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Ancient Pyramids

Ancient Pyramids

Design and draw a pyramid in the desert, then determine its area and volume.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • White Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Display images of the great pyramids, and talk about the importance of these man-made structures in Ancient Egyptian history. What were they were made of, what do they contain, and how long did it take to construct them?

  • Step 2

    Have students create a landscape depicting pyramids. They might add other images to the drawing, such as palm trees, camels, ancient workers, or anything else they wish to include.

  • Step 3

    Challenge them to determine the volume and surface area of their pyramid. The volume can be calculated using the equation V=1/3xBxh, where V=volume, B-area of the base, and h=height. The surface area is the total sum of the area of each face of the pyramid.

  • Step 4

    Students post their calculations along with their artwork.

Standards

SS: Time, Continuity, and Change: Analyze the causes and consequences of past events and developments, and place these in the context of the institutions, values, and beliefs of the period in which they took place.

SS: People, Places, and Environments: Learn where people and places are located and why they are there. Examine the influence of physical systems such as climate, weather, and seasons, and natural resources, such as land and water, on human populations, such as the causes, patterns and effects of human settlement and migration.

MATH: Create models that demonstrate math concepts and attend to precision.

MATH: Use problem-finding strategies, makes sense of problems, and persevere in solving them.

Adaptations

Create a 3-dimensional pyramid from paper to reinforce the concepts of volume, perimeter, and area.

Create a diorama of ancient Egypt and display a card with some interesting facts next to it.

Research pyramids in other locations, such as Mexico, Belize, Rome, Sudan, and even at the Louvre in Paris. How are they alike? How are they different?

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