Ancient Egypt

I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

NAME _____________________________________________________ DATE ______________________________

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk

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I.ES. Benjamín de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/life/home.html

1. Click on the address above and complete the following texts

Egyptian Life Daily life in ancient Egypt revolved around the ___________ and the fertile land along its banks. The yearly flooding of the Nile enriched the ___________and brought good _____________ and wealth to the land.

The people of ancient Egypt built __________ homes in villages and in the country. They grew some of their own _____________ and traded in the villages for the food and ________________ they could not produce.

Most ancient Egyptians worked as field ___________, ___________ , craftsmen and ________. A small group of people were _________. Together, these different groups of people made up the population of ancient Egypt

2. Which words are “in bold” ?

Write them here with their definitions 1. ENRICHED : ________________________________________________________________

2. SCRIBES :

________________________________________________________________

3. Which were the main duties of scribes ?

4 _____________________________________________________________________ 4 _____________________________________________________________________

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I.ES. Benjamín de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/life/story/main.html 1. Click on the address above and complete the table

A nobleman´s family

A farmer´s family

In his bedroom a nobleman could find

In his bedroom a farmer could find

When he got up, his servants helped him to When he got up, he

The nobleman dressed in a

The farmer dressed in a

His wife wore a

His wife wore a

They had a small meal of bread and fruit.

They sat

They had a small meal of bread and fruit.

They sat

Then the nobleman left the house to

Then the farmer left the house to

The nobleman´s wife

The farmer´s wife

For lunch they had

For lunch they had

In the afternoon, the nobleman´s wife

In the afternoon, the farmer´s wife

Later in the evening, the nobleman´s wife In the evening, the farmer´s wife prepared started preparing for

They went to bed http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk

They went to bed -3-

I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/home.html 1. Click on the address above and complete

Geography The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the 'black land' and the 'red land'.

The 'black land' was the ________________________________________________________ __________________________. The ancient Egyptians used this land for ________________________________. This was the only land in ancient Egypt that could be farmed because a layer of rich, black silt was deposited there every year after the Nile flooded.

SILT : __________________________________________

The 'red land' was the barren_______________________________________________________.

These deserts separated ancient Egypt from neighbouring countries and invading armies.

They also provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for precious ___________________ _________________________________________________________________

BARREN : ________________________________________________________

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/story/main.html

2. Click on the address above and do the following exercise Read the story and see if you can find your brother. Write down the steps you take. ( write the steps at the back )

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/home.html

The ancient Egyptians believed in many different gods and goddesses.

Each one with their own role to play in maintaining peace and harmony across the land.

Some gods and goddesses took part in creation, some brought the flood every year, some offered protection, and some took care of people after they died. Others were either local gods who represented towns, or minor gods who represented plants or animals.

The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to recognise and worship these gods and goddesses so that life continued smoothly.

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/explore/main.html 1. Click on the address above . Choose 2 gods / goddesses and describe them

Example Appearance: •

A mummified man wearing a white cone-like headdress with feathers

Osiris was the god of the dead, and ruler of the underworld.

Osiris was the brother/husband of Isis, and the brother of Nepthys and Seth. He was also the father of Horus. As well as being a god of the dead, Osiris was a god of resurrection and fertility. In fact, the ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris gave them the gift of barley, one of their most important crops.

Draw the god / goddess

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/home.html 1. Click on the address above and read about mummification

Mummification The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert. The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural 'mummies'.

Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert. However, they realised that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were not exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert.

Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike. The process included embalming the bodies and wrapping them in strips of linen. Today we call this process mummification

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story 1. Click on the address above and learn about the process of mummification

EMBALMING THE BODY A. Order the process

B. Write here what the picture shows.

a A long hook is used to smash the brain and pull it out through the nose

b

c

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

d

e

f

g

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

Finally the body is covered again with good-smelling oils.

It is now ready to be wrapped in linen.

h

i

j

The correct order of the pictures is :

1

2

3

4

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5

6

7

8

9

10

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

WRAPPING THE BODY

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

1. Order the process of wrapping the mummy 1

2

3

4

5

6

2. Match the text to the picture 1. The arms and legs are wrapped separately. Between the layers of wrapping, the embalmers place amulets to protect the body in its journey through the underworld.

2. More linen strips are wrapped around the body. At every layer, the bandages are painted with liquid resin that helps to glue the bandages together 3. The arms and legs are tied together. A papyrus scroll with spells from the Book of the Dead is placed between the wrapped hands.

4. A cloth is wrapped around the body and a picture of the god Osiris is painted on its surface.

5. Finally, a large cloth is wrapped around the entire mummy. It is attached with strips of linen that run from the top to the bottom of the mummy, and around its middle.

