Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebooks
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated March 15, 2024
Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebook Ideas
Ancient Civilizations are obviously a passion of mine. Because of this, I thought I would spend this post discussing ways to use Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebooks for your next Ancient Civilizations unit.
Looking for some print and go resources to use with Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebooks in your own classroom? Click on the image or button below to see all of the resources available in my TPT shop!
How can I introduce my Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebooks?
One of the first things I like to do when setting up a new Social Studies unit is scour my classroom and school library for books relating to the topic. This is a great way to pull some literacy practice into your Social Studies curriculum. There are a lot of great fiction and non fiction books on the subject. I always let our librarian know that our Ancient Egypt unit is about to begin. As a result, she will pull a stack or two of Egypt books for our class to read during our quiet reading time. I like to place them along the edge of our whiteboard. This way, the kids can easily grab them when they get a quiet moment.
There are a lot of really great books that focus specifically on the Nile River. The Nile plays a giant role in the development of this Ancient Civilization. Because of this, these are great titles to get your librarian to pull for your class as well.
This copy of Egypt World has been a well worn class favorite during our Ancient Egypt unit. It has been this way in both both my Elementary and Middle School classrooms. It has great images, and text that is both engaging and accessible. The mummies, pyramids, and pharaohs of Ancient Egypt are fascinating. Because of this, the kids really seem to gravitate to the books so they can learn more.
For tips and tricks for your next read aloud, be sure to check out our read aloud guide!
Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebook Unit Video Clips
In addition, I really like to pull in a good video clip when introducing a new history unit. This Crash Course World History one is great. It has a lot of solid content. Also, it is presented in a way that gets kids pumped up for the unit to come.
Grab some freebies for your next Ancient Egypt unit by checking out our Free Resource Roundup!
Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebook: Geography Activities
At the start of a new Social Studies unit, I always like to begin with geography. It is so important for kids to be able to locate the place we are talking about on a map. Incorporating map lessons and activities into your classroom instruction helps to increase engagement. Also, mapping encourages critical thinking, generates connections, and supports cross-curricular learning. This is a great opportunity to talk about the concept of civilization, and how the Nile River helped Egypt to thrive.
Reading Passages and Activities for your Ancient Egypt Unit
I mentioned in previous posts that I am not a big fan of the textbooks we currently have in our classrooms. At times, I find them to be too dense and inaccessible. Other times, I find they skim over the parts that kids really connect to and find engaging. We need to get kids excited about history! If that means talking all about the ways the Egyptians pulled the brain out through the nose when mummifying their dead, then I am going to want to spend some time talking about that. These are the things that make kids excited to learn more!
Because I dislike our textbooks so much, I created my own reading passages to go along with my unit. These focus on the key topics I want to focus on in my unit. The topics include Geography, The Nile River, Mummification, Daily Life, Pyramids, The Role of the Pharaoh, Hieroglyphics, and Religion.
For each reading passage in our Ancient Egypt unit, I have the kids complete a page of comprehension questions. These are tied directly to the reading passage and ask kids to support their answers with evidence. When done, the question pages make gorgeous additions to their Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebooks.
Curious what topics you should be focusing on in your Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebooks? Check out these 7 essential topics!
Graphic Organizers, Foldables, and One Pagers for Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebooks
As we move though the unit, we complete different foldables, one pagers, and activities to put into our Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebooks. I find that the kids take a lot of pride in their notebooks, and work really hard at presenting their work in a way that is organized and eye-catching – an important skill in itself!
For more information on One Pager activities, check out our complete guide featuring tips and tricks for student success!
Ancient Egypt Unit Review and Final Project
We end our unit with one of my all time favorite final projects – Time Travel Scrapbooks! To set the scene, I have the kids imagine they are returning back from a time machine trip to Ancient Egypt, and have to create a scrapbook of their adventures. I love this project because it is so open ended – as long as they complete the list of requirements, they have the opportunity to present their projects in any creative way they like.
I never cease to be amazed by the wide variety of things the kids come up with; the projects end up way more amazing and creative than if I were to give them specific guidelines. One year, I had one student glue the pieces of his scrapbook onto a 3D tabletop pyramid he had built. Another student made a “scrapbook in a bag”, where each individual part of the project could be pulled out and examined. A student skilled at computers managed to photoshop himself into several Egyptian images. Some kids made their own scrapbooks out of construction paper, and others decorated ones they had purchased.
This assignment fully integrates Social Studies, Language Arts, and Art; students are required to show their knowledge of Ancient Egyptian history, write first person journal entries, and illustrate their adventures. There is definitely a lot of learning that goes on in the development of these fun projects, and they are a super great way to complete a unit.
I hope some of these ideas have given you inspiration for your own Ancient Civilization unit! As always, please share any fun ideas you have for teaching Ancient Egypt in the comment section below – I am excited to hear all about your ideas!
Looking for more information about this Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebook unit?
Check out the video below for a detailed overview of everything included in my Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebook resource!
For additional information on Interactive Notebooks, be sure to check out our complete guide featuring tips and tricks for student success!
Interested in trying this unit in your own classroom?
All of the resources mentioned above come from my Complete Ancient Egypt Interactive Notebook Unit. This is one of my top sellers on Teachers Pay Teachers, with over 680 five star reviews! Click on one of the images below to go directly to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to check out the resource!
Looking for more resources on Ancient Civilizations?
Be sure to check out the following posts!
Mythology of Ancient Greece – Interactive Notebook Ideas
Ancient Greece Interactive Notebook Activities
Ancient Civilizations – Free Resource Roundup
5 Ways to Make Your Ancient Civilizations Unit More Engaging
Interested in some FREE Resources for Interactive Notebooks?
Click on the image below to go directly to a FREE download of some of my best selling resources for Interactive Notebooks. This includes foldables, graphic organizers, and other fun resources to help get you started with using Interactive Notebooks in your classroom today!
