How can you tell they’ve got it: Hieroglyphs and Papyrus?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Describe hieroglyphs as a writing system that uses pictures and symbols; Explain that papyrus was a material like paper made from a river plant; Understand that only specially trained people called scribes could read and write hieroglyphs. Or just try it together: If your child sees hieroglyphs on a museum artefact, can they tell you what they are and explain that the Egyptians wrote on a special paper called papyrus?

History Ancient Egypt Ages 5–7

Hieroglyphs and Papyrus

Your child knows the ancient Egyptians wrote with tiny pictures called hieroglyphs. They wrote on papyrus, a kind of paper made from a plant by the Nile.

In curriculum terms

Know that the ancient Egyptians used a special writing system called hieroglyphs — pictures and symbols that stood for sounds and words — and that they wrote on a paper-like material called papyrus, which was made from a plant that grew along the Nile

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Describe hieroglyphs as a writing system that uses pictures and symbols
Explain that papyrus was a material like paper made from a river plant
Understand that only specially trained people called scribes could read and write hieroglyphs

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Try this together

If your child sees hieroglyphs on a museum artefact, can they tell you what they are and explain that the Egyptians wrote on a special paper called papyrus?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Vocabulary: ancient egyptages 5–9Understanding hieroglyphs and papyrus requires these exact terms

Knowing all lettersages 4–6Understanding that letters are symbols representing sounds provides a framework for grasping how hieroglyphs encode language differently

Everyday Life in Ancient Egyptages 5–7Scribes are a special job — helps to know about daily life first

Hieroglyphs and Papyrusthis skill · ages 5–7

Unlocks

Scribes and the Rosetta Stoneages 7–9Rosetta Stone and Champollion builds on basic hieroglyphs and scribes

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

This skill sits outside the F–6 Australian Curriculum — no candidate code matched (v0.1). No NSW K–6 outcome code matched (v0.1). No Victorian Curriculum 2.0 code matched (v0.1).

Nearby on the map

Discovering Tutankhamun's Tombages 5–7 Egypt, the Nile, and the Desertages 5–7 Egyptian Gods and the Afterlifeages 5–7 Everyday Life in Ancient Egyptages 5–7

All Ancient Egypt skills →