This 'Early Civilisations' scheme of work will give your class an overview of when and where the earliest civilisations appeared (including Ancient Sumer, Indus Valley, Ancient Egypt and the Shang Dynasty) and will introduce them to the amazing achievements of each civilisation. They will explore when and why writing and number systems started to be used, find out how trade developed, investigate ancient structures such as the Egyptian pyramids and Sumerian ziggurats, as well as explore other inventions from the wheel to the toilet!

You might like our My World Topic Bundle – perfect if you're looking for a cross-curricular approach to your teaching!

With lesson plans, informative slides, differentiated worksheets, pictures, information sheets and many other resources, this 'Early Civilisations' scheme of work provides a coherent overview of how ancient civilisations developed throughout early history.

You might also want to browse our collection of KS2 History schemes that cover the Early Civilisation programme of study of the National Curriculum.

A Knowledge Organiser is available to support the learning in this scheme. It is included in the Complete Series download or can be purchased individually.

The First Early Civilisations

In this first lesson, children are introduced to a range of different early civilisations from across the world, including Ancient Sumer, The Indus Valley, Ancient Egypt and The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China.

In their independent activities, your class are tasked to use a timeline to answer a variety of questions. In the alternative activity, children are challenged to create a key to show the dates and locations of several different early civilisations on both a timeline and a map.

In their independent activities, your class are tasked to use a timeline to answer a variety of questions. In the alternative activity, children are challenged to create a key to show the dates and locations of several different early civilisations on both a timeline and a map.

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Writing Systems

Children first recap on how we find out about the past, and why written sources are so important. They will explore what we know about the early writing systems of the ancient Sumerians, the ancient Egyptians, the Shang Dynasty, and the Indus Valley.

In their independent activities, children will use the Phoenician alphabet to translate words and sentences. In the alternative activity, they create their own set of symbols to represent objects that early civilisations might have needed to keep records about. After comparing their symbols with others’, children discuss why the writings of early civilisations were all different.

Everything you need to teach a successful Early Civilisations KS2 History lesson is included in this pack: an easy-to-follow plan, an engaging PDF slide show, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources.

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Trade

In this lesson, children will explore the concept of trade, identifying how and why people in early civilisations traded with each other.

Your class will learn how people traded without written records or money, and will find out about the earliest coins. In their independent activities, children will take part in a class role-play where they can experience trading tokens for goods at a market!

A detailed plan, an informative set of PDF slides and two different activities are included in this ready-to-teach Early Civilisations KS2 Lesson Pack.

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Number Systems

In this lesson, children will find out why the first number systems developed. They will explore the number systems of the Sumerians, the ancient Egyptians and the Shang Dynasty.

In their independent activities, they will practise reading and writing amounts in each number system, and discuss how the systems are similar or different to each other and the modern number system.

This ready-to-teach Early Civilisations KS2 History pack includes a detailed plan, an informative PDF slide show, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources.

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Technology and Inventions

This lesson begins by defining what the words ‘technology’ and ‘invention’ mean. Children first discuss what technology they think the early civilisations had.

They then look at the invention of the wheel by the ancient Sumerians, and the development of irrigation systems by different early civilisations, and how we still use this technology, albeit adapted, today. In their independent activities, children use their historical knowledge to predict whether given items were invented before, by, or after the early civilisations, before using their research skills to find out!

An easy-to-follow plan, an engaging set of PDF slides, a range of different activity ideas and printable resources are included in this Early Civilisations KS2 Lesson Pack.

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Manmade Structures

In this lesson, children think about what other man-made structures early civilisations may have needed to build once they settled and built more permanent homes.

Your class will focus on comparing and contrasting two structures from two different civilisations - the ancient Egyptians' Great Pyramid, and the ancient Sumerians’ Ziggurat of Ur. In their independent activities, children will read, compare and sort statements about these two structures.

This ready-to-teach Early Civilisations KS2 History pack includes a detailed plan, an informative PDF slide show, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources.

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Similarities and Differences

In this final lesson, children will explore the many similarities between the early civilisations, despite them flourishing at different times and in different locations.

In their independent activities, children will read and sort or write statements about the similarities between the different civilisations relating to their location, the structures they built, their writing systems, their religious beliefs and their art.

Everything you need to teach a successful Early Civilisations KS2 History lesson is included in this pack: an easy-to-follow plan, an engaging PDF slide show, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable resources.

View Lesson 7

This Year 3/4 History Knowledge Organiser has been created to complement our History 'Early Civilisations' strand. It is designed to support your children’s understanding of key vocabulary linked to this scheme of work. Enquiry questions have been included to encourage your children to think like a historian within this topic.

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