UKS2 Topic: Earliest Civilisations: The Indus Valley Block C: Everyday Life

What was it like to be an ordinary person living in the Indus Valley 2,000 BCE? Learn about daily life, fashion, food, toys and more!

Block C: Indus Valley
Everyday Life
[4 Sessions] / Main outcome: History
Other outcomes: D&T, English and Art.
By the end of this block you will have achieved the following outcomes: / ·  Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind.
·  Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
·  Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
·  Select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks.
·  Select from and use a wider range of materials and components.
·  Understand and use mechanical systems in their products, e.g. levers and linkages.
·  Generate, develop and communicate their ideas through annotated sketches and pattern pieces.
·  Investigate and analyse a range of existing products.
·  Select appropriate grammar and vocabulary.
·  Use further organisational and presentational devices to structure text and to guide the reader.
·  Use other similar writing as models for their own.
·  Improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture.
·  Create sketch books to record their observations.
Session 1: History and Art
Cooking
Learn about the foods that were eaten by the Indus Valley people; explore the types of evidence found that show the diet of the Indus Valley people; eat some of the foods you learn about. / Children will:
·  Describe the foods that were eaten by the Indus Valley people and appreciate that they ate well and were healthy
·  Understand the types of evidence found that show the diet of the Indus Valley people
·  Improve their mastery of art and design techniques
Session 2: History and Art
Clothing and hairstyles
Find out about the clothing and hairstyles of the Indus Valley people; create a clay or Plasticine figure in the style of the Indus Valley terracotta figurines. / Children will:
·  Describe the clothing and hairstyles of the Indus Valley people
·  Create a clay or Plasticine figure in the style of the Indus Valley terracotta figurines
·  Understand the evidence that historians have used to describe the clothing worn by and the hairstyles of the Indus Valley people
Session 3: History and D&T
Toys
Describe some of the artefacts that were probably used as toys during the Indus valley civilisation; make an animal toy with a moving head. / Children will:
·  Describe some of the artefacts that were probably used as toys during the Indus valley civilisation
·  Understand that many of the toys found in the Indus Valley are similar to those played with today
·  Make an animal with a moving head
·  Give positive, but critical feedback to their peers
Session 4: History, D&T and English
Board game
Investigate the board games that have been discovered in Indus Valley excavations; make up a game based on the board and pieces found. / Children will:
·  Describe the board games that have been discovered in Indus Valley excavations
·  Understand that no-one knows how the games were played
·  Make up a game based on the board and pieces found
·  Write clear rules for playing the game

Resources

Session 1

Provided: Resource sheet covering Examples of Indus Valley Pots and Pot Outline.

You will need: Drawing paper; Pastels; Sketching pencils; Samples of wheat, barley and/or millet if possible; Samples of foods that chn may not have tasted previously, e.g. figs, dates, apricots, lentils, chickpeas (some may need cooking first!).

Session 2

Provided: Resource sheet on Indus Valley Artefacts.

You will need: Air-dried clay or Plasticine; Sticks, pebbles, etc.; Clay tools if available.

Session 3

Provided: Resource sheet on Indus Valley Artefacts.

You will need: Ocarinas; Air-dried clay; Dowelling; Object to make holes in clay, e.g. pencil, awl, matchstick; Thick thread or string; Thin card; Split pin brass fasteners; Hole punch; Scissors.

Session 4

Provided: Information sheet on the Indus Valley board game.

You will need: Information sheet on the Indus Valley board game; Modern chess set; Card for playing boards; Rulers & pencils; Air-dried clay or Plasticine; Clay tools if available; Examples of board game rules (optional).

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