This week, learners explore ancient Egypt's pyramids and pharaohs and ask why people build things meant to last thousands of years. Kids discover who pharaohs were (rulers seen as extremely powerful and connected to the gods), why pyramids were built as tombs to protect and honor a pharaoh after death, and how massive stone blocks were cut, moved, and stacked using ramps, sleds, and teams of workers. Students also learn that the people who built the pyramids were skilled laborers who were paid and fed for their work, not slaves. The week widens out to show that Egypt wasn't alone in building pyramid shaped monuments: the kingdom of Kush built over 200 pyramids in Nubia, the Maya built stepped pyramids in Mesoamerica used for ceremony rather than burial, and the Sumerians built ziggurats in Mesopotamia to connect the earthly world with the gods. The week closes by connecting this to today, since people still build monuments and memorials to honor important people and events.

KEY IDEAS

• Pyramids were built as tombs to protect and honor pharaohs after death.
• Ancient Egyptians strongly believed in an afterlife, and pyramids helped prepare for that journey.
• Building pyramids required enormous planning, resources, and skilled, likely paid labor.
• Pyramids show how important honoring leaders and the afterlife was to ancient Egyptians.
• Cultures from Nubia to Mesoamerica to Mesopotamia independently built their own pyramid shaped monuments.

SUGGESTED PICTURE BOOK
How the Sphinx Got to the Museum Illustrated by Jessie Hartland

HANDS-ON PROJECT
Design your own monument.

VOCABULARY

• Pyramid – a large structure with a square base and triangular sides, built as a tomb
• Pharaoh – the ruler of ancient Egypt
• Monument – a large structure built to honor a person or event
• Tomb – a place where a body is buried
• Afterlife – a belief in life continuing after death

TIMELINE

• c. 2670 BCE – The Step Pyramid of Djoser, an early pyramid, is built at Saqqara
• c. 2560 BCE – The Great Pyramid of Giza is built for the pharaoh Khufu
• c. 1550 BCE – Later pharaohs are buried in the Valley of the Kings instead of pyramids

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Why do you think ancient Egyptians spent so much effort preparing for the afterlife?
• Does learning that pyramid workers were likely paid, organized laborers change how you think about the pyramids?
• What monument today do you think future people will still be talking about?

Digging Deeper

• If you were building a monument to be remembered by, what would you want it to look like?