Use the topic of ancient Egyptian culture to develop students' independent and group working skills. Divide your class into groups of a maximum of four. Assign each group an aspect of Egyptian culture; one group could be allocated farming, for example, and another could have gods. Each group have to investigate their topic, using books from the school or public library, research undertaken at home and from online sources. They then have to find a way to present this to the rest of the class; they may want to use a PowerPoint presentation or make a booklet, for example.
Show students images of artifacts from ancient Egypt. Try the National Geographic website for examples. If you can, try and have some replicas of artifacts that students can actually handle. Let students give their opinions about the artifacts; what do they think they were used for? Compare the artifacts with their modern equivalents. Then have students paint or draw the artifacts, detailing patterns, pictures and textures. Students could then make artifacts out of clay. They may particularly enjoy making canopic jars; these were used to store a dead person's organs and were placed in the tomb with the mummy. Use the artwork and pottery to make a display for your classroom.
Tell your students about this early form of writing used by the ancient Egyptians. Show them the hieroglyphic symbols; try the PBS website for some examples. Explain how the symbols were used. Talk about the difference between this communication system and the ways in which we communicate today. Then have students try some hieroglyphic writing of their own. They could start by writing their names. Then have students try writing messages to each other; see if they can understand each other's messages.
Help students to try and understand what it was like to live in ancient Egypt by using drama. Have students work in small groups to act out a typical scene from ancient Egyptian culture; they may be particularly interested in acting out the burial rituals, with students playing the parts of the various gods involved. Alternatively, try "hot seating." Have a student take on the role of a pharaoh or a villager or a god and have other students ask him open questions to discover more about him.