KnowledgeMadeFun, home

Lesson · Grade 7 · Social Studies

Ancient Egypt and the Nile

  • Grade 7
  • Social Studies
  • 1 min 28 s
  • British Columbia
  • BC7-SS-10

A map of Egypt, drawn from real coordinates, builds up one step at a time: the Nile flows north through the desert, floods every summer and leaves a strip of black soil where farmers grow more food than they need, while the deserts keep enemies out and boats float north with the current and sail south with the wind. Upper and Lower Egypt are united about 3100 BCE, the pyramids at Giza go up about 2500 BCE, a low flood shows how the same river could bring hard times, and the video ends on the recap that the Nile gave Egypt all it needed to grow.

Anyone can watch two lessons on the website without an account. Signing in is free, no payment and no card, and opens three a day; Plus has no limit.

Loading

Share to Google Classroom

In one sentence

The question this lesson answers

How did one river help a great civilization grow in a desert?

Egypt, in the northeast corner of Africa, is mostly hot, dry desert.

Transcript

What the lesson says

How did one river help a great civilization grow in a desert?

Egypt, in the northeast corner of Africa, is mostly hot, dry desert.

The Nile River flows north across the desert to the Mediterranean Sea.

Every summer, rains far to the south made the Nile flood its banks.

When the water went down, it left rich black soil on both banks.

Egyptians called this farmland the black land, and the desert the red land.

Farmers grew wheat and barley, and often had more food than they needed.

The deserts on both sides made it hard for enemies to attack.

Boats floated north with the current and sailed south with the wind.

The south was called Upper Egypt because it is upriver, and the north was Lower Egypt.

About 3100 BCE, a king united Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom.

Extra food fed the workers who built the pyramids at Giza, about 2500 BCE.

But when the flood was too low, crops failed and people went hungry.

The Nile gave Egypt water, rich soil, safety and easy travel, so a great civilization could grow.

Curriculum

Where this fits

British Columbia, Grade 7

Social Studies, Ancient world to the 7th century: features and characteristics of civilizations and factors that led to their rise and fallBC7-SS-10

Previous: Mesopotamia: the land between two riversNext: The Indus Valley: How Water Helped Cities Rise and Fall

The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.

Keep going

More on this topic