Inside the Pyramids
Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 9-12
Curriculum Focus: World History
Lesson Duration: Three class periods
Program Description
Master Builders (32 min.)—Explores the mystery and engineering mastery of pyramid builders from
ancient civilizations around the globe. Sneferu, King of Pyramids (18 min.)—Profiles the Egyptian king
whose pioneering new geometry allowed him to build the world’s first true pyramid and launch the
golden age of pyramids.
Onscreen Questions
•
How can a ruler display power?
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How did rituals performed in pyramids maintain and enhance a ruler’s control?
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How did Sneferu display his power?
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How did Sneferu assure his legacy?
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
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Understand why pyramids are important to different cultures.
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Explore the differences and similarities among Egyptian, Maya, and Aztec pyramids.
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Explain and illustrate these similarities and differences by developing a page for a magazine.
Materials
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Inside the Pyramids video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
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Computer with Internet access
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Print resources about the Egyptian, Maya, and Aztec pyramids
Inside the Pyramids: Teacher’s Guide
2
Procedures
1. Ask students what they know about pyramids. Many students will probably know that the
Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for their pharaohs. Point out that other cultures, such as the
Maya and the Aztecs, also built pyramids.
2. Tell students that pyramids reveal much about the cultures of which they are a part, especially
about the relationship between human beings and the gods. Explain to students that they will
be comparing and contrasting pyramids from the Egyptians, the Maya, and the Aztecs as a way
to better understand their societies.
3. Divide students into groups of three. Tell each group to research the pyramids from these
societies. As they work, they should address the following questions:
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Where are the pyramids located?
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How were they built?
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What was their purpose?
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How do they reflect the culture from which they emerged?
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How do the pyramids reveal the culture’s relationship to their gods?
4. Give students time in class to begin their research. The following Web sites provide a good
starting point:
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Egyptian Pyramids
http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/9705/seven.wonders/pyramids.html
http://www.touregypt.net/construction/
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmnh/pyramid.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pyramids.html
http://www.culturefocus.com/egypt_pyramids.htm
•
Maya and Aztec Pyramids
http://www.crystalinks.com/mexico.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/chichenitza.html
http://www.lost-civilizations.net/mayan-pyramids-chichen-itza.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1206_021206_TVMayanTemple.html
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28388
http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/pyramids/overview.html
http://home.comcast.net/~burokerl/aztecs_human_sacrifices.htm
5. During the next class period, ask students to imagine that they work for a magazine developing
a story about pyramids. Each group will create a page illustrating what they have found out
about pyramids. The page should include a discussion of the similarities and differences among
the three cultures’ pyramids, as well as photographs and diagrams illustrating pyramids from
each society.
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Inside the Pyramids: Teacher’s Guide
3
6. Have the groups present their magazine pages to the class. Discuss which pages are most
effective. Combine all of the pages into a class magazine about pyramids.
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
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3 points: Students were highly engaged in class discussions; worked effectively in their
groups, completing all the research; produced a comprehensive and creative magazine
page, including all of the requested information.
•
2 points: Students participated in class discussions; worked satisfactorily in their groups,
completing most of the research; produced a satisfactory magazine page, including most of
the requested information.
•
1 point: Students participated minimally in class discussions; had difficulty working in their
groups and completing the research; did not complete the magazine page with the
requested information.
Vocabulary
Chichén Itzá
Definition: A complex of ruins in Mexico that is the site of pyramids, temples, and other
structures built by the ancient Maya, an indigenous people of Mexico and Central America
Context: Not only can pyramids be found at Chichén Itzá , but also temples, an observatory, and
ball courts.
Great Pyramid
Definition: The largest and most famous of the pyramids of Giza, built by Sneferu’s son, Khufu
(Cheops), it is made of more than two million blocks of stone.
Context: The Great Pyramid is so carefully constructed that the ancient Greeks considered it one
of the Seven Wonders of the World.
mastaba
Definition: an ancient Egyptian tomb that is rectangular in shape with a flat top.
