This summer term’s new topic in Year 3 is Ancient Egypt and we have so many exciting things to learn about: mummification, the secrets of the pyramids, the pharaohs, the importance of the Nile etc.
To begin our launch, we looked at images of Egyptian pyramids and learning about the age-old mystery: how the Egyptian pyramids were built. We learned that it took the manpower of an army of men, many of whom were forced to work on the construction. We learned how giant blocks of stone were chiselled out of quarries and transported to the construction site. We learned how giant stones were placed on logs and how the ground in front of them was splashed with water so the stones could be pulled by lots of men more easily. It certainly didn’t look like an easy feat for a civilisation who didn’t have the machinery we have today!
In honour of such a remarkable achievement, we made our own pyramids firstly using card and then using LEGO. With card, we had to draw triangles with specific dimensions and trace the same triangle 4 times into a net. Before forming the pyramid, we drew the bricks and once it was cut out carefully, the net could be folded and glued together to form a square based pyramid.
The pyramid made of LEGO bricks required a base with a large square of LEGO bricks. Each layer had to be slightly smaller each time until after several layers were added, we reached the top and we had a pyramid. We could then experiment with different sizes and colour combinations to make our pyramids more unique.
Our pyramids were much easier to make than the real-life pyramids made thousands of years ago and could be completed in an afternoon (something you can definitely not say about the originals!). It was also not quite as hot in the classroom as it would have been working in the desert!
We are very much looking forward to learning all about this incredible civilisation over the coming weeks and we begin with our Ancient Egypt assembly next week, which will enable us to present to the school all the amazing things we are going to learn!
