ‘An Egyptian feast’ presents
In some ways, daily life in Ancient Egypt was quite students with an imaginary scenario in which they are
similar to the lifestyles of middle- or working-class asked to prepare a feast. Before they begin this activity,
people today. Their clothing, food, leisure activities, review what they have found out so far in the unit and
homes and equipment were not so different from give them some ideas about what forms of food and
ours. However, the religious aspects that governed entertainment were available.
Egyptian life meant that Ancient Egyptians held a Allow two lessons for students to complete the three
worldview that most people today do not share. Activity sheets on Egyptian clothing. Have students
Life expectancy was low – around 40 years of age. complete the tasks in pairs and compare their ideas.
People often died of illness or injuries that would be
easily treatable in hospital today. Many women and Extension activity
children died in childbirth. War, disease epidemics Ask students to write a whole menu for an Ancient
and natural disasters claimed lives that today could Egyptian feast, building on the Activity sheet ‘An
be saved in similar situations. Egyptian feast’. The dishes can be given invented names,
Starter activity and students should choose one or two dishes for
which to write recipes and cooking methods.
Discuss our modern, Western dietary habits and ask
students to think about what the Ancient Egyptians Answers
might have eaten. What types of food do students Lifestyle 9, 8, 3, 11, 5, 2, 10, 12, 7, 1, 4, 6
guess might have been common in Ancient Egypt?
Ask them to make a list of foods that might grow (or
be available) in the region today.

38 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Daily life in Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Lifestyle
+ 1 In the brackets, write the number that matches a synonym (a word with the
same meaning) for each word.
Synonyms
The Ancient Egyptians lived active and busy lives. The
most important goal (__) for the average family was 1 construction
working to obtain (__) enough food to eat. Food was 2 laundering
adequate (__), but few people seem to have overeaten 3 sufficient
in Ancient Egypt. People lived in houses (__) that had
4 products
a number of separate rooms and furnishings to make
their lives comfortable. The housework was shared (__) 5 divided
between men and women, with men taking care of the 6 public
washing (__) of clothing. People cooked, raised children
7 grew
(__), cleaned, studied and taught skills to each other, grew
gardens and kept pets. And of course, they worked in 8 get
jobs (__) outside of the home. Many farmers raised (__) 9 aim
crops and tended herds. Other jobs included building (__), 10 kids
stonemasonry, metalwork, carpentry, weaving, trading in
11 dwellings
merchandise (__), boat-building, fishing, painting, writing,
civil (__) administration, working as a scribe and being 12 employment
a soldier.

2 Using vowels (a,e,i,o,u) fill in the missing letters to complete the following paragraph.
The Ancient Egyptians enjoyed a variety of leisure activities. They enjoyed
playing g_m_s, spending family time together, pl_y_ng and listening to
m_s_c, d_nc_ng, f_ _st_ng and c_l_br_t_ng more than 60 f_st_v_ls and public
holidays each year. Entertainers danced, sang and played m_s_c_l instruments,
including fl_t_s, harps, lyres, drums and cymbals. Exotic animals such as
m_nk_ys and baboons were trained to perform tricks. _cr_b_ts and pretty
dancing girls also entertained at parties.
3 In your workbook, describe a trick you think the Ancient Egyptians might have
trained the monkeys and baboons to perform.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 39
Activity sheet – Daily life in Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Food and drink
+ 1 In the following text, circle all the words that name meats, vegetables, herbs
and spices.
2 Draw squares around all the words that name fruits.
3 Underline all the other foods and drinks that are mentioned.
● Ancient Egyptian people ate a simple diet of vegetables, fruits, dairy products,
eggs, meat and fish. They ate salad vegetables, including cucumber, lettuce
and radishes, and cooked vegetables, including beans, peas, cabbage, leeks,
onions and garlic. They also used corn, chickpeas, olive oil, bak tree oil and salt.
● They grew emmer (a type of wheat) and barley – these grains were ground
into flour for making flat bread and barley cakes.
● Food was roasted, fried, boiled, baked, grilled or stewed. Spices and
condiments included mustard, cumin, dill, coriander, cinnamon, rosemary,
wild marjoram and vinegar.
● Food was prepared on the floor or on low tables and was cooked, served and
stored in clay dishes. Among the wealthy, gold, silver and bronze dishes, pots
and cups were used.
● The wealthy ate much better diets than the poor and working classes.
● Fruits that grew in Egypt included pomegranates, figs, melons, dates and grapes.
● Meat was eaten only occasionally, and included lamb, goat, hare and duck.
Fish was more common, because of the Nile river.
● Beer was made from fermented bread and wine was made from grapes.
Milk and cheese were produced from the herds of cattle and goats the Ancient
Egyptians kept. Eggs were harvested from wild birds, including ducks and geese.
● Honey and palm sugar were readily available to sweeten foods. A sweet root
called chuba, which grew near the Nile, was also used as a sweetener, and
carob was used to add taste. Raisins were made from grapes and added to
barley cakes to make sweet treats.
● People generally ate with their fingertips. Bowls of scented water were used
to wash fingers and hands when they became greasy.

40 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Daily life in Ancient Egypt Achieve!
An Egyptian feast
+ 1 Using the foods listed in ‘Food and Drink’, imagine you must prepare a feast for
some people from the noble class. Choose ingredients for a main course, dessert
and drinks.

