Year 3 - History
The three kingdoms of Egypt
Ancient Egypt: what stayed the same across 3,000 years?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit evaluates the degree of change and continuity over 3,000 years. It also introduces pupils to the key features of ancient Egyptian civilisation, such as its location, religion, writing, burial practices and rulers.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe how the kingdoms of Egypt changed over time.
Key Notes
- The ruler of Ancient Egypt was called the pharaoh; they owned all the land, made all the laws and taxed their subjects.
- The pharaohs, whose subjects believed to be both gods and humans, ruled in the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms.
- During the Old Kingdom the Ancient Egyptians built pyramids to bury their pharaohs in, the most famous at Giza.
- In the Middle Kingdom Egypt grew rich and strong, stopped using pyramids and buried pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings.
- In the New Kingdom Egypt grew stronger, using their chariots and strong bronze weapons to take over more land.
Vocabulary To Learn
- laws: laws are a set of rules that people must follow
- taxes: taxes are amounts of money that people must pay to their rulers
- subjects: subjects are the people controlled by a ruler
- pyramid: the pyramids were large stone buildings that the Ancient Egyptians buried their pharaohs in during the Old Kingdom
- chariot: a chariot is a wheeled vehicle pulled by horses, often used in war
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may think that the kingdoms are places in Egypt.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Summarise this historical learning in two key ideas.
The ruler of Ancient Egypt was called the pharaoh; they owned all the land, made all the laws and taxed their subjects. The pharaohs, whose subjects believed to be both gods and humans, ruled in the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms.
2. Define this history term and explain why it matters in this topic. 'laws'
laws are a set of rules that people must follow.
3. Correct this common history misconception using evidence language.
Mistake: Pupils may think that the kingdoms are places in Egypt. Correction: Kingdoms are are periods of time in Egyptian history; the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom.
More Lessons In This Unit
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