Introduce your class to some of the most famous people of the Bible and Torah with this ‘Israelites in Ancient Egypt’ scheme for work for Year 3/4. Children will find out about a promise God made to Abraham and how this promise was fulfilled through his descendants. They will travel with Joseph to Egypt and find out how and why a boy from Canaan ended up as the Pharaoh’s second-in-command, how this led to Jacob’s (Israel’s) whole family settling in Egypt, how the Israelites became slaves to the Egyptians and finally how they escaped to reach the land God had promised them.

Full of age-old stories and adventures, this complete ‘Israelites in Ancient Egypt’ scheme of work is a great way to not only teach them some of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity and Judaism, but also to give them some further context about the ancient Egyptian civilisation.

You may also like our Ancient Egyptians Topic Bundle which has four fully-prepared schemes of work all themed around ancient Egypt! 

Jacob's Family Tree

Starting way back with Abraham, your class will find out about a promise from God that led to the formation of a nation known as the Israelites. They will read the story of how Jacob’s name changed to ‘Israel’ and learn about his family tree, including his twelve sons, one of whom would become very famous...

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Jacob's Favourite

After recapping Jacob’s family tree, your class will read the story of Joseph up to the point when he is put in prison by Potiphar. They will consider how Joseph might have been feeling at this point and think about how Joseph’s experiences were affected by his belief in God. They can also consider some more general questions about slavery, beliefs and dealing with family feuds.

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Pharaoh's Dreams

Continuing with the story of Joseph, this lesson focuses on the role of Joseph as a dream interpreter. They will find out how and why Joseph came to interpret two bad dreams Pharaoh had had, and how this led to Joseph becoming the second most powerful man in all of Egypt.

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A Family Reunion

Children will continue the story of Joseph by finding out what happened when the famine hit Egypt and when Joseph’s brothers travelled to Egypt to find food. They will find out that Jacob moved his whole family to Egypt after Joseph had revealed himself to his brothers, leading to the Israelites settling in Egypt. Children are then challenged to tell the whole story of Joseph and consider what Christians and Jews can learn from it today.

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Living in Egypt

Children will start by considering what it might be like to live in a foreign country. They will then go on to think about what life was like for the Israelites while they were in Egypt and discover how and why their status changed there. They will compare the beliefs of the Israelites with the beliefs of the Egyptians, having the chance to retell the familiar story of Noah as an ancient Egyptian story, as well as thinking about how differences between people can be positive, not negative.

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The Promised Land

The final lesson in this series looks at how the Israelites became slaves in Egypt until they were finally led out of slavery (and Egypt) by Moses. They will think back to the promise God made to Abraham hundreds of years previously and what the eventual settlement of the twelve tribes in Israel in the Promised Land can teach Christians and Jews about God today.

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