Ancient Egypt Lapbook for World History

This Ancient Egypt lapbook has twenty lapbook templates, eight hands-on activities, literature suggestions, research resources, and five bonus ideas for you to use when completing your study of Ancient World History and Egypt.  

Not sure what a lapbook is? Find out here. 

Here are the resources used in the Ancient Egypt Lapbook:

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Required Library List

NOTE: Books on Open Library are free e-books. If you can’t find the exact books, you should be able to find some books on the same topics at your local library, and you can also search online with the suggested online resources.

Pyramid by DK Eyewitness

Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book About Ancient Egypt by Gail Gibbons, Also on Open Library

Science in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Woods Also on Open Library

Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide by Marian Broida Also on Hoopla and Open Library

Additional Research books for all ages:

You don’t have to have all of these books, just select a few that your kids will be interested in.

My Best Book of Mummies by Philip Steele or The Best Book of Mummies by Miranda Smith

Egypt: A to Z by Jeff Reynolds

The Story of the Nile by Anne Millard

Voices of Ancient Egypt by Kay Winters, Barry Moser

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Cairo by Joan Barghusen

Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt by Usborne Also on Open Library

Glorious Past: Ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nubia (Milestones in Black American History) by Earnestine Jenkins Also on Open library

Ancient Egypt Revealed by Peter Chrisp

The Egyptian World (Kingfisher History Library) by Margaret Oliphant Also on Open Library

The Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy by Joyce Filer Also on Open Library

DK Eyewitness Books: Ancient Egypt: Explore the Nile Valley by George Hart

Online Resources

King Tut and His Treasures for Kids video

King Tut for Kids Bedtime Stories podcast

The Great Sphinx of Giza for Children video

The Pyramids of Egypt and the Giza Plateau video

Egyptian Hieroglyphics Bedtime Stories podcast

How to Make Papyrus video

Ancient Egypt Power Point video (pause the video to read each slide)

What if you lived in Ancient Egypt? video (this isn’t a “children’s video”, but I didn’t see anything inappropriate in it.)

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt site

10 Inventions from Ancient Egypt article

Pictures of Jewelry

Resources for Parents/Teachers

Food and Drink in Ancient Egypt article

Egyptian houses and furniture article

Popular board games in Ancient Egypt article (with game instructions!)

Egyptian History timeline graphic

If this is your first time completing a lapbook, read this first to learn how to fold your folders to create the lapbook base.

Directions for the Ancient Egypt Lapbook

There is a printable lapbook mini-book for each of the twenty activities in the Ancient Egypt Lapbook Pack in the HHO Shop. As you read through the books suggested in the Library List above, complete each lapbook mini-book following the directions below and on the printable pages.  

There are also many corresponding hands-on activities.  There are links and directions for these activities while some of the directions are in the books listed in the Resource List. 

There are enough activities to keep you immersed in Ancient Egyptian history for several weeks.  

Activity 1: Pyramids

Pyramids in Egypt Map booklet: Where are they located? Draw a map and put pyramid symbols to show the location and kind. See page 20 in Pyramid by Eyewitness books

Questions to answer

1. What are the 3 types of pyramids found in Egypt?
2. Why were the pyramids built?
3. What materials were used to build the pyramids?
4. How were the pyramids built?
5. What kind of treasures can be found in the pyramids?
6. Why did the Egyptians choose the pyramid design?

Hands-on: Make a simple step pyramid. Instructions can be found in Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide pg. 8, or make one out of LEGOS, or use these instructions to make one from marshmallows and toothpicks.

Activity 2: Hieroglyphics

Hieroglyphics often adorned the walls and artifacts in pyramids. In the printable booklet is a page with Cleopatra’s name written out in hieroglyphics. Write your name in hieroglyphics inside the mini-book using this site or this hieroglyphic typewriter.

Activity 3: Mummies

In the mini-book explain how mummies were made in Ancient Egypt. Why did they practice mummification?

Hands-on: Make a mummy: Over the years of homeschooling, we tried all of these mummy projects. Pick one that will work for your family: a Barbie or Action Figure (easy), an apple (also very easy and more realistic), an orange (my favorite because we removed the “guts”), a chicken (scroll to bottom of post for instructions–very gross but the most realistic)

Activity 4: Canopic Jars

Answer these questions: What were canopic jars used for? What did the different lids on them stand for?

Hands-on: Make a canopic jar. You’ll need an old jar with a lid (like a pickle jar), self hardening clay, and paints. Shape the clay into the shape of a jar. Set aside and let dry. While this is drying shape some more clay into the lid for your jar. Pick an image of a lid to copy. After both pieces are dry paint them to look like a canopic jar.

Activity 5: Egyptian Homes

Research and find out what kind of homes Ancient Egyptians lived in. Sketch some examples of the homes in your mini-book.

The most common building material in Egypt was mud from the Nile. Rich and poor people both had houses made from mud bricks, which were usually just dried in the sun (sometimes they were baked). Jewish slaves made bricks from mud and straw. Here’s how they made mud-bricks. If your kids love to play in the mud, let them try it.