Name of the dish: ___________________________________________________

Ingredients How you will prepare the meal

What are you planning to serve for dessert?

Your name for this dessert Ingredients in this dessert

What about drinks?

+ 2 Use the information from the Activity sheet ‘Lifestyle’ to plan the entertainment
for the evening. Describe two acts you will use.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 41
Resource sheet – Daily life in Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Egyptian clothing (1)
In Ancient Egypt, clothes were made of linen. This fabric was woven from the flax plant
that the Egyptians farmed. It was usually white, but was sometimes dyed different colours.
Noble men wore knee-length skirts and some also wore tunics. Men from the lower
classes wore loincloths, which were much shorter. These enabled them to move about
freely as they worked in the heat of the Egyptian sun.
Women wore long dresses and shawls.
Both men and women wore cloaks in the cooler months.
Royal and noble people sometimes wore animal skins
over their shoulder. Everyone wore sandals made from
flax or date palm fibre, and sometimes used leather to
make their shoes last longer. Children mostly wore no
pectoral necklace
clothes at all.
Both men and women wore jewellery made of gold and silver,
make-up on their faces, and elaborate wigs. For parties and other
special occasions, people would dress up in their finest clothes.
People would apply fragrant oils to their skin to make
themselves smell nice, and some women wore wax cones filled
with fragrance on their heads. As the lady became warmer
throughout the event, the wax would melt, sending the fragrance
trickling down their hair or wig, giving off a pleasant smell. wig

The Egyptians used different colours of

ochre, mixed with oil or water, to make paints
used in tomb paintings. Ochre was also used
as make-up by both women and men. An oily,
black eye make-up was used to help protect
the eyes from the desert sand. It was made
from an ochre called kohl.
Draw and colour this person’s face in
Egyptian style make-up. Add some hair or
a wig.

42 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Daily life in Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Egyptian clothing (2)
+ Write descriptions of these items of clothing.

1 Describe how it looks: ______________________________

__________________________________________________

Who would wear it? ________________________________

__________________________________________________

Which social group would it be worn by?

__________________________________________________

What is it made of?________________________________

__________________________________________________

Special design features: _____________________________

__________________________________________________

2 Describe how it looks: ______________________________

__________________________________________________

Who would wear it? ________________________________

__________________________________________________

Which social group would it be worn by?

__________________________________________________

What is it made of?________________________________

__________________________________________________

Special design features: _____________________________

__________________________________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 43
Activity sheet – Daily life in Ancient Egypt Achieve!
Egyptian clothing (3)
+ 1 Describe the person that would wear this piece of clothing.
Who would wear this skirt? ________________________
_______________________________________________

Which social group would it be worn by?

_______________________________________________

Special design features: ___________________________

_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

+ 2 Trace these figures

into your workbook
and add clothes, wigs
and jewellery to them
to create two of the
following characters:
● a priest
● a princess
● a pharaoh
● a vizier
● a slave girl.

44 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Teacher’s notes – Ancient Egyptian religion Achieve!
In the Activity sheet ‘Serving the gods’, students must
rearrange sentence fragments and words into complete
Objectives sentences. First discuss with them how they should use
l To describe and detail some of the deities from the rules of grammar to help them complete this task.
Ancient Egyptian mythology
Extension activity
l To investigate the ways in which worship of
gods affected the lives of ordinary people Ask students to select one god or goddess and write
a research project answering the following question:
Prior knowledge What impact did serving this deity have on the
Students should understand that the Ancient daily lives of ordinary Ancient Egyptians? Students
Egyptians were pantheistic – that is, they believed could present their work in the form of a PowerPoint
in a multitude of different gods and goddesses, presentation.
many connected with the natural world. Answers
Egyptian gods 1 Horus 2 Osiris 3 Thoth
Egyptian goddesses child, Sekhmet
Background The priesthood 1 the running of temples; 2 food, gold,
silver, precious stones and other valuable objects; 3 the
The Ancient Egyptians believed that their gods New Kingdom (around 1350 BCE); they had more power
protected them throughout their lives. In the tomb than Akhenaten; 4 sandstone, limestone and granite,
of Thutmose III, archaeologists found a list of 740 because they would last a long time.
gods and goddesses. Generally, people worshipped
Serving the gods 1 The cult of Isis was popular for
just a few special gods and goddesses that were
many centuries in Egypt. 2 The cult of Amun was a very
related to life in their own region. However, as
powerful group of priests. 3 They controlled a large
communication developed and different religious
treasury containing gold donated by ordinary people.
ideas spread, one god might gradually take on
4 People brought offerings and gifts to honour the
the characteristics of another, until some merged
gods. 5 Worshippers wrote poems for the gods and
together or one god developed multiple names.
sang songs to them. 6 Offerings included objects such
Starter activity as gold, silver and precious stones. 7 Priests charged
people money to have their prayers offered to the gods.
Ask students to consider why there were so many
gods and goddesses in Ancient Egyptian mythology.
Discuss the information provided in the ‘Background’
section with students. Prompt them to think about
how some gods merged with others.

