History Ancient Egypt

Year One
History | UKS2 | What Was Life Like in Ancient Egypt? | Lesson name | Lesson 2
 Aim
I can understand what was important to people during
ancient Egyptian times.

Success Criteria
I can use pictures to find out information about life in ancient
Egypt.
I can raise questions about Egyptian life.
I can explain why the River Nile was essential to survival for
ancient Egyptians.
I can put myself in the place of an ancient Egyptian.
I can compare ancient Egypt to other ancient civilisations that I
have learnt about.
 Picture Evidence
There were no cameras thousands of years ago to take photos in ancient
Egypt, but using different sources of evidence, these pictures have been
drawn by an artist to show what life might have been like.

Take a picture each and look carefully at it.

What is happening?
Why do you think that?
 Picture Evidence Task
In your groups, take it in turns to describe your picture
and explain what you think is happening.
Can you think of any questions to ask?
You have 2 minutes to discuss each picture.
 Your time is up when the bar fades to red.

Start End
Start End
Start End
Start End
Start End
Start End
Start End
 The River Nile
This is the River Nile.
It was essential to the lives of all of the people you have been
discussing so far.

Photo courtesy of Michael Gwyther-Jones (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 The River Nile
The people of ancient Egypt depended on the Nile to survive.
The River Nile runs through Egypt. Most people live along and
around it today. This was also the case in ancient times. This is
because the land near the Nile is a place where crops can be
grown. The rest of Egypt is desert.
 The River Nile: Floods
The River Nile would flood
every year and leave behind a
rich, black silt that fertilised
the soil. This was essential for
growing food for everyone.
A system of canals that led
from the Nile were also used
to water fields in other areas.
This is called irrigation.
 The River Nile: Crops and
Food

The Egyptians grew wheat and barley as well as fruits and vegetables like melons, figs, peas,
garlic, lettuce and cucumbers.
Flax was grown for making linen into clothes.
The Nile was also important for fishing. This was done with boats and nets.
 The River Nile: Transport and
Trade

There was no such thing as money in ancient Egypt, so people would trade by swapping things like
pottery, food, jewellery and art etc.
Boats were used to travel up and down the Nile to trade throughout the country.
 The River Nile: Building and
Papyrus

Mud from around the River Nile would be used to make bricks for building.
The papyrus plants around the river were used to make papyrus which was the paper of the
ancient Egyptians.
Photo courtesy of grafixtek (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
Imagine A Drought Alert!
Our wonderful river is in danger.
Act now!
It has been suggested that (due to
particularly high temperatures) our
precious river is vanishing. River
levels have been reducing for
months. They do not match normal
river levels for this time of year. We
are in danger of losing our river
altogether if we dont act now.
A meeting has been called for next
week. Come and help us to
persuade the Pharaohs Vizier to
pass our desperate message on, so
that action will be taken to replenish
the diminishing water levels.
 Drought Alert!
You will be given a role.
You need to pretend that you are the character.
When you attend the meeting, you need to talk as if you are that
character.
 Drought Alert!
We will now host a Drought Alert Meeting.
Can you explain your characters point of view and offer reasons why
you think action should be taken to protect the river for ordinary people?

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for attending this
important meeting. I think we all agree that many heads are better than
one. the aim of this meeting is to share our experiences of the Nile and
decide what we can do to improve the water levels for the future. This
evening we are lucky to have an important visitor, the Pharaohs Vizier.
Without further ado, let us begin.
 Thinking Points
Why do you think the River Nile was so important to
everyday life in Egypt?
Are there any similarities or differences between life in Egypt
compared to other places in the world at the same time? Ancient
Sumer, The Indus Valley, The Shang Dynasty of ancient China.
What was important in ancient Egypt that is still important for
modern life today?
 My Friend Cleopatra
Imagine you had a friend called
Cleopatra, who had travelled all the way
from ancient Egypt. How would you
spend the day so that you could teach
her about modern life? Think about

What will you do?

What will you eat?

Where will you go?

 Aim
I can understand what was important to people during
ancient Egyptian life.

Success Criteria
I can use pictures to find out information about life in ancient
Egypt.
I can raise questions about Egyptian life.
I can explain why the River Nile was essential to survival for
ancient Egyptians.
I can put myself in the place of an ancient Egyptian.
I can compare ancient Egypt to other ancient civilisations that I
have learnt about.