New Kingdom Egypt · About 1332-1323 BC

Tutankhamun and the Valley of the Kings

A boy king ruled for about ten years and was almost forgotten, until 1922. Students explore the hidden royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, the craftsmen who cut them, and the story of the most famous tomb ever found.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
10–13
On the map
3 steps, 1323 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

A boy king ruled for about ten years and was almost forgotten, until 1922. Students explore the hidden royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, the craftsmen who cut them, and the story of the most famous tomb ever found.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate the Valley of the Kings and explain why New Kingdom pharaohs were buried there.
  • Describe Tutankhamun's reign and the finding of his tomb in 1922.
  • Explain what tombs and mummies tell us about Egyptian beliefs about death.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

1323 BC

The valley of the dead

Open the map in 1323 BC and zoom in on the dry valley behind the cliffs on the west bank at Thebes. New Kingdom pharaohs were buried here in tombs cut into the rock. Why hide tombs instead of building pyramids?

Open this view on the map
b

1323 BC

East bank, west bank

Zoom out a little. Find the Nile between the valley and the temples of Karnak and Luxor on the east bank. Why did Egyptians link the east bank with the living and the west with the dead?

Open this view on the map
c

1323 BC

The young king's Egypt

Zoom out to see Egypt and its neighbors. Tutankhamun became king at about nine years old. Which foreign powers could have threatened a boy king?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Tutankhamun was a minor king who died young. Why is he the most famous pharaoh today?
  2. Most royal tombs in the valley were robbed in ancient times. What does that tell us about life in Egypt?
  3. Egyptians mummified the dead so that the soul could live on. What can mummies teach scientists today?
  4. Howard Carter's team removed thousands of objects from the tomb. Who should own them, and where should they be shown?
  5. The craftsmen who cut the royal tombs went on strike over late pay under Ramesses III. What does that tell us about them?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Ramesses II, who was buried in the same valley about a century later. Discuss: Ramesses ruled for 66 years and built everywhere, while Tutankhamun ruled for about ten. Why is the boy king more famous today?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.