Resource and Activity sheets

The Activity sheets ‘Egyptian gods’ and ‘Egyptian
goddesses’ introduce students to some of the most
important Egyptian gods and goddesses. Once
students have completed their reading, ask them
to discuss the reasons why some of the gods and
goddesses were more widely worshipped than
others.
Read the Activity sheet ‘The priesthood’ together
as a class, and then talk about the impact that the
priests had on the pharaoh and government of
Egypt. Compare this with the impact priests had on
the common people.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 45
Activity sheet – Ancient Egyptian religion Achieve!
Egyptian gods
The Ancient Egyptians worshipped local and national gods and goddesses. They prepared
offerings, which they brought to the temples. People believed it was very important to
show loyalty to the gods, to pray to images of them and to give them praise and attention.

+ Match the following descriptions to the illustrations of the gods.

Label each illustration with the name of the god.

I am a scribe, so I worship
the ibis-headed god
Thoth. He is the patron of
writing and scribes.
Muri

Being a vizier, I only worship the

god Horus. He is easy to spot, as he has
the head of a falcon and wears the double
crown of unified Egypt. This shows that he is
worshipped across the whole land. Horus
is the protector of the pharaoh.
Seti

Mundah I am getting to be an old woman.

Lately, I have been bringing offerings
to Osiris, the god of the afterlife. I
hope that this will please him enough
that he will give me safe passage
through the underworld to the
afterlife when I die.

3
46 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Ancient Egyptian religion Achieve!
Egyptian goddesses
People had different reasons for choosing to worship certain gods. Some gods and
goddesses, such as Amun, Horus, Osiris and Isis, were worshipped across the whole
land of Egypt, while others were local to particular regions.

+ 1 Complete the following descriptions of the goddesses of Egypt

that people worshipped. Use the pictures of the goddesses to
help you.

Jas
At least one girl from each generation
of our family has been a priestess
in the cult of Isis. Our great mother
goddess has more temples built in her Hathor
honour than any other goddess. Isis
is the sister and wife of the god of the
underworld, Osiris.

Weni My wife and I really want to have a

__________________. I am praying
to Hathor, the goddess of fertility.
Hathor is easy to recognise because
she has the horns of a cow and a
sun disk over her head. Isis

Akh’amun
My family and I worship
___________________, the
lion-headed goddess. She is
also linked with the cat goddess
Bastet, who is the patron of our
city, Bubastis.

Sekhmet

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 47
Activity sheet – Ancient Egyptian religion Achieve!
The priesthood
Priests were very important members of Ancient Egyptian society. They supervised the
running of temples, where ceremonies and rituals were carried out to honour the gods
and goddesses. The priests employed at temples decided who could visit and answered
people’s questions about the gods through a system of offerings. They would charge
people money to have prayers offered, and accepted food and other objects as offerings
to the gods. This filled up the temples with huge reserves of gold, silver, precious stones
and other valuable objects. As a result, the priesthood grew wealthy and powerful.
In the New Kingdom (around 1350 BCE), the priests of Amun had more power than the
pharaoh himself. This prompted the pharaoh Akhenaten to declare that everyone stop
worshipping all other gods except his own.
Temples were built to stand the test of time. They were made of huge columns, hand-
carved from sandstone, limestone and granite. Many of these colossal structures, such
as the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri, are still standing today.

+ Read the text above and then complete the following sentences.
1 Priests supervised _________________________________________________________.

2 They would accept offerings such as ________________________________________

________________________________________ for the gods.

3 The priests of Amun became powerful in ____________________________________.

They upset Akhenaten because __________________________________.

4 Temples were built from __________________________________________________ ,

because __________________________________.

48 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Ancient Egyptian religion Achieve!
Serving the gods
Religion was central to the Egyptian way of life. Different groups (cults) of priests or
priestesses were employed to serve in the temples. Each priest or priestess was devoted to
a particular god or goddess. Most people prayed to their gods each day, asking them for
help in their everyday lives. They believed that praising them and giving offerings would
make the gods reward them.

+ Rearrange these sentence fragments and write them out in the correct order.
1 was popular for many centuries in Egypt the cult of Isis
____________________________________________________________________________

2 the cult of Amun group of priests was a very powerful

____________________________________________________________________________

3 a large treasury they controlled donated by ordinary people

containing gold
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

These sentence fragments have not been separated into phrases. Can you work out
what order they should be in to form a proper sentence?
4 People brought to honour the gods. offerings and gifts
____________________________________________________________________________
5 and sang songs to them. wrote poems Worshippers for the gods
____________________________________________________________________________
6 objects such as Offerings included gold, silver and precious stones.
____________________________________________________________________________
7 prayers offered Priests charged people money to have their to the gods.
____________________________________________________________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 49
Teacher’s notes – Death and funerary customs Achieve!
Starter activity
Objectives Present this information to the class:
l To outline the unique beliefs and customs People believed that servants and various possessions
that led to the development of Egyptian could be used in the afterlife, so many people were entombed
mummification, tomb-building and other with furnishings and other objects from their houses, as well
funerary practices as statues of servants (or sometimes live slaves).
l To develop a sense of empathy with people Discuss this custom, explaining how it would have
from the past affected how people viewed death in Ancient Egypt.

