UKS2 Topic Overview: Earliest Civilisations: The Indus Valley

Find out about this fascinating early civilisation based in the Indus Valley and place it on a world timeline.

Be amazed as you learn how this civilisation functioned and its cities grew and flourished. Discover day to day life, investigate the evidence we have for this civilisation and speculate why the civilisation ended.

Block / Key NC Objectives / Main creative outcomes
Block A
Introduction
[4 sessions] / History, English,and Geography
  • Know 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 follies of mankind.
  • Gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘civilisation’.
  • 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.
  • Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious social history, and between short- long-timescales.
  • Identify the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form.
  • Note and develop initial ideas, drawing on reading and research where necessary.
  • Select appropriate grammar and vocabulary.
  • Use further organisational and presentational devices to structure text and to guide the reader.
  • Articulate and justify arguments and opinions.
  • Give well-structured explanations for different purposes.
  • Listen and respond appropriately to their peers.
  • Use spoken language to develop understanding.
  • Participate in role play.
  • Ask questions to improve their understanding.
  • Locate the world’s countries, using maps and focussing on their environmental regions and key physical characteristics.
  • Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features.
  • Describe and understand key aspects of physical human geography.
/ Learn where the civilisation fits on a world history timeline. Discover the location of the civilisation; learn about the terrain and climate of the Indus Valley andexplore some theories that historians use to explain why the Indus Valley civilisation ended.
Block B
The Indus Valley Cities
[4 sessions] / History,Geography,D&Tand Mathematics
  • Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; characteristic features of past non-European societies.
  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change.
  • Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between short- and long-term timescales and understanding the connections between cultural and social history.
  • Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used to make historical claims.
  • Locate the world’s countries, concentrating on key physical characteristics and major cities.
  • Use maps to locate countries and describe features studied.
  • (Y5) Identify 3D shapes, including cuboids, from 2D representations.
  • (Y6) Recognise and build simple 3D shapes, including making nets.
  • (Y6) Solve problems involving the relative sizes of two quantities.
  • Select from and use a range of materials.
  • Apply their understanding of how to strengthen and reinforce more complex structures.
/ Be amazed by the cities of the Indus Valley people andlearn about the most significant sites and their construction. Find out about the archaeologists whose discoveries led to the realisation that this ancient civilisation had existed.
Block C
Everyday Life
[4 sessions] / History and D&T, English and Art
  • 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.
/ 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 D
Craftspeople and Trade
[4 sessions] / History, Art & Design, Geography, D&T,Computing and English
  • 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
  • Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history, and between short- and long-timescales
  • Improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including working with clay
  • Generate, develop and communicate their ideas through discussion and annotated sketches
  • 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
  • Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate and describe features
  • Select and use a variety of software
  • Use technology responsibly
  • Participate in role play
  • Use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas
/ Find out about the creativity of the Indus Valley people and try your hand at making some of the artefacts that you study. Learn about the process of trade and the goods involved.
Block E
Farming
[3 sessions] / History, D&T, EnglishandScience
  • Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations and characteristic features of past non-European societies.
  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change.
  • Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between economic and social history.
  • Use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas.
  • Participate in discussion and role play.
  • Generate, develop and communicate their ideas through discussion and annotated sketches.
  • Select from and use a range of tools and equipment.
  • Select from and use a range of materials and components.
  • Apply their knowledge of how to strengthen and reinforce complex structures.
  • Compare and group everyday materials on the basis of their properties (perishable or not).
  • Plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions.
  • Record results using tables.
  • Draw conclusions.
/ Discover the daily tasks of the Indus Valley farmers, the crops that were grown and the animals that were raised; act out the activities that they might have undertaken. Look at the evidence we have for Indus Valley farming.
Block F
Religion
[3 sessions] / History,EnglishandArt
  • Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; characteristic features of past non-European societies.
  • Understand historical concepts such as similarity, difference and significance.
  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change.
  • Understand the methods of historical enquiry.
  • Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between economic, religious and social history.
  • Improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing and sculpture.
  • Maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations.
  • Use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, imagining and exploring ideas.
  • Participate in discussions.
/ This is a thought-provoking block about the religion of the Indus Valley people. Learn about some similarities between modern religions in the Indus Valley region and evidence of religious practices during the Indus Valley civilisation and discuss the evidence we have in this fascinating area.

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