Hi Reader,

There’s something magical about watching a classroom full of five-year-olds suddenly become a camel caravan in the middle of Egypt! 🐪

This week, we’re bringing Cairo into the classroom and using imagination, movement, music, art, and a little bit of history to help students explore one of the world’s most fascinating cities.

🇪🇬 5 Fun Facts About Cairo to Share With Your Students

1. Cairo is the capital of Egypt.​
It is the largest city in Egypt and one of the largest cities in Africa.

2. The Nile River runs through Cairo.​
The Nile has played an important role in Egyptian life for thousands of years.

3. The famous pyramids are just outside Cairo.​
The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and is the only one still standing today.

4. Cairo is home to an area called Coptic Cairo.​
Coptic Cairo is a historic part of the city that is home to some of Egypt's oldest Christian churches and important historic sites. Students might be surprised to learn that Christianity has been part of Egypt's history for nearly 2,000 years.

5. Cairo is home to one of the world's oldest universities.​
Al-Azhar University was founded more than 1,000 years ago and remains an important center of learning.

🐪 Turn Your Classroom Into a Camel Ride

Have students turn their chairs around so they can sit facing the back. Then tell them they are climbing onto their camels for a ride through Egypt. Sway side to side to mimic the movement of a camel swaying.

I created a Cairo playlist with videos from Cairo. One of them features camel riding around the Giza Pyramids. Play it while your students take their imaginary camel ride.

If you want to see how my students handled their camel ride, watch it here. As you can see, their camels got a little out of control at the end! 🐪

It's such a simple activity, but suddenly your classroom feels very far away from school.

🎨 Create Your Own Egyptian Sunset

Have students use Sharpies to draw pyramids on paper. Then let them use chalk to fill in and blend the colors around their pyramids to create a the desert sky.

I'll include a few pictures of my students' artwork so you can see how ours turned out!

𓂀 Crack the Code of Hieroglyphics

Introduce students to the idea that ancient Egyptians used pictures and symbols to communicate. Some hieroglyphs represented objects, while others represented sounds or ideas. National Geographic for Kids has some great information about this, including a chart to show your students.

One of the most fun parts of this lesson is having students try to write their names using hieroglyphs.

That can lead to a great conversation about how different writing systems work and why we can't always find a perfect one-to-one match between English letters and Egyptian hieroglyphs.

🌎 Want to Bring Cairo Into Your Classroom?

These are just a few of the activities we did during our Cairo adventure. If you'd like to see how I put all of these pieces together, you can use the same lesson I did with my students to create your own classroom adventure to Egypt.

The goal isn't simply to teach children facts about another place. It's to help them feel curious about the world beyond their classroom.

🎤 I'm Headed to Orlando!

Next week, I'll be preparing to present at the President's Equip Conference in Orlando, where I'll be leading a workshop on ways to bring the world into our classrooms.

I absolutely love traveling and sharing ideas with other educators, and speaking at conferences gives me the opportunity to help even more teachers turn their classrooms into places where students can explore the world.

If your school or district is looking for a speaker or workshop presenter, I'd love to connect! Feel free to reach out and inquire about bringing me to your school or conference.

Until next week, remember: You don't need a plane ticket to help your students see the world. Sometimes all it takes is a little imagination, a few simple props, and a teacher willing to take them on an adventure. 🌎✈️

Have a wonderful week!

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