Activity 6: Egyptian Furniture

Egyptians believed that items could be used in the afterlife, so they were often buried with some furniture. Identify the furniture the Egyptians uses from a museum display. (Hint: the chair on the front cover was only used by one gender; can you guess which one?)

Activity 7: Egyptian Clothes

Sketch or take a picture of your Egyptian outfit you make and put it in your minibook. (Or, if you didn’t make an outfit, just describe what a typical Egyptian would have worn.)

Hands-on: Make a girl’s long dress or a boy’s short kilt. Instructions found in Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors pp. 14-17 OR Make an Egyptian headband and collar using these directions.

Activity 8: Egyptian Work

What kind of work did they do? Write the different types of jobs in Ancient Egypt in your mini-book. Then pick one of those jobs to describe in detail in your book.

Activity 9: Egyptian Food

What was the Egyptians diet like? Was there a difference between poor and rich Egyptians diets? Make a list of each in your book.

Note: several sources mention that children and adults ate “beer” often, maybe even twice a day. This “beer” is not at all like the beer you are imagining; this was a sweet, thick soup made by fermenting barley grain with bread, that had a very low alcohol content, often with spices added.

Hands-on: Make overnight fig cakes. Instructions found in Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors pg. 37 OR try one of these recipes: Egyptian Okra, Hummus, or one of my family’s favorites (we eat this all the time in the summer!) Chicken Shawarma

Activity 10: Religion

What kind of religion did the Egyptians practice? List some of the different gods they worshiped and what each represented.

Activity 11: Egyptian Entertainment

What kind of things did the Egyptians do for fun? What were some of the most popular board games they played? Have you played any of them?

Hands-on: Play an Egyptian Game. If you have a mancala board, play a game. If not, try making your own Seega game with a 5×5 grid drawn on a piece of paper.

Activity 12: Jewish Peoples in Egypt

What role did the Jewish people play in Egyptian history? Find the Bible verses that tell about the captivity of Jews in Egypt. (hint: look in the book of Exodus) Why did the Jewish people become slaves in Egypt? What hardships did they endure during their captivity? What things did God do to make the Egyptians free the Israelites? If they had not suffered at the hand of the Egyptians, do you think they would have been willing to leave Egypt for the Promised Land?

Activity 13: Pharaohs

What was the role of pharaohs in Egypt? What did the pharaohs believe themselves to be? Who are some of the most famous pharaohs?

Hands-on: Make an Egyptian Pharaoh Mask Use the printable in the lapbook product (you may need to print it as a “poster” on 4 pages and tape together before coloring.

Activity 14: Transportation

List the ways Egyptians traveled. What were some of the dangers they faced when traveling?

Hands-on: Make an Egyptian sailboat. Instructions found in Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors pg. 32-33

Activity 15: Egyptian Math

The ancient Egyptian number system was composed of 7 symbols – a single stroke mark, a heel bone (upside-down smile), a coil of rope, a lotus plant, a finger, a frog, and a kneeling god.

With these 7 symbols, the clever Egyptians could add, subtract, multiple, and divide and count into the many millions! They even created a system of algebra, which helped them build the pyramids.

Inside the mini-book, make a chart to show the symbols Egyptians used for numbers and math. Explain how the Egyptians used math and what they used it for. You can find this information in Science in Ancient Egypt, or use this site to help you.

Activity 16: Science in Ancient Egypt

Research and write about how the Egyptians used science in building the pyramids, timekeeping, furniture, paper and ink, and medicine. What did we gain from the Egyptians?

Activity 17: Egyptian Tools

There are images of tools used in Ancient Egypt on the printable pages. Explain what these tools were used for: Archimedes Screw, bow and drill, wine press, flax comb, perfume spoon, and vases.

Activity 18: Rosetta stone

 What is the Rosetta Stone and why is it important?

Activity 19: Did you know?

Come up with some facts to make a did you know book.

Here’s one – The Egyptians trained monkeys to climb fruit trees to pick the fruit at the top. See what other interesting facts you can come find.

Activity 20: Show What you Learned

Show what you learned – make a display of all the things you have created. Take pictures of your hands-on activities and add the pictures to your lapbook.

Use the Ancient Egypt Notebooking Pages (included in the Ancient Egypt Lapbook product) to write about some of your favorite topics you’ve studied.

Additional Ancient Egypt Activities

Create a Nile River Delta model with everyday materials.

Play Ancient Egypt Jeopardy trivia game online.

Make an Egyptian feast, dress in your Egyptian outfit, and invite some guests over to share your new information with.

Listen to Egyptian Treasures: Mummies and Myths by Jim Weiss Also on Hoopla

This Egyptian history creative writing newspaper from Homeschool in the Woods is a great way to wrap up everything your students have learned throughout the unit study.   

Reinforce what you are learning with this fun Tomb Dash! File Folder Game.

Download your copy of the OLD, ORIGINAL Ancient Egypt Lapbook from the Free Resource Library. Look under Lapbooks or GRAB THE NEW, COMPLETELY UPDATED VERSION FROM THE HHO SHOP with updated research resources and new printable pages (86 PAGES TOTAL!).