Chapter 5: Ancient Egypt
The Internet offers a range of social studies resources, including Web sites of museums, government agencies, educational institutions, and the news media. Listed below are links to some outstanding ancient history Web sites. Use them to learn more about the themes, ideas, and events in the lessons and the Daily Life feature in this chapter.
Lesson 1: Gift of the Nile
- Nile Valley
- From the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Site describes how ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile River. Includes contemporary photographs of the Nile river valley.
- http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egcgeo3e.html
Lesson 2: Life in Ancient Egypt
- Hieroglyphs
- Shows students how to write their names using Egyptian hieroglyphs. A chart provides the corresponding hieroglyph for each letter in the Roman alphabet.
- http://www.rom.on.ca/schools/egypt/activities/index.php
- Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
- British Museum site offering a picture list of Egyptian deities along with a brief description of each.
- http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/explore/main.html
Lesson 3: The Pyramid Builders
- Pyramids: Houses of Eternity
- British Museum Web page on the building of the Great Pyramid. Includes a list of “learn more” questions and an interactive challenge: “How big is the Great Pyramid?”
- http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pyramids/home.html
- Pyramids: The Inside Story
- Nova's comprehensive and accessible site includes pyramid history, virtual tours of the pyramids, reports on a recent excavation, and a feature on the scale of the pyramids.
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/
Lesson 4: The New Kingdom
- Pharaoh: Lord of the Two Lands
- An engaging site explaining the power of Egypt's pharaohs through stories, art, and an online matching game. The site looks in detail at the conquest of Nubia by Ramses II.
- http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pharaoh/home.html
Daily Life: Life on the Nile River
- Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
- Minnesota State University Web site containing information on just about every aspect of daily life in ancient Egypt, including farming, manufacturing, religion, kinship and marriage, games, furniture–even hairstyles.
- http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/dailylife/dailylife.html
- Life in Ancient Egypt
- Carnegie Museum site providing useful material on daily life, funeral customs, religion, and the natural world of ancient Egypt.
- http://www.carnegiemnh.org/exhibits/egypt/guide.htm