A 6. First the head and neck are wrapped with strips of fine linen. Then the fingers and the toes are individually wrapped. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

PYRAMIDS : Houses of Eternity The pharaoh Khufu, like the pharaohs before him, began planning his 'house of eternity' as soon as he took the throne. A spot was chosen for building on the west bank of the Nile. Cemeteries were usually built on the west bank because the sun 'died' on the western horizon every night.

Khufu's architects were wise and experienced men. They knew the importance of building the pharaoh's final resting place so that its sides faced directly north, south, east and west.

They planned a large pyramid- the largest one ever built in ancient Egypt. The outlines of the pyramid were measured and marked in the desert sand.

Then the building began. Large blocks of stone were cut from quarries nearby. They were dragged by groups of men across the desert to the site of the pyramid and set in place. Most of the workers were farmers who worked on building the pyramid during the flood season when their fields were under water.

After the first level of blocks was in place, the workers built ramps of mudbrick, limestone chips and clay. The workers dragged the large stones up the ramps to build the next level of the pyramid.

For about 20 years, hundreds of men worked on building the pyramid.

As they built each level, they also built up the ramps around the pyramid.

When the pyramid was almost finished, a special block covered in shining metal (either gold or electrum) was placed on the top of the pyramid. Then, blocks of white limestone from quarries across the Nile were used to cover the pyramid. The blocks were trimmed to make the outside of the pyramid smooth. Finally, the pyramid was finished.

Khufu's pyramid was only part of the complex built for him at Giza.

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

This complex had many different parts:

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pyramids/explore/main.html 1. Click on the address above and complete the diagram

Surrounding the pyramid there are several hundred mastaba tombs of nobles. The nobles wanted to be buried close to their pharaoh so that they would stay close to him in the next life.

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/home.html 1. Click on the address above and learn about writing in Egypt.

Where was writing used ?

a.

c.

e.

b. in scribe school

d.

f.

Who were the scribes?

Scribes were people in ancient Egypt (usually men) who learned to read and write.

Although experts believe that most scribes were MEN / WOMEN , there is evidence of some MALE / FEMALE doctors. These women would have been trained as scribes so that they could read medical texts.

How did one become a scribe?

To become a scribe, you had to attend a special school for scribes. At this school you would learn how to read and write hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts. This was EASY / HARD work. These scripts are complicated, and there were many SIGNS / LETTERS to learn. Students spent a lot of time practising the signs by copying them onto sheets of PAPER / PAPYRUS , old pieces of pottery or flakes of limestone.

Could amyone become a scribe?

YES / NO. Most often it was the children of scribes who became scribes. Although some craftsmen were able to get their SONS / DAUGHTERS into the school for scribes, it was very rare.

How long did it take to become a scribe?

It could take FOUR / EIGHT to FIVE / TEN years for a person to go through scribe school. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk

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I.ES. Benjamín de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

GLOSSARY Give a definition in English. Find the word in Spanish.

1. PHARAOH 2. SCRIBE 3. AMULET 4. PAPYRUS 5. LINEN 6. PYRAMID 7. MASTABA 8. HIEROGLYPIC 9. LIMESTONE 10. EMBALM 11. WRAP 12. COFFIN 13. MUMMY 14. BANK OF THE RIVER 15. SILT 16. BARREN 17. FERTILITY 18. GOD / GODDESS 19. WORSHIP 20. RESURRECTION

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I.ES. Benjamín de Tudela

Class Reading Activities

VOCABULARY REVISION / RECOGNITION OF “THE PASSIVE” 1. Complete with a suitable word 2. Highlight the verbs in the passive MUMMIFICATION Ancient Egyptians ________________ their dead in small pits in the dessert.

The heat and the dryness of the sand __________________ the bodies quickly Later , ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in ______________ to protect them from wild animals Over many centuries , they developed a method of ________________ bodies.

This process is called ____________________

PROCESS OF EMBALMING the bodies

First, the _____________ wash the body with good-smelling palm wine and rinse it with water from the Nile.

Then many of the internal ____________ are removed.

The heart is not taken because it is the centre of ______________ and _____________ A hook is used to smash the ____________ and pull it out through the nose.

The body is then covered with _________ After ____________ days, the body is washed again with water from the Nile and it is covered with _____________ to help the skin keep elastic.

The body is stuffed with the ______________ organs and with dry materials.

Finally, the body is covered again with _______________ oils and it is ready to be wrapped with fine ________________ .

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I.ES. BenjamĂ­n de Tudela

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk

Class Reading Activities

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