The Maya Topic Enrichment Pack

Take your class to Mesoamerica with this cross-curricular pack designed to engage your Year 3/4 children! This Maya KS2 Topic Enrichment Pack offers seven engaging lessons spanning Art, DT and Geography, all carefully crafted to help your class develop key skills across the curriculum.

Your class will:

• Design and make an ancient Maya mask, develop carving techniques when making a Maya tile or stela, and analyse and recreate the Bonampak murals
• Design, make and evaluate a model Maya temple
• Locate and name the countries of Mesoamerica, compare the physical geography of Mesoamerica and the UK, and find out about modern Maya communities.

Whether you’re looking to enrich your existing Maya topic or deliver a mini cross-curricular project, this pack provides everything you need—lesson plans, slides, activity sheets and resources—ready to download and teach.

You might also want to take a look at our Y3/4 History scheme, The Maya Civilisation, which this enrichment pack complements perfectly!

Maya Masks

In this Maya Masks KS2 Art lesson, children explore the historical use of masks in the ancient Maya civilisation including masks worn by priests to connect with the gods, masks worn by warriors to intimidate their enemies, and funeral masks worn by kings and queens, such as Pakal the Great to support their transition to a god in the afterlife.

Children will analyse the features and materials of these masks, focusing on the elements of shape, colour and texture. They will learn different ways to recreate Maya masks before designing and making an authentic mask of their own for a Maya Ajaw or a headdress for a Maya priest or warrior.

This Maya Masks KS2 Art Lesson Pack has everything you need to design and make Maya masks with your class, including a detailed lesson plan, PDF lesson slides and printable resources.

View Art Lesson 1

Maya Artefacts

This Maya Artefacts KS2 lesson gives children the opportunity to analyse a range of Maya artefacts and discuss what materials they were made from, how they were made and what purpose they were used for.

Children are then challenged to shape, join and decorate clay to make their own Maya tile or stela using a range of techniques.

This Maya Artefacts KS2 Art lesson pack has everything you need to design and make clay Maya artefacts with your class, including a detailed lesson plan, PDF lesson slides and printable resources.

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Bonampak Murals

Children explore the murals found in the temples of Bonampak, Chiapas, Mexico which date back to the 8th century. They will learn about fresco techniques and examine the colours and images depicted in the murals.

Children then experiment with recreating parts of the mural images for themselves using the colour-mixing techniques they have learned about.

This Maya Art KS2 Art Lesson Pack has everything you need to recreate the Bonampak murals with your class, including a detailed lesson plan, PDF lesson slides and printable resources.

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Maya Temples

Children investigate the design of a range of ancient Maya temples and consider what materials, tools and techniques to use to create a model Maya temple.

Children will also consider how to strengthen, reinforce and decorate their structure to ensure that their temple is aesthetically pleasing, strong and stable.

This KS2 Maya Temple DT lesson comes completely planned and ready to deliver to your class. There's an easy-to-follow lesson plan with activity ideas and adaptations, a slideshow for the teaching input, and a set of printable resources to support children as they make their own Maya temple model.

View DT Lesson 1

Exploring Mesoamerica

Where did the ancient Maya live? Children will learn how to use atlases and the digital maps of geographical information systems to find out just that!

Children will apply their understanding to name and locate the modern-day countries of Mesoamerica and their capital cities, along with the nearby seas and oceans.

This KS2 Mesoamerica lesson comes with an easy-to-follow lesson plan, an engaging slideshow for the teaching input, activity ideas and a range of printable resources, including a Maya map, to support your class as they learn where the ancient Maya lived.

View Geography Lesson 1

Comparing Mesoamerica and the UK

Children use a world map to describe the physical location of the countries of Mesoamerica and the UK using precise locational language vocabulary.

Once children have a good understanding of the countries' relative locations and their proximity to the