What was important to the ancient Egyptians?
Year 4
Unit Overview
Developing awareness of how historians learn about the past using mummies, the Book of the Dead and pyramids, children learn the place of the ancient Egyptians in time. Pupils learn about the importance of religion in the ancient Egyptians’ lives and consider how this is evident in pyramids, worship and mummification. They learn how the ancient Egyptians explained the existence of the world using their creation story.
Unit Sequence: Learning Intentions
Where and when did the first civilisations appear? - To develop questioning skills using sources about ancient civilisations.
Why was the River Nile so important to the ancient Egyptians? To explain the significance of the River Nile to ancient Egyptian civilisation.
How do we know so much about ancient Egyptians? - To evaluate the importance of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
What do sources suggest about religious beliefs in ancient Egypt? - To use a range of sources to explore the importance of gods and goddesses in ancient Egypt.
What did people in ancient Egypt believe happened after death? - To investiagte beliefs about the afterlife in ancient Egypt.
Who rules ancient Egypt and what happened to them when they died? To evaluate continuty and change by identifying what happened to the pharaohs when they died.
❇ SUBSTANTIVE CONCEPTS
Civilisation (social and cultural)
Beliefs
Achievements and follies of mankind
❇ DISCIPLINARY CONCEPTS
Change and continuity
Similarities and differences
Sources of evidence
Historical interpretations
Cause and consequence
Historical significance
❇ HISTORICAL VOCABULARY
afterlife
Book of the Dead
civilisation
historically significant
immortal
mummification
preserve
Ra
River Nile
sarcophagus
❇ MEMORABLE MOMENT
Ancient Egyptian trip to the Manchester Museum
️✏️ WRITING OPPORTUNITIES
Write captions for ancient Egyptian artefacts
🌳 LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Manchester Museum
🏁 BIG FINISH
Imagine you are a curator at a museum. You have been asked to create an exhibition to explain what was important to ancient Egyptians.
📖 FOCUS TEXT(S)
Oh Mummy Mia! - Maz Evans
Knowledge Organiser