Prior knowledge Resource and Activity sheets

Students should have some knowledge of the The Resource sheet ‘Tombs’ gives students information
process of mummification made famous by the about how Ancient Egyptian burial practices evolved.
Ancient Egyptians. They are then prompted to draw a flowchart of this
development in their workbooks, with illustrations.
You could sketch examples of these illustrations on the
whiteboard for students to follow.
Background The Resource sheet ‘Preserving the dead’ introduces
students to the beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians about
The Ancient Egyptians believed in an eternal life
the soul. Discuss the ways in which these beliefs
after death. It was very important to the Egyptians
are similar and different to those of some religions
that the body of a deceased person be preserved.
today. Explain the link between these beliefs and
This was done through mummification so that the
mummification – the importance of preserving the
ba (a part of the soul) would have a recognisable
physical body
body to which it could return after its flight at death.
Another aspect of the soul, the ka, also needed a For the Activity sheet ‘Mummies’, ask students what
physical object to which it could attach itself. This they already know about the process of mummification.
could be inside the mummy, in a statue or figurine, Then have them complete the maze to find out the
or even in a painted image of the person. The third three key stages. Students then answer questions to
part of the soul, the akh, was believed to be the get them thinking further about this information.
aspect that faced judgment for the person’s conduct Have students look at the painting ‘Fowling in the
while they were alive. The akh could only travel to marshes’ (page 24) and ask them to verbally describe
the afterlife once judgment was complete. what they see. Examine the style of painting and
The Book of the Dead was a series of paintings drawing in the work, before completing the Activity
that represented the ‘manual’ that could help sheet ‘Egyptian art’. If possible, extend the drawing
the deceased person to navigate through the activity by providing painting materials and making
underworld to the afterlife. Living people believed the task a creative project.
that they could be affected by the akhs of the dead. Extension activity
They would leave offerings and pray to the gods
for their dead relatives to ensure that they didn’t Get students to draw their own ‘Mummy maze’ puzzles.
become angry with them. Have them exchange these with classmates, so they
each get to complete another puzzle.

Answers
Mummies (maze) crocodile, cat, person
Egyptian art sculpture, pottery, natural, paintings,
coloured, plaster, perspective, angle, chest, feet,
sculptors, adults, pharaoh, statues

50 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Resource sheet – Death and funerary customs Achieve!
Tombs
Pyramids were massive triangular-shaped buildings
that were the tombs of the pharaohs. Historians
know quite a lot about how the Ancient Egyptians
learnt the art of pyramid building, because they
studied some of the failed attempts. When pyramid
building became too expensive, the Egyptians used
tombs cut into the rocks at places such as the Valley of the Kings.
Early tombs
The earliest tombs were simple sandpits dug in the desert. Before the Egyptians began
making mummies, the bodies would quickly dry out because of the hot sand and sun.
Later, rectangular coverings called mastabas were built over the top of sandpits to mark
and protect the graves.
Building pyramids
In later times, people began building tombs that were made of one mastaba on top of
another, each one slightly smaller. This formed a step pyramid, like the one found at
Saqqara. Early attempts to create a triangular-shaped pyramid failed because of mistakes
in measurements. One attempt created the Bent Pyramid. It has a rounded top and
unevenly sloping sides.
A true pyramid
Eventually, the Ancient Egyptians perfected pyramid building, to create the Great Pyramid
of Khufu and many other pyramids throughout Egypt.

+ 1 D raw a flowchart showing the development of tomb building in your workbook.

Use these labels and add pictures.

sandpit When pharaohs in the Old Kingdom built their

mastaba pyramids, nobles scrambled for burial sites as close
step pyramid as possible to the structures. They believed that being
bent pyramid buried near a god-king would help them to pass the
a true pyramid judgment of the dead and enter the afterlife.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 51
Resource sheet – Death and funerary customs Achieve!
Preserving the dead
The Ancient Egyptians believed in a life after death that would go on forever. It was very
important to the Egyptians that the body of a deceased person be preserved. They treated
and wrapped dead bodies to make them last a long time. We call these bodies mummies,
and the process of making them is called mummification.
The Egyptians believed that people had three aspects to their soul. In writing and
paintings, they drew them like this:
the ba
The ba was the personality – it was unique to the individual, and
could be compared to the idea of a person’s ‘spirit’. It could roam the
earth during daylight hours while Re the sun god was shining, then
had to return to the underworld at night. The ba flew away from the
body when the person died. If it was to return to the body later, it would need to be able
to find and recognise the right body.
the ka
The ka was the ‘life force’ of the person that is common to all living
humans – the ‘breath’ that made them alive. The ka entered the body
at birth and was the force that preserved life. It was the same for
each person. It was believed that at death, the ka needed a body to
use for its eternal home – hence the need for mummification. Ancient Egyptians knew
that the original physical body of a person eventually decayed away, but they believed the
ka needed the shell created by the cloth wrappings and the decorated coffin as a physical
place it could return to eternally.
the akh
The third part of the soul, the akh, was believed to be the part that
faced judgment for the person’s conduct while they were alive. The
akh could only travel to the afterlife once judgment was complete.
The Egyptians also mummified certain animals for ceremonial
reasons. Many mummies of cats have been found in tombs, along
with preserved crocodiles and birds. It is believed that the Egyptians wanted these
animals to accompany them into the afterlife.
52 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Death and funerary customs Achieve!
Mummies
+ 1 T race the bandages of these mummies to the name boxes. Write ‘person’, ‘cat’ and
‘crocodile’ in the space at the end of each bandage.

