Time Travelers: Exploring Our Past and Present · 2nd Year

Active learning ideas

Pharaohs and Their Power

Active learning helps students grasp the scale and significance of the pyramids and Pharaohs by making abstract concepts concrete. Hands-on tasks like building models or analyzing artifacts let students experience the challenges of ancient engineering and the symbolism of power firsthand.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Early People and Ancient Societies
• NCCA: Primary - Life, Society, Work and Culture in the Past

• 25–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 35 min · Small Groups

Collaborative Problem Solving: The Pyramid Challenge

Students must work in teams to move a 'heavy' stack of books across the room using only round pencils as 'rollers.' They then discuss how this relates to how Egyptians moved massive stone blocks.

Explain why the Pharaoh was considered so important to the Egyptian people.

Facilitation Tip

During The Pyramid Challenge, circulate with questions like 'What problem does your team need to solve next?' to keep groups focused on the engineering task.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are an advisor to a Pharaoh. What three pieces of advice would you give them to maintain their power and divine image?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share and justify their advice, referencing specific aspects of Pharaoh's roles.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Whole Class

Gallery Walk: The Pharaoh's Treasures

Display images of items found in Tutankhamun's tomb (throne, chariot, board games, food). Students walk around and guess why the Pharaoh would need each item in the afterlife.

Analyze the symbols and regalia associated with the Pharaoh and their meaning.

Facilitation Tip

For The Pharaoh's Treasures Gallery Walk, place one key artifact per station and have students rotate in small groups to ensure everyone participates.

What to look for

Provide students with images of different Pharaohs' regalia (e.g., crowns, staffs). Ask them to label each item and write one sentence explaining what power or status it represents. Collect these to gauge understanding of symbolism.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 25 min · Small Groups

Role Play: The Pharaoh's Court

One student acts as the Pharaoh, while others act as advisors (viziers), scribes, and farmers bringing news. They must solve a 'problem' (like a bad harvest) to understand the Pharaoh's power and responsibility.

Compare the power of a Pharaoh to that of a modern leader.

Facilitation Tip

In The Pharaoh's Court role play, assign roles in advance and provide a script starter to help shy students contribute confidently.

What to look for

On an index card, ask students to write one similarity and one difference between the power of an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh and the power of their country's current head of state. This checks their comparative analysis skills.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by balancing awe with analysis, using artifacts to ground discussions in evidence rather than myth. Avoid over-relying on dramatic narratives; instead, focus on primary sources like tomb paintings or worker records to correct misconceptions. Research shows students retain more when they create or analyze something tangible, like a pyramid model or a Pharaoh's decree.

Successful learning looks like students explaining how pyramids were constructed using evidence, describing Pharaohs' roles with examples from tomb treasures, and comparing power structures through role play. They should connect their findings to broader themes of belief systems and governance.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Pyramid Challenge, watch for students assuming slaves built the pyramids. Redirect them to the provided worker records and tomb paintings showing happy laborers with tools.

  Use the Gallery Walk artifacts to show that tomb scenes depict workers receiving food and medical care, and the records list paid laborers like 'bakers' and 'carpenters'.

• During The Pharaoh's Treasures Gallery Walk, watch for students describing mummies as scary or monsters. Redirect them to the tomb paintings and mummy masks showing serene or protective expressions.

  Point to the artifacts in the gallery walk: the 'Book of the Dead' spells, the golden death mask of Tutankhamun, and the 'Opening of the Mouth' ceremony as evidence of respectful rituals.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Gallery Walk