Show the class the bust of Ramesses and ask them to describe its appearance and say what it is made from. Tell them how big it is and compare it with the size of the classroom. Then work out roughly what the size of the whole statue was. Talk about Ramesses’ life and career. Then ask students if they think he really looked like this, or is it just his public image? Why do they think Ramesses had this statue made? And why was it put in a temple? What did Ramesses want people to think when they saw it?

Explore the Egyptian creation and kingship myths using the resources in For the classroom. Play or read the audio clip to the class and discuss how the story links to the king’s duties and his public image. Ask the class how they think Ramesses used his monuments to convince his people that he was a god.

Compare Ramesses’ statues to the images of kings in A bigger picture and discuss what each image is trying to say about that ruler. How important is public image to modern rulers and politicans, and how might they try to make us see them a certain way?

Use the images of king lists and cartouches in For the classroom to discuss how historical documents may not always tell the whole truth. Show the class the sequence of video clips to learn about Hatshepsut and discuss the attempt to destroy her memory. Can students understand why it happened? Do they think it was fair? Give groups examples of royal cartouches to compare to the Abydos king list. Can they find more missing kings, for example, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun? Ask them to find out why these rulers were left off the list.

The following activities explore aspects of Egyptian kingship raised by Ramesses’ statue. Use the resources in For the classroom and the hundreds of images available on the British Museum website and the internet to broaden the enquiry. Each activity involves initial research leading on to creative activities.

The Egyptian creation and kingship myths tell a very dramatic story, which would be ideal as the basis of a class play. After listening to the story and exploring it using the resources in For the classroom, ask groups to write scenes from the story that could be combined for a performance. Alternatively, groups could work together to illustrate episodes from the story and create a presentation or narrative display.

Using the resources in A bigger picture and For the classroom, explore ancient Egyptian regalia. Show the class both statues of Ramesses and ask them to describe them and compare what he is wearing in each. Compare these with the images of kings in A bigger picture: give groups images of different pharaohs and ask them to identify and label all the crowns and other royal symbols they can identify. They could then search for other images of the same pharaohs. Students may also like to try making their own crowns and regalia. Students could create a guide to the symbols of kingship.

Ramesses’ statue inspired the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley to write his poem Ozymandias. After discussing the statue and what it was intended to communicate, read the poem to them. Discuss what the words mean, then ask the class how they think Shelley felt about Ramesses. Do they agree with him? Ask students to choose an image of an Egyptian ruler from A bigger picture or elsewhere and write a poem about him or her to share with the class. The pictures and poems could then be used to make a wall display.

Show the class the bust of Ramesses and ask them to describe its appearance and say what it is made from. Tell them how big it is and compare it with the size of the classroom. Then work out roughly what the size of the whole statue was. Talk about Ramesses’ life and career. Then ask students if they think he really looked like this, or is it just his public image? Why do they think Ramesses had this statue made? And why was it put in a temple? What did Ramesses want people to think when they saw it?

Explore the Egyptian creation and kingship myths using the resources in For the classroom. Play or read the audio clip to the class and discuss how the story links to the king’s duties and his public image. Ask the class how they think Ramesses used his monuments to convince his people that he was a god.

Compare Ramesses’ statues to the images of kings in A bigger picture and discuss what each image is trying to say about that ruler. How important is public image to modern rulers and politicans, and how might they try to make us see them a certain way?

Use the images of king lists and cartouches in For the classroom to discuss how historical documents may not always tell the whole truth. Show the class the sequence of video clips to learn about Hatshepsut and discuss the attempt to destroy her memory. Can students understand why it happened? Do they think it was fair? Give groups examples of royal cartouches to compare to the Abydos king list. Can they find more missing kings, for example, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun? Ask them to find out why these rulers were left off the list.

The following activities explore aspects of Egyptian kingship raised by Ramesses’ statue. Use the resources in For the classroom and the hundreds of images available on the British Museum website and the internet to broaden the enquiry. Each activity involves initial research leading on to creative activities.

The Egyptian creation and kingship myths tell a very dramatic story, which would be ideal as the basis of a class play. After listening to the story and exploring it using the resources in For the classroom, ask groups to write scenes from the story that could be combined for a performance. Alternatively, groups could work together to illustrate episodes from the story and create a presentation or narrative display.

Using the resources in A bigger picture and For the classroom, explore ancient Egyptian regalia. Show the class both statues of Ramesses and ask them to describe them and compare what he is wearing in each. Compare these with the images of kings in A bigger picture: give groups images of different pharaohs and ask them to identify and label all the crowns and other royal symbols they can identify. They could then search for other images of the same pharaohs. Students may also like to try making their own crowns and regalia. Students could create a guide to the symbols of kingship.

Ramesses’ statue inspired the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley to write his poem Ozymandias. After discussing the statue and what it was intended to communicate, read the poem to them. Discuss what the words mean, then ask the class how they think Shelley felt about Ramesses. Do they agree with him? Ask students to choose an image of an Egyptian ruler from A bigger picture or elsewhere and write a poem about him or her to share with the class. The pictures and poems could then be used to make a wall display.