+ 2 As you trace the paths, the letters in the bandages spell out the three stages of
mummification. Write them out on these lines.
Stage 1 (person): _________________________________________________________
Stage 2 (cat): ____________________________________________________________
Stage 3 (crocodile): _______________________________________________________

Refer to the Resource sheet ‘Preserving the dead’ to answer the following questions.
3 Write one reason why it was important to the Egyptians to preserve the body of
a deceased person.
______________________________________________________________________
4 How did the Egyptians make bodies into mummies?
______________________________________________________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 53
Activity sheet – Death and funerary customs Achieve!
Egyptian art
+ 1 I nsert these missing words into the passage.
angle sculptors paintings pharaoh pottery chest adults
feet coloured natural statues plaster sculpture perspective

Ancient Egyptian art included painting, _ c _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , metalwork, jewellery-

making, woodwork, _ _ t t _ _ _ and other creative pursuits. Some artists did their
work for the royal household, while others produced artwork for ordinary people. Artists
used the n _ _ _ _ _ _ world and their spiritual beliefs for inspiration. Artwork
sometimes showed aspects of ordinary life, which has helped archaeologists to discover
many details about the way of life of the Ancient Egyptians.

The main sources of our knowledge of Ancient Egyptian society are p _ _ _ _ _ _ g s.

The people left behind many paintings on the walls of tombs, showing people going about
their daily activities. The images were brightly _ _ l _ _ r _ _ , although they are now
somewhat faded. They were painted using ochre mixtures on white _ l _ s _ _ _ that
was made from gypsum, a white, chalky substance, mined in the region.

Egyptian artworks were painted in an unusual way. Ancient Egyptians used

p _ _ _ _ _ c t _ _ e differently. They preferred to show each aspect of an object
or person from its best a _ _ _ _ . Therefore, the images appear one-dimensional to us,
similar to cartoon illustrations. In paintings of human forms, the shoulders, c h _ _ _ ,
waist and thighs are shown from the front, but the head, arms, legs and f _ _ _ are
shown from the side.

Both painters and s c _ _ _ _ o r s used size to show the social level and ages
of people. Children were shown smaller than a _ _ _ t s , and leaders and nobles
were shown larger than other people. The _ _ _ _ _ o h was shown larger than
everybody. A number of huge s _ a _ u _ s of some pharaohs, including Rameses II,
still exist today.

+ 2 In your workbook, draw a human figure in the Egyptian painting style.

54 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Teacher’s notes – Warfare in Egypt Achieve!
Starter activity
Objectives Begin by showing the class a map of the region and
discussing where the Egyptian’s enemies came from
l To outline the weapons and equipment used
(refer to the ‘Background’ for assistance). Discuss the
in military pursuits in Ancient Egypt
reasons why Egypt would have needed to develop
l To trace the improvements in the technology
methods of fighting on land and at sea. Which borders
of Egyptian military forces in ancient times would have been the most difficult to defend and why?
Prior knowledge Resource and Activity sheets
Students need no prior knowledge to complete The Resource sheet ‘The warrior pharaohs’ includes
these activities. an illustration of a horse-drawn chariot. Point out the
features of the design, and discuss how this vehicle
could have both helped and hindered a person’s
progress in battle. Ask students to consider why the
Background majority of armed forces in the ancient world moved
to using soldiers on horseback, rather than chariots.
Egypt considered most of her neighbours potential
Have students complete the Activity sheet ‘Conflict
enemies because of their relative poverty and
within Egypt’ and consider the motivation behind the
frequent food shortages in comparison to the fertile
Egyptians’ tactics.
Nile valley. Raiders could enter Egypt from the
western delta area, via the desert. Egypt went to war Students should use the Resource sheet ‘Weapons
with the Semitic people known as the Hyksos (who of warfare’ to complete the Activity sheet ‘Identifying
came from the Caucasus mountains in Asia). They weapons’. Collect and mark their written descriptions.
also fought against the Hittites and the Mitanni. Provide written feedback about their use of adjectives
Egyptian pharaohs conquered and enslaved many to complete the descriptions.
Nubians – their closest neighbours. The Greeks and Extension activity
the Romans eventually invaded Egypt by sea.
Ask students to conduct some further research on the
Egypt’s military goals included conquering
Battle of Kadesh. How did the official account of the
other nations, bringing slaves into Egypt and taking
battle differ from what historians have since found out
booty. The Egyptian government imposed tribute
about the event?
on people it conquered. This practice provided the
empire with an ongoing source of income. Just as
importantly, it kept their enemies from being able
to afford to rebuild their armies – thus reducing the
threat of revolt and attacks on Egyptian soil.
The Egyptians used weapons made of copper
and bronze. These were no match for the iron
weapons of later conquerors, but were sufficient to
defend their borders and wage foreign campaigns
in earlier times. They also had military boats that
carried large grappling hooks.
The introduction of the horse-drawn chariot
made hand-to-hand combat more difficult, as
the chariots had to draw alongside each other,
sometimes fighting while moving along. The
composite bow allowed the Egyptians to keep their
defensive lines further back from the enemy, which
put them out of range of the enemy’s inferior bows
and arrows.

