Did you know that YOU use picture writing too? Every time someone sends an emoji — a smiley face, a heart, a thumbs-up — they are using little pictures to share ideas, just like the ancient Egyptians did with hieroglyphics!
Of course, a lot has changed. Egyptians carved words into stone with chisels or painted them on papyrus with reed brushes. Writing one page could take a very long time. Today we tap letters on keyboards and screens, and our words can zoom across the world in one second.
But writing does the same job now as it did 5,000 years ago: it saves our ideas so others can read them — even people far away, or people born long after us. When you write in this workbook, you are making history too!
1. How are emojis like hieroglyphics?
2. What tools did Egyptians use to write?
3. What job has writing done for 5,000 years?
Write THEN for ancient Egypt, NOW for today, or BOTH.
| Statement | THEN, NOW, or BOTH? |
|---|---|
| Writing with pictures to share ideas | |
| Carving words into stone walls | |
| Typing on a keyboard | |
| Writing on papyrus with a reed brush | |
| Sending a message across the world in a second | |
| Saving ideas for people in the future |
Write T for true or F for false in each circle.
Write a short message to a family member using ONLY pictures you draw — no letters allowed!
Then show it to them. Can they figure out what you said? That is how tricky reading hieroglyphics was before the Rosetta Stone!
1. Was it easy or hard for your family member to read your picture message? Why?
2. What message would you carve in stone for kids 1,000 years from now?
| I learned... | Circle one |
|---|---|
| How writing has changed | YES / NOT YET |
| How emojis are like hieroglyphics | YES / NOT YET |