New
New
Year 3

Change and continuity in Ancient Egypt

I can describe how much things stayed the same across 3,000 years of Ancient Egyptian history.

New
New
Year 3

Change and continuity in Ancient Egypt

I can describe how much things stayed the same across 3,000 years of Ancient Egyptian history.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The River Nile remained the heart of the civilisation and was always highly important for the fertility it brought.
  2. The pharaohs ruled throughout this time, but where and how they were buried changed over time.
  3. While beliefs about the afterlife stayed the same, the methods of preserving bodies became very advanced over time.
  4. Detailed hieroglyphs were used throughout, but gradually were used less and usually just for religious writings.
  5. A good description of how much things stayed the same will use knowledge from throughout this unit.

Keywords

  • Continuity - continuity is when things stay the same over a long period of time

Common misconception

It can be difficult for young learners to grasp how long 3000 years actually is and therefore appreciate just how long standing and important the Ancient Egyptian civilisation was.

Draw a timeline with 1AD in the middle, 2086 BCE on the left end and 2024 on the right end. Use this to demonstrate that the Ancient Egyptians existed for even longer than the time that has passed since 1 AD to today.

Change and continuity is part of everyday life, it happens in different places in many different ways. Ask pupils to think about or discuss what has changed and what has stayed the same in their lives in the last year, e.g. they've moved class, they have the same friends, they have a new teacher.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Rearrange the letters to make the name of a river in Egypt.
1 - N
2 - i
3 - l
4 - e
Q2.
What title was given to the rulers of Ancient Egypt?
kings
emperors
sultans
Correct answer: pharaohs
Q3.
Which of these images shows a scribe in Ancient Egypt?
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q4.
What name was given to the process used in Ancient Egypt to protect dead bodies from decay?
preservation
entombing
Correct answer: mummification
burying
Q5.
Match the words to the definitions.
Correct Answer:embalming,treating a dead body with oils and herbs to preserve it

treating a dead body with oils and herbs to preserve it

Correct Answer:religion,a set of beliefs about gods

a set of beliefs about gods

Correct Answer:ba,the Ancient Egyptian word for the soul

the Ancient Egyptian word for the soul

Correct Answer:tomb,a sealed room for holding a dead body

a sealed room for holding a dead body

Q6.
What is the name of the Ancient Egyptian writing that used pictures and symbols?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: hieroglyphs, hieroglyphic, hieroglyph, hieroglyphics
Q3 image 1 Source: Painter of the burial chamber of Sennedjem. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maler_der_Grabkammer_des_Sennudem_001.jpg. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Q6 Source: Jon Bodsworth. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hieroglyphs_from_the_tomb_of_Seti_I.jpg. The British Museum (http://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/html/british_museum_29.html (Jon Bodsworth) - https://www.egyptarchive.co.uk/)

6 Questions

Q1.
What does continuity refer to?
things that change over a long period of time
Correct answer: things that stay the same over a long period of time
things that decay over a long period of time
things that develop over a long period of time
Q2.
How did hieroglyphs change across 3000 years of Ancient Egyptian civilisation?
They became more detailed.
Correct answer: They became less detailed.
More hieroglyphs were added.
Some hieroglyphs were removed.
Q3.
In the Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, pharaohs were buried in pyramids; in the New Kingdom they were buried in the Valley of the Kings.
Correct Answer: Old, old
Q4.
For how long approximately did the Ancient Egyptian civilisation exist?
3 years
30 years
300 years
Correct answer: 3000 years
Q5.
Why did the River Nile continue to be important in Ancient Egypt?
Correct answer: It made the land fertile.
It was good for washing clothes.
Correct answer: It was a transport route.
It was good for swimming.
Q6.
Across the 3000 years civilisation, Ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaohs were the human forms of their .
Correct Answer: gods, goddesses, Gods, Goddesses, gods and goddesses

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