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 55
Resource sheet – Warfare in Egypt Achieve!
The warrior pharaohs
Egyptians were generally a peace-loving people. But the pharaoh needed to protect
his nation from invaders. At various times, the Canaanites, the Assyrians, the Hittites, the
Hyksos and the Mitanni all threatened to invade Egypt.

Winning battles
Certain pharaohs, including Thutmose III and his son Amenhotep II, were successful in
defeating their neighbours. These pharaohs battled their enemies, took some people
captive, then made the defeated countries pay money and goods (tribute) to
Egypt for many years.

Warrior pharaohs
Being a successful pharaoh wasn’t
easy. The warrior pharaohs
actually went into battle, leading
their troops from the chariot
at the very front of the ranks. It
was a brave (or foolish) thing
to wage war against an enemy,
particularly one with a large army.
But Thutmose III and Amenhotep
II did so successfully, and were
able to expand Egypt’s empire
by winning battles on land and
sometimes at sea.

Occasionally, a person born into a lower class in Egypt could rise up through
the ranks of society because of their abilities as a soldier. This was achieved by a
military general called Horemheb, who was the first person not born into royalty
to become pharaoh. He achieved this high status because of his accomplishments
as a military leader.

56 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Warfare in Egypt Achieve!
Conflict within Egypt
During one difficult period of Egyptian history, a foreign people called the Hyksos had
come to live in the land. Historians once believed that the Hyksos had entered Egypt by
staging a violent invasion. But more recent research suggests that they may have come
peacefully at first, perhaps in small numbers, but soon grew to be a threat to the nation’s
security and way of life. The Hyksos were from a region north-east of Egypt. A number of
different pharaohs tried to remove them. It was King Ahmose who finally drove them out.

+ Use the Resource sheet ‘The warrior pharaohs’ to answer the following questions.
The Hyksos brought the horse-drawn chariot to Egypt. Before the time of the
Hyksos, the Egyptians went into battle on foot.
1 How would the horse-drawn chariot have changed the way military battles were
fought by the Egyptians?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

The Hyksos also invented a special weapon called a composite bow, which fired
arrows a longer distance than Egyptian bows.

+ 2 How might the composite bow have helped the Egyptians win more battles?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

+ 3 How do you think the Egyptians might have benefited from taking their
enemies captive?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

4 Why do you think the Egyptians decided to battle their enemies when it was so
dangerous to do so?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 57
Resource sheet – Warfare in Egypt Achieve!
Weapons of warfare

Soldiers used sharp, stabbing

weapons made of bronze and
copper in hand-to-hand combat.
However, these were no match for
the iron weapons used by invaders,
which would eventually bring an
end to the Egyptian empire.
Other attacking weapons
Examples: swords, blades, spears
used by the Egyptians
and daggers
were designed to
deliver heavy blows to
their opponents. These
weapons
weapons were made of
bronze, flint and wood.
They were very heavy.
Examples:
Long distance weapons included
maces and axes
bows and arrows and curved
wooden throwing sticks that
worked like boomerangs.
Examples: bows and arrows
and throwing sticks

58 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Warfare in Egypt Achieve!
Identifying weapons
+ 1 Read about weapons on the Resource sheet ‘Weapons of warfare’, then complete
the table by describing the weapons shown.

Weapon Description

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 59
Teacher’s notes – Foreign relations Achieve!
Starter activity
Objectives Pose these discussion questions to the class: How did
the Egyptians acquire things that could not be found or
l To learn about trade between Egypt and
made in Egypt? Timber was a key resource that was in
her neighbours
short supply – which nations could have provided the
l To apply logic and problem-solving skills
Egyptians with the timber they needed, in return for
in evaluating the relative worth of certain other goods? What safety concerns might have arisen
commodities in trading food in and around Egypt? What measures
l To learn about the concept of diplomacy in could traders take to minimise the risk of food spoiling
politics while it was being transported?
Prior knowledge Resource and Activity sheets
Students should be familiar with the geography of The Activity sheet ‘Egypt’s trading partners’ asks
the African continent, the Mediterranean area and students to reflect on the uses of certain commodities.
the Middle East. They should know what papyrus After completing the writing exercise, have students
was used for. exchange their sheet with a partner. Ask them to read
their partner’s answers and correct any mistakes.
The Activity sheet ‘Trading with the neighbours’
builds on the Activity sheet ‘Egypt’s trading partners’.
Background Have students complete the activity and compare their
answers with a partner. Discuss as a class the possible
Ancient Egypt’s wealth of food resources enabled
monetary value of each of the commodities (in the
the nation to engage in lucrative trade with the
quantities given) in today’s market.
countries around the Mediterranean Sea and in the
The Activity sheet ‘Booty and tribute’ can be read
Middle East, as far as Asia Minor (Turkey).
aloud to the class. Have students answer the written
When the pharaoh Thutmose II died he had a
questions, and ask them to evaluate the justice or
young male heir, who would become Thutmose
injustice inherent in this system. Who wins and who
III. This boy’s mother was a secondary wife of
loses? Discuss.
the pharaoh. Thutmose II’s Great Royal Wife was
The Activity sheet ‘The first peace treaty’ presents
Hatshepsut. At the time of his father’s death,
students with a scenario in which the pharaoh and the
Thutmose III was too young to rule, so Hatshepsut
Hittite king meet and discuss the terms of a treaty, and
became what is called a co-regent – an arrangement
asks them to write about it. You could add details to
where a young heir could have an adult rule in his
this scenario as background for the writing task. Ask
place until he grew to adulthood. Queen Hatshepsut
students to adopt a particular storytelling voice that
was a successful ruler and advanced the kingdom
would be appropriate for a pharaoh. If time permits,
considerably during her years as pharaoh. But
have students spend an additional lesson copying their
it seems Thutmose resented her success and
work onto a ‘scroll’ to present it for marking.
popularity. He took the throne upon Hatshepsut’s
death when he was twenty-one. Extension activity
Queen Hatshepsut expanded Egypt’s trading
Have students draw a map of the entire region where
empire during her reign. Sending commodities
Egypt conducted trade. They could use the internet to
by ship was a common means of transporting
find out more information about the trading partners of
traded items, but it was fraught with dangers,
Egypt. They should label the various countries involved,
including piracy and shipwrecks. Trade was also
draw symbols for each of the commodities traded in
carried out across land borders, with camels being
the relevant countries, and mark trade routes between
the main beasts of burden used to bring goods
Egypt and her neighbours.
in and out of Egypt.

