New for 2024/25: How did the achievements of the Ancient Maya impact their society and beyond?
Based on the National curriculum for History in KS2, use this unit hub to inform your medium-term plan.
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New for 24/25: How did the achievements of the Ancient Maya impact their society and beyond?
Please note
This unit is new to Year 4 for 2024/25. Please see our History: Long-term plan for more information.
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
*New* What was important to ancient Egyptians?
Get startedLessons
Lesson 1: How did the ancient Maya settle in a rainforest?
- To explore the challenges faced by the ancient Maya when settling in the rainforest.
Lesson 2: How important was chocolate to the ancient Maya?
- To infer how the ancient Maya valued and used cacao by exploring historical artefacts.
Lesson 3: What did the ancient Maya believe?
- To describe the role of Maya gods and goddesses by studying images and scenarios.
Lesson 4: How did the Maya reflect world beliefs in their inventions?
- To develop recording skills through exploration of ancient Maya inventions.
Lesson 5: What do remains tell us about ancient Maya cities?
- To make deductions about an ancient Maya city by exploring remains.
Lesson 6: What caused the decline of the ancient Maya cities?
- To evaluate historians’ claims on the decline of the ancient Maya cities.
Key skills
Key knowledge
Related content
Unit resources
Knowledge organiser – History Y4: How did the achievements of the Ancient Maya impact their society and beyond?
Aimed at pupils, a double page document that gives key facts and definitions from the 'How did the achievements of…
Vocabulary: History – Year 4 Ancient Maya
Display versions of the year 4 key vocabulary and unit vocabulary from the 'How did the achievements of the Ancient…
Cross-curricular opportunities
English: Spoken language
Design and technology: Cooking and nutrition
Geography: Human and physical geography, Geographical skills and fieldwork
Religion and worldviews