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Teaches students about the Egyptian system of writing using pictures and symbols.
Imagine sending a text message to your best friend using only drawings of birds, snakes, and eyes instead of letters. How would they read it?
Thousands of years ago, the people of Ancient Egypt didn't use letters like A, B, or C. Instead, they used hieroglyphs. These are special symbols that look like pictures of animals, people, and objects. There were over different hieroglyphs! Some symbols stood for a single sound, while others represented a whole word or even a secret idea. It was like a giant, beautiful puzzle that only certain people knew how to solve.
In our alphabet, the letter 'M' is just a shape. In hieroglyphs: 1. A drawing of an owl represents the 'm' sound. 2. A drawing of a foot represents the 'b' sound. 3. A drawing of a mouth represents the 'r' sound.
Quick Check
What do we call the picture-writing used by the Ancient Egyptians?
Answer
Hieroglyphs
Our alphabet is simple because we only have letters and we always read from left to right. Hieroglyphs were much more flexible! Egyptians could write them from left to right, right to left, or even from top to bottom. To know which way to read, you had to look at the animals or people in the pictures. If the birds were facing left, you started reading from the left!
Let's compare the two systems: 1. Our Alphabet: Uses letters to build every word. 2. Hieroglyphs: Uses over symbols. 3. Direction: We read in direction; Egyptians could read in different directions!
Quick Check
How did Egyptians know which direction to start reading a sentence?
Answer
They looked at which way the animal or human symbols were facing.
Egyptians didn't have paper made from trees like we do. Instead, they used a plant called papyrus that grew along the Nile River. They would peel the stalks into thin strips, soak them in water, and layer them together. After pressing them flat and letting them dry in the sun, they had a smooth, strong surface to write on. This was the world's very first kind of paper!
Imagine you are a scribe (a professional writer): 1. First, you harvest the tall papyrus plants from the river. 2. You lay strips horizontally, then add a second layer vertically ( degree angle). 3. You hammer them together so the plant juices act like glue. 4. Once dry, you use a reed pen and ink made from soot to write your message.
What did a hieroglyph look like?
What is papyrus made from?
Ancient Egyptians always read from left to right, just like we do today.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, try to remember the name of the plant Egyptians used to make paper. (Hint: It starts with 'P'!)
Practice Activity
Try drawing your own 'name hieroglyph' using a different animal for every letter of your name!