What Your Child Will Learn

This easy-to-teach, beautifully laid-out course takes students on a journey through Egypt.

There's much more to this mystery than pyramids and pharaohs. Students will explore Africa's geography, discover how the Nile shaped life in Egypt, and investigate geology, engineering, and stratigraphy, the study of layers in the ground. They'll learn compass navigation, decipher hieroglyphs, and discover how modern technology helps archaeologists uncover the past. They'll even get to decide whether an archaeological dig should be approved. Here are some highlights.

Along the way, students build reading comprehension, writing, critical thinking, and research skills. They'll follow the clues, make connections, ask questions, and use what they've learned to help solve the mystery. Here are some highlights.

History, Geography, and Archaeology

• Explore life in ancient Egypt, including its pharaohs, pyramids, and temples
• Discover Khufu's 4,500-year-old boat, the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the lost city of Merer
• Go behind the scenes of an archaeological dig to learn where archaeologists dig, what they look for, and what they hope to find
• Step into an archaeological dig to examine grids, soil layers, and artifacts
• Travel across Africa, exploring its countries and Egypt's place on the continent
• Uncover the geography of Egypt's deserts, the Nile River, and its delta
• Follow Miles and Maya's journey and create a topographic 3D map
• Decide whether an archaeological dig site should be approved
• Help Howard Carter find Tutankhamun's tomb

Investigate Science

• Explore the engineering behind Egypt's pyramids and how ancient builders used math, simple tools, and clever techniques
• Examine Egypt's geology and discover how limestone and granite shaped ancient construction
• Study stratigraphy to learn how layers of soil and buried objects help archaeologists piece together the past
• Test different building materials to discover their strengths and how ancient Egyptians chose the right materials for their structures
• Learn how ancient Egyptians carved tombs into rock and kept them standing
• See how modern technology helps archaeologists locate hidden structures and investigate what lies underground

Learn by Doing

Hands-on learning is woven throughout the six-week core adventure. Rather than only reading about what Miles and Maya encounter, students become immersed in the story by creating, experimenting, and building.

• Create secret messages using Egyptian hieroglyphs
• Build a miniature archaeological dig and uncover hidden artifacts
• Make your own papyrus, reed boat, and royal cartouche
• Construct a working shaduf to discover how ancient Egyptians lifted water
• Design and test structures in a pyramid engineering challenge
• Mix natural pigments and experiment with painting techniques to discover how colors were made
• Venture further with optional Rabbit Trails for even more discoveries and activities

Build English, Reading & Critical-Thinking Skills

• Strengthen critical-thinking skills by following the mystery, examining clues, making predictions, and drawing conclusions
• Improve reading comprehension through Think Like a Detective, answering questions, recalling important details, and connecting earlier clues
• Grow vocabulary with Sherlock's Case Words and Word Expeditions through definitions, sentence writing, and drawing
• Develop observation and comprehension skills with Step Into the Scene, drawing story moments and answering questions in complete sentences
• Build longer, more detailed stories with STACK Your Sentences (Level 1) or short-story writing (Level 2)
• Practice English grammar and creative writing through verbs, adjectives, and point of view, learning to make sentences more descriptive and interesting