Seven Wonders of the World: The Great Pyramid Lesson Plan

Many people get confused as to which Great Pyramid is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Many people even think that The Sphinx is one of the seven wonders. In fact, this lesson is on Khufu’s Great Pyramid located in Giza, Egypt. There is usually some confusion because there are two more pyramids, Menkaure and Khafre, located nearby.

In this lesson the students will learn about the history of The Great Pyramid in several ways. This is not a lesson to be lectured as teachers we do want the students to stay interested. This will be a hands on lesson with many hands on activities.

1. Introduce students to The Great Pyramid by reading:

The Great Pyramid: The story of the farmers, the god-king and the most astounding structure ever built (Wonders of the World Book) by Elizabeth Mann and Laura Lo Turco

This story introduces the students to the story of Khufu, the pharaoh of ancient Egypt whom The Great Pyramid was built for. The story follows a farm boy who leaves his village to help construct The Great Pyramid. Students will learn about the architecture as they read through the book with the beautifully detailed pictures. Ask the kids some basic questions such as:

• If you could build a temple/pyramid what valuables would you put in there?
• Why do you think the pyramid was built for this pharaoh?
• What were some of the difficulties for the workers who built the pyramids?

2. Show students where Egypt is located on the map. Explain that Egypt is located on one of the seven continents, Africa. A free outline of Egypt can be found here. With this outline you can all students to fill in the map of Egypt and draw what they think to be the main cities, sites, rivers, etc. This activity helps students learn about mapping and geography.

3. Have students complete vocabulary worksheet below, where the children will learn new words related to Egypt.

4. Once the students have completed the vocabulary sheet, they will know more about Hieroglyphics. Have the children develop their own set of hieroglyphics. Some ideas include:

• Using stamps
• Using markers, crayons, paints to develop their own pictures
• Cutting out pictures from magazines

5. Extra Homework assignment: Have students log onto PBS Great Pyramid site to look at the blueprints and the inside of The Great Pyramid. Have students develop their own pyramid and blueprints of the interior.

After this lesson students will not only know more about the history of pyramids and the story behind this great wonder, but will also understand many terms and definitions related to Egypt geography and culture.