Overview

During these lessons, students will explore the social structure of ancient Egypt and focus on the roles and responsibilities of the pharaoh and the vizier. This sequence will link, in part, to next week’s lesson sequence. Students will read text and analyse sources to fill in a social pyramid. 

Learning intentions:   

• analyse written and visual sources  

• make inferences about the importance of and the roles and responsibilities of pharaohs and viziers 

Success criteria:  

• make accurate inferences about the roles and responsibilities of key figures in ancient Egyptian society 

• use sources to write a description of the roles and responsibilities of pharaoh 

• create a job advertisement for a vizier 

Syllabus content: 

• Roles of key groups in the ancient society, including the influence of law and religion (ACDSEH032, ACDSEH035, ACDSEH038)  

Students:  

• outline how the ancient society was organised and governed including the roles of law and religion  

• describe the roles of appropriate key groups in the ancient society, eg the ruling elite, the nobility, citizens (Greece and Rome), bureaucracy, women and slaves 

Outcomes:  

• HT4-6 uses evidence from sources to support historical narratives and explanations  

• HT4-9 uses a range of historical terms and concepts when communicating an understanding of the past  

• HT4-10 selects and uses appropriate oral, written, visual and digital forms to communicate about the past  

Students will examine a series of visual sources to gain an understanding of the importance of pharaohs and their roles and responsibilities. Students will brainstorm the qualities of a leader, explore the items shown with or on pharaohs and make inferences about what these items tell us about the roles and responsibilities of a pharaoh. Finally, students will use the sources to write 2 paragraphs about the roles and responsibilities of the pharaoh.  

Content: 

• Roles of key groups in the ancient society, including the influence of law and religion (ACDSEH032, ACDSEH035, ACDSEH038)  

Students:  

• outline how the ancient society was organised and governed including the roles of law and religion  

• describe the roles of appropriate key groups in the ancient society, eg the ruling elite, the nobility, citizens (Greece and Rome), bureaucracy, women and slaves 

Outcomes:  

• HT4-6 uses evidence from sources to support historical narratives and explanations  

• HT4-9 uses a range of historical terms and concepts when communicating an understanding of the past  

• HT4-10 selects and uses appropriate oral, written, visual and digital forms to communicate about the past  

Students will examine the Duties of the Vizier text from the Tomb of Rekhmire to develop an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the vizier. They will use this information to create a job advertisement for the role of the vizier. 

Content: 

• Roles of key groups in the ancient society, including the influence of law and religion (ACDSEH032, ACDSEH035, ACDSEH038)  

Students:  

• outline how the ancient society was organised and governed including the roles of law and religion  

• describe the roles of appropriate key groups in the ancient society, eg the ruling elite, the nobility, citizens (Greece and Rome), bureaucracy, women and slaves 

Outcomes:  

• HT4-6 uses evidence from sources to support historical narratives and explanations  

• HT4-9 uses a range of historical terms and concepts when communicating an understanding of the past  

• HT4-10 selects and uses appropriate oral, written, visual and digital forms to communicate about the past