How can you tell they’ve got it: Pyramids and the Great Sphinx?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Explain that pyramids were built as tombs to protect the pharaoh's body for the afterlife; Describe the Great Pyramid as very large, very old, and still standing at Giza; Describe the Sphinx as a stone statue with a lion's body and a human head. Or just try it together: If your child sees a photo of the pyramids, can they tell you why they were built and describe the Sphinx that sits near them?

History Ancient Egypt Ages 5–7

Pyramids and the Great Sphinx

Your child knows the Egyptians built huge stone pyramids as tombs for their kings. The Great Sphinx nearby is a statue with a lion's body and a human head.

In curriculum terms

Know that the ancient Egyptians built enormous stone pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs, that the Great Pyramid at Giza was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and is still standing today, and that the Great Sphinx — a statue with a lion's body and a human head — guards the pyramids

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.

Explain that pyramids were built as tombs to protect the pharaoh's body for the afterlife
Describe the Great Pyramid as very large, very old, and still standing at Giza
Describe the Sphinx as a stone statue with a lion's body and a human head

🖨 Print this page to keep the checklist — it prints beautifully.

Try this together

If your child sees a photo of the pyramids, can they tell you why they were built and describe the Sphinx that sits near them?

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 5–9Describing the pyramids and Sphinx requires 'pyramid', 'sphinx', and related vocabulary

3-D shapesages 4–6Recognising pyramids as a named 3D geometric shape makes study of the Great Pyramid's physical structure more concrete

Pharaohs and Tutankhamunages 5–7Pyramids as tombs benefit from knowing pharaohs were powerful rulers

Pyramids and the Great Sphinxthis skill · ages 5–7

Unlocks

Building the Pyramidsages 7–9Pyramid construction and Valley of Kings builds on basic pyramids knowledge

Discovering Tutankhamun's Tombages 5–7Howard Carter's discovery is about finding a tomb inside a pyramid/valley context

Egyptian Gods and the Afterlifeages 5–7Gods and afterlife connect to pyramids as burial places

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 →