Definition: The step pyramids were created by placing gradually smaller mastabas on top of
each other.
Tenochtitlan
Definition: The capitol of the Aztec Empire, where temples and pyramids were constructed
Context: The Aztecs brought gifts to Tenochtitlan to honor the gods who resided in the city’s
numerous temples.
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Inside the Pyramids: Teacher’s Guide
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Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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World History: Era 2— Understands the major characteristics of civilization and the
development of civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley
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World History: Era 3—Understands how early agrarian civilizations arose in Mesoamerica
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Language Arts: Viewing—Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret
visual media
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
NCSS has developed national guidelines for teaching social studies. To become a member of NCSS,
or to view the standards online, go to http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/
This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards:
•
Culture
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Time, Continuity, and Change
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
DVD Content
This program is available in an interactive DVD format. The following information and activities are
specific to the DVD version.
How To Use the DVD
The DVD starting screen has the following options:
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Inside the Pyramids: Teacher’s Guide
5
Play Video—This plays the video from start to finish. There are no programmed stops, except by
using a remote control. With a computer, depending on the particular software player, a pause
button is included with the other video controls.
Video Index—Here the video is divided into four parts (see below), indicated by video thumbnail
icons. Watching all parts in sequence is similar to watching the video from start to finish. Brief
descriptions and total running times are noted for each part. To play a particular segment, press
Enter on the remote for TV playback; on a computer, click once to highlight a thumbnail and read
the accompanying text description and click again to start the video.
Curriculum Units—These are specially edited video segments pulled from different sections of the
video (see below). These nonlinear segments align with key ideas in the unit of instruction. They
include onscreen pre- and post-viewing questions, reproduced below in this Teacher’s Guide. Total
running times for these segments are noted. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the TV
remote or click once on the Curriculum Unit title on a computer.
Standards Link—Selecting this option displays a single screen that lists the national academic
standards the video addresses.
Teacher Resources—This screen gives the technical support number and Web site address.
Video Index
I. The Pyramids of Egypt (Master Builders Part 1) (16 min.)
Several ancient cultures built pyramids, but the Egyptians were the first to do so. Explore the
earliest pyramids and the theories about how they were built.
II. Ancient American Pyramids (Master Builders Part 2) (16 min.)
Ancient pyramids were built for several reasons, including as ceremonial sites for human sacrifices.
Examine the pyramids built in the Americas and their suspected purposes.
III. A Worthy Resting Place (Sneferu, King of Pyramids Part 1) (12 min.)
Pharaoh Sneferu may be the most important Egyptian because he inspired a tradition of pyramid
building. Explore his struggle to build a tomb fit for a king.
IV. The Bent Pyramid and Beyond (Sneferu, King of Pyramids Part 2) (6 min.)
Sneferu built two pyramids, after experiencing failure at Maidum. Learn about Sneferu’s successful
pyramids and the monuments that followed.
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Inside the Pyramids: Teacher’s Guide
6
Curriculum Units
1. Four Continents of Pyramids
Pre-viewing question:
Q: Which civilizations do you know built pyramids?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: Where are pyramids found?
A: Pyramids built by the Aztecs are in Mexico. Others have been located in Central America, Peru,
Illinois, as well as in China and Africa.
2. The First Pyramid
Pre-viewing question:
Q: What was the function of the earliest pyramids?
A: The earliest pyramids were burial tombs for Egyptian rulers.
Post-viewing question:
Q: Who was the first ruler to build a pyramid?
A: King Zoser was the first ruler to build a pyramid and launch the so-called Age of Pyramids.
With its six-step pyramid, Zoser’s tomb complex is the world’s oldest piece of large-scale stone
architecture, dating back to around 2600 B.C.
