Important note
This unit is new to Year 4 for 2024/25. Please see our History: Long-term plan for more information about recent updates to our scheme and how they may affect your school.
Unit outcomes
Pupils who are secure will be able to:
- Sequence the key periods of the Ancient Maya civilisation.
- Identify periods that were happening in Britain at the same time.
- Explain how the Ancient Maya settled in the rainforest and the challenges they faced.
- Describe Ancient Maya beliefs.
- Name the features of the Ancient Maya cities.
- Make deductions about the Ancient Maya cities.
- Evaluate the reasons for the decline of the Maya civilisation.
- Understand the importance of archaeologists, archivists and historians in constructing our understanding of the past.
Suggested prior learning
What did the ancient Egyptians believe?
Get startedLessons
Lesson 1: How did the Ancient Maya settle in a rainforest?
Lesson 2: How important was chocolate to the Ancient Maya?
Lesson 3: What did the Ancient Maya believe?
Lesson 4: How did the Maya reflect world beliefs in their inventions?
Lesson 5: What do archaeological remains tell us about Ancient Maya cities?
Lesson 6: What caused the decline of the Ancient Maya cities?
Key skills
- Sequencing events on a
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Key knowledge
To know:
- History is divided
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Key vocabulary
achievement
afterlife
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Unit resources
Assessment – History Y4: Ancient Maya
Assessment resources for this unit. Use
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Knowledge organiser
A summary of key information from
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Vocabulary: History – Year 4 Ancient Maya
Display versions of the year 4
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Subject resources
Long-term plan
A suggested order for teaching History
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National curriculum mapping
This document shows each of the
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Knowledge and skills progression
Mixed-age | Assessment
A downloadable spreadsheet to record teacher
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Cross-curricular opportunities
English: Spoken language
Design and technology: Cooking and nutrition
Geography: Human and physical geography, Geographical skills and fieldwork
Religion and worldviews