Activity overview
Write in hieroglyphics activity description, notes and curriculum links.
Write in hieroglyphics
Learn about ancient Egypt and discover how to write your name in hieroglyphics
Discover how to write in hieroglyphics in this fun STEM activity for kids!
This is a free resource aimed at primary school children and could be used as a main lesson activity, to teach learners about the works of the ancient Egyptians contributing to learning in design and technology, art and history.
Additionally, this could be used to start a discussion on Ancient Egypt or to introduce the concept of people using different languages. It could also be used in conjunction with the other activities in this theme, ‘Making Papyrus’ and ‘Count like an Egyptian’.
Activity
This is one of a set of resources designed to allow learners to use practical methods to support the delivery of key topics within design and technology, history and art. This resource is based on the form of writing developed by the Ancient Egyptians, hieroglyphics.
Do you know how to write your name in Hieroglyphics? This engaging resource will show you how.
Once you have mastered how to write your name you can even write messages to your friends using hieroglyphic symbols.
This activity will take roughly 25 – 40 minutes. Worksheets, activity sheets and resources are provided for teachers.
Tools/resources required
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Paper
- Pens/pencils
The engineering context
Writing is key to human advancement – it is how we communicate to people who we cannot contact directly and record information for the future.
The ancient Egyptians
This activity is inspired by the achievements of ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians influenced the modern world in many ways and made important contributions to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Used from around 3000 BC, Hieroglyphics are one of the earliest known writing systems. The symbols they used were called hieroglyphs, which come from a Greek word meaning ‘sacred carving’ and were believed to have been invented by the gods.
The ancient Egyptians who were responsible for writing were called scribes. All scribes had to undergo years of rigorous training as Hieroglyphics was quite complicated, including around 700 different signs of objects and animals. Some signs were symbolic and stood for whole words, while others were phonetic and stood for sounds.
Hieroglyphics were found on ancient Egyptian seals, plaques, tombs, pottery and walls, as well as papyrus and writing board recording laws, taxation and government business.
Suggested learning outcomes
By the end of this activity students will know what Hieroglyphics are and they will be able to use Hieroglyphics to write their name.
All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download and are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.
And please do share your learning highlights and final creations with us on social media @IETeducation or send them via email to IETEducation@theiet.org to be featured in our online gallery.