3. Pyramid Geometry
Pre-viewing question:
Q: What do you think the flat sides of Egyptian pyramids represent?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: Why did ancient Egyptians believe it was critical to correctly align a pyramid?
A: The pyramids were aligned with great precision to the center of the heavens, which the pharaohs
considered the gateway to eternity.
4. Building Egyptian Pyramids
Pre-viewing question:
Q: How do you think the Egyptian pyramids were built?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: What evidence shows that Egyptians did not use sleds to build pyramids?
A: Scientists do not believe Egyptian workers used sleds to carry the stones for pyramids because
sleds are big, slow, and hard to maneuver. Sleds would also require building long ramps, which the
steeply graded pyramids themselves did not provide.
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Inside the Pyramids: Teacher’s Guide
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5. Moche Pyramids
Pre-viewing question:
Q: Why are monuments built?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: What was the purpose of the Moche pyramids?
A: Archaeologists believe that the Moche pyramids were ceremonial sites; the discovery of
numerous human skeletons indicates those ceremonies involved human sacrifice.
6. Ancient Maya Pyramids
Pre-viewing question:
Q: What things does your religion or culture consider sacred?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: How do Maya and Egyptian pyramids differ?
A: Both types of pyramids are built from stone and are often surrounded by other ceremonial
buildings. But the Maya pyramids face an open plaza rather than a closed corridor. They also like a
public platform because they include summit temples and flights of steps. Many sit above caves,
which may have been sacred temples and the source of water for the Maya.
7. Early Egyptian Practices
Pre-viewing question:
Q: How do modern governments control growing populations?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: Do you think the Egyptians would have continued with human sacrifice had they not had the
Nile?
A: Answers will vary.
8. Pyramids in the Americas
Pre-viewing question:
Q: What do you know about Aztec civilization?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: How did the Aztec civilization come to an end?
A: When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1519, they swiftly conquered the Aztecs and their
civilization and built their own city in its place.
9. The Uses of the Nile
Pre-viewing question:
Q: What do you think Egypt would be like without the Nile?
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Inside the Pyramids: Teacher’s Guide
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A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: How did ancient Egyptians irrigate their crops?
A: Egyptian farmers created networks of irrigation canals to channel the Nile’s waters into their
fields, which allowed them to grow flax, grains, and vegetables.
10. Mummies and Tombs
Pre-viewing question:
Q: Why did the ancient Egyptians practice mummification?
A: The ancient Egyptians believed that the body would return to life in the next world, so they
practiced mummification, a complex ritual that took 70 days.
Post-viewing question:
Q: Why did Sneferu decide to build a pyramid?
A: Sneferu may have been fascinated by Pharaoh Zoser’s pyramid, so he may have decided to build
his own. He wanted an elaborate tomb to protect a mummy for all eternity, ensuring life in the next
world. To foil tomb robbers, the pyramid was so massive so that it would be nearly impossible for
to reach the burial chamber, even if they knew where it was.
11. Sneferu’s Maidum Disaster
Pre-viewing question:
Q: Have you ever had to abandon a project before finishing it?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: Why does the Maidum pyramid look unusual?
A: Originally designed as a step pyramid, the Maidum pyramid was expanded several times, most
likely because common belief held that a pyramid should not be finished before a pharaoh’s death.
When it was completed with eight steps, Sneferu was still in good health. So construction continued
and the steps of the pyramid were filled in with fine white limestone. The final outer casing stones
were not anchored securely into the body of the pyramid, so they began slipping. Later generations
found it easy to quarry the loose stones, leaving only the steep inner core.
12. Dashour and Later Pyramids
Pre-viewing question:
Q: How many times would you try to accomplish something before giving up?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question:
Q: Why is the pyramid at Dashour known as the Bent Pyramid?
A: The walls of its burial chamber shifted, due to the tremendous weight of the pyramid above it, so
Sneferu’s architects decided to finish it by reducing the angle from 54 degrees to 43 degrees.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.