The Nile and ancient Egypt

Ages 6 to 8 Read together, then try alone · about 25 minutes

Read together

Egypt is mostly desert, but the River Nile runs through it. Every year the Nile flooded and left rich black soil. That is why farming grew along its banks.

Egyptians were ruled by kings called pharaohs. They built huge tombs shaped like pyramids. The Great Pyramid at Giza was built about 4,500 years ago.

The Bible tells stories set in Egypt, such as Joseph and Moses. Historians and archaeologists continue to study how these stories fit with what has been found.

Do it

1. Find Egypt and the Nile on a map. Trace the river with your finger from the south to the Mediterranean Sea.
2. Draw the Nile with green banks and brown desert on both sides. Add a boat, a palm tree and a pyramid.
3. Build a pyramid with sugar cubes or blocks, with a wide base and a narrow top. Why is this shape so strong?
4. Look at pictures of hieroglyphs. Try to write your name using picture symbols (a grown-up can find a chart).

Talk about it

• Why did people live near the Nile?
• What do you think it took to build a pyramid?

For the grown-up

The Greek writer Herodotus called Egypt “the gift of the Nile”. Pyramids were royal tombs and show Egyptian beliefs about life after death. Be gentle with the idea of mummies and tombs for sensitive children.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• Herodotus, Histories, book 2 (Egypt as the gift of the Nile)
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre, “Memphis and its Necropolis: the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur” (inscribed 1979)
• Toby Wilkinson, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt (Random House, 2010)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.