60 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Foreign relations Achieve!
Egypt’s trading partners
The Ancient Egyptians traded to obtain goods that were not available in Egypt. Timber
was in short supply, and was one of the main commodities (products) traded. The main
commodity that Egypt’s neighbours wanted was food – grains such as wheat, corn and
barley. These were Egypt’s main exports. An export is a commodity that is sent out of a
country. Egypt also exported gold, linen, papyrus, glass, and sculptures and other objects
made of stone.

+ C omplete these sentences to show how the countries that traded with Egypt might
have used these commodities.
1 linen
Neighbouring countries may have used linen for _______________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

2 papyrus
Neighbouring countries may have used papyrus for ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

3 glass
Neighbouring countries may have used glass for _______________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 61
Activity sheet – Foreign relations Achieve!
Trading with the neighbours
Egypt didn’t only send out exports. The government also obtained essential items from
neighbouring nations. Items that are brought into a country are called imports. Egypt
imported these items from neighbouring countries.

Nubia gold incense slaves

Palestine oil jugs pottery dishes
Byblos timber metals
Punt monkeys baboons leopard skins perfumes ebony ivory
Greece olive oil wine marble

Queen Hatshepsut built up trade between Egypt and neighbouring countries during
her reign. Although she is remembered as one of the only female pharaohs, and for her
dispute with her stepson Thutmose III, Hatshepsut made some important new trading
relationships with Egypt’s neighbours.

+ I magine you were an Egyptian trader. How much Egyptian grain would you pay for
each of these commodities? Enter numbers to show how many sacks of grain you
would trade.

1 two leopard skins I would trade __________ 20 kilogram sacks of grain.

2 a tonne of cedar wood I would trade __________ 20 kilogram sacks of grain.
3 twelve bottles of wine I would trade __________ 20 kilogram sacks of grain.

+ H ow much Egyptian linen would be a fair exchange for each of the following?
4 100 litres of olive oil I would trade __________ metres of linen fabric.
5 10 Nubian slaves I would trade __________ metres of linen fabric.

62 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Foreign relations Achieve!
Booty and tribute
When the Egyptian army defeated an enemy nation, the soldiers were ordered to find and
take as much property as they could find. Anything that was taken from an enemy in a
time of war was called booty.
Booty might include gold, silver, precious gemstones, jewellery, items made from ivory or
other expensive materials, weapons, cloth, tents and chariots. Booty could also include
slaves, captive citizens, horses, cattle and other animals.
When an enemy had been defeated in battle, the pharaoh made the people of that nation
pay a special tax called tribute to the government of Egypt. Every year, the pharaoh would
send his representatives to collect the tax. It was sometimes paid in the form of seed, grain
from the harvest of crops, animals, equipment or other valuable items.

+ R ead the text above and then complete the following sentences.
1 Booty is _________________________________________________________________ .

2 Booty could include items such as _________________________________________

____________________________________. It could also include people and animals,
such as ____________________________________.

3 Tribute is _______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________ .

4 This could take the forms of ________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________ .

5 Tribute was collected by __________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________ .

© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 63
 Achieve! HistoryAchieve!
Activity sheet – Foreign relations

The first peace treaty

Get ready for the Australian Curriculum with
editable worksheets that have been written
Atfor
thethe needs
height ofof low literacy
Egypt’s power,students.
Rameses the Great signed the world’s first documented
peace treaty. Rameses wanted to reach an agreement that would benefit both him and
Features
his enemies, the Hittites. This type of politics is called diplomacy. The Egyptians and the
✓ Worksheets that help low literacy students
Hittites agreed:
understand key content and concepts.
● upon the exact borders and territories belonging to each country
✓● Activities designed
not to attack eachto reinforce and
other
enhance literacy skills.
● to help each other if either country was attacked

