Engineering Innovations of Ancient Egypt

Merry Ostheimer

This integrated unit will feature Engineering, English Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies. My students will use the Engineering Design Process to create their own pyramid prototypes. Standards will target asking questions, making observations, and gathering information about how ancient Egyptians solved their problem about memorializing their dead. Students will develop physical models of pyramids by making mudbrick blocks and then assembling them in pyramid form. Students will then work to improve the structure of blocks and compare the strengths and weaknesses of their models. After these activities, my students will learn about simple machines and explore how levers, inclined planes, pulleys, wheels and axles, wedges, and screws make work easier.