Ancient Civilisations KS2

Ancient Civilisations KS2

Travel back thousands of years to discover some of the world's earliest civilisations with this complete, ready-to-teach Ancient Civilisations KS2 History scheme of work for Years 3 and 4. Children will explore Ancient Sumer, the Indus Valley civilisation, Ancient Egypt and the Shang Dynasty, discovering how these societies developed and the remarkable achievements that helped shape the modern world.

Across seven engaging lessons, children will investigate where and when the first civilisations appeared, explore the development of writing, trade and number systems, and discover important inventions and structures from the ancient world. They will also use an ancient civilisations timeline, investigate historical evidence and compare the similarities and differences between early societies.

What will children learn?

Children begin by exploring where and when the earliest civilisations developed, using timelines and maps to investigate their locations and chronological relationships. They will discover how civilisations emerged in different parts of the world and develop their understanding of chronology, including BCE and CE dates.

They will then investigate the development of early writing systems, exploring how the ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, Indus Valley civilisation and Shang Dynasty recorded information. Children will consider why writing was such an important development and explore examples including cuneiform, hieroglyphics and the Phoenician alphabet.

Next, children explore trade in ancient civilisations, discovering how people exchanged goods before the introduction of money and how tokens, seals and early coins were used. They will also investigate the development of number systems, comparing how the Sumerians, ancient Egyptians and Shang Dynasty represented numbers and considering how mathematics developed alongside trade.

Children will discover some of the important inventions and technological achievements of early civilisations, including the wheel and irrigation systems. They will investigate how these developments improved people's lives and consider their lasting influence on the modern world.

The scheme also explores the remarkable buildings and structures created by ancient societies. Children will compare the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Ziggurat of Ur, investigating their purposes and identifying similarities and differences between these impressive achievements.

Finally, children will bring together their learning by comparing ancient civilisations, exploring similarities and differences in their locations, writing systems, buildings, religious beliefs and art. They will consider why societies that developed at different times and in different places sometimes shared similar characteristics.

Throughout these Ancient Civilisations KS2 lessons, children develop important historical enquiry skills including chronological understanding, interpreting sources, comparing societies, identifying similarities and differences, and evaluating the significance of historical achievements.

What's included?

This complete Ancient Civilisations KS2 scheme of work includes everything you need to teach the topic:

• seven detailed lesson plans
• engaging teaching slides for each lesson
• differentiated worksheets and activities
• ancient civilisations timeline and map resources
• information sheets, fact cards and historical enquiry activities
• activities exploring early writing, trade, mathematics, inventions and architecture
• an Ancient Civilisations Knowledge Organiser
• a History Assessment Grid to support assessment
• an End of Unit Quiz

With lesson plans, slides and supporting resources ready to download and teach, this complete set of Ancient Civilisations KS2 planning and resources provides an engaging introduction to the achievements of the earliest civilisations while saving valuable preparation time.