✓● Emphasis on essential
to help each other in historical
emergencies
● knowledge,
to give up understanding and skills.
any rebels or political prisoners hiding within their borders.
✓ Comprehensive Teacher’s Notes that provide
+ 1 I magine you are Rameses the Great. Use your imagination to write a creative
clear objectives, background information,
journal entry about the day you signed this treaty with the Hittite king. Explain
starter and extension activities. Software requirements
why you are so happy about it.
✓ CD-ROM containing all pages from Windows – MS Word 97 or higher, Adobe
Acrobat Reader
the book making them ideal for use
Mac – MS Word 98 or higher, Adobe Acrobat
on Interactive Whiteboards. Reader
✓ Editable Word files on the CD-ROM Windows – 1. Put the disc in the CD-ROM
drive and it should begin automatically.
that can be edited to suit the specific
2. If it doesn’t, in Windows Explorer navigate
needs of students. to the CD-ROM and double-click the
Achieve.exe file.
✓ All illustrations are included on the
Mac – Put the disc in the CD-ROM drive and
CD-ROM and can be used on new teacher
double-click the ‘Achieve’ icon.
created worksheets.

The Ancient World – Egypt 1 The Ancient World – Greece 1 The Ancient World – Rome 1
ISBN 978 1 92168 055 7 ISBN 978 1 92168 056 4 ISBN 978 1 92168 057 1

64 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 © Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011
Activity sheet – Foreign relations Achieve!
Booty and tribute
When the Egyptian army defeated an enemy nation, the soldiers were ordered to find and
take as much property as they could find. Anything that was taken from an enemy in a
time of war was called booty.
Booty might include gold, silver, precious gemstones, jewellery, items made from ivory or
other expensive materials, weapons, cloth, tents and chariots. Booty could also include
slaves, captive citizens, horses, cattle and other animals.
When an enemy had been defeated in battle, the pharaoh made the people of that nation
pay a special tax called tribute to the government of Egypt. Every year, the pharaoh would
send his representatives to collect the tax. It was sometimes paid in the form of seed, grain
from the harvest of crops, animals, equipment or other valuable items.

+ R ead the text above and then complete the following sentences.
Your Achieve! History CD
1 Booty is _________________________________________________________________ .
User agreement
© Ally Chumley and Blake Education 2011
2 Booty could include items such as _________________________________________
• You may install this CD onto a server for access
____________________________________.
•ItPurchasers
could also
do not have the right to resell,
include people
by students at one school campus only. distribute, or pass off as their own,and animals,
any still images,
• suchnotasotherwise
You may ____________________________________.
copy, print, store or transmit text, diagrams or software contained in the book
any part of this CD-ROM unless you have written or CD-ROM.
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3 Tribute
exception appliesisunder
_______________________________________________________________
the Copyright Act, 1968. copyright line.
For inquiries and permissions please contact: • Purchasers may not remove or obscure the
_________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer Gough
.
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655 Parramatta Road, Leichhardt, NSW, 2040.
• The purchaser is entirely responsible for their
4 This could take the forms of ________________________________________________
Phone: 02 8585 4058
computer hardware and system software and for
• _________________________________________________________________________
The attached CD-ROM disc contains all the pages ensuring that they are able to correctly operate
.
that are featured in the book, as well as a file of the CD-ROM and its associated software.
illustrations that can be used for other work sheets.
Do not5 Tribute
break thiswas collected
seal or remove thebyCD-ROM
__________________________________________________
unless you have purchased this book.
_________________________________________________________________________ .
Copying this disk isn’t just illegal – it
• Unless the CD-ROM is faulty, this book cannot be
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© Ally Chumley and Blake Education, 2011 ISBN 978 1 92570 966 7 ACHIEVE! History – The Ancient World: Egypt 1 63
Achieve! Instant Lessons
Quality ready-to-use resources
Each book in the Achieve! series has been designed and written for secondary
students who have low-level literacy skills and require modified classroom activities
to fully participate in the curriculum. Students will experience success as they work
alongside their classmates on the same subjects with material that is tailored for their
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The worksheets in this series are ideal for group or individual study and are easy
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Achieve! History
The Ancient World – Egypt 1
While very suitable for the regular classroom, each of the Achieve! series of History titles has been
written at a literacy level that makes the pages appropriate for secondary school students who,
because of poor reading skills, may struggle to comprehend regular classroom materials.
The Ancient World – Egypt 1 enables students to develop their historical knowledge and
understanding of ancient Egypt through the study of the land’s physical features, everyday life, the
importance of religion, death and funerary customs, and the influence of war, trade and significant
individuals. The content addresses key historical skills and concepts, including understanding sources
and locating and categorising information.
The CD contains all the pages that are featured in the book, as well as a file of illustrations that can
be used for other worksheets. These files can be easily edited to suit the needs of your students.

Topics include
Discovering Ancient Egypt Daily life in Ancient Egypt
The gift of the Nile Ancient Egyptian religion
Blessed by the gods Death and funerary customs
Governing Egypt Warfare in Egypt
Egyptian society Foreign relations

Associated titles in the Achieve! Instant Lessons series

• Achieve! History series • Achieve! English series (11 books)
The Ancient World – Rome 1 • Achieve! Geography series (4 books)
The Ancient World – Greece 1 • Achieve! Design and Materials Technology
• Achieve! Personal Development series (4 books) series (10 books)

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