The Egyptian pyramids are the best known of the world's pyramids, being plentiful in number and with many still buried under the sand waiting to be excavated. Set up a large sandbox for a class project. Give students maps of the pyramids of Giza and assign individual tombs to each student. Have them research the appearance and size of each pyramid and the Sphinx. Encourage them to work together so the pyramids will be built to the proper scale in relation to each other. Then give each student a mound of clay and have them shape their pyramid or feature and place it in the proper spot in the sandbox to recreate Giza. Again, the students will have to exhibit teamwork to get everything in the right spot.
Show pictures of the Mayan pyramids and explain that there were two types -- one that was meant to be climbed for religious rituals and the other that was sacred and not meant to be touched at all. Give students clay and have them each make two models, one of each type of Mayan pyramid. Be sure to point out important architectural features such as the truncated top, where a temple could be built, or that the one type had steps leading all the way up. Encourage students to include details such as the doors and adornment found on some Mayan pyramids.
One of the main differences between Mayan and Aztec pyramids was that Aztec pyramids had multiple temples on top whereas Mayan ones had only one. Have students research the contents that archaeologists have found in Aztec temples on the top of pyramids. Then have them select one artifact and recreate it in clay. Have the class put their work on display with note cards labeling each artifact and the pyramid at which it was found.
Assign each student a different Chinese pyramid. Instruct them to research the important facts about that pyramid including where it is found, its size, its function and what is known about its builders. Then give students clay and have them mold a model of the cross-section of the pyramid. The one side should show what the pyramid looks like from the outside while the other side shows what it looks like on the inside.
Pyramids have persisted to the modern day. Send your students out on a scavenger hunt searching online or through magazines -- or even their wallets -- to find modern pyramids. Then have them take clay and reproduce those modern pyramids in very small sizes. Poke a hole in the top of the pyramid large enough to run a wire through. Let students use it as a charm on a necklace, a bracelet or to hang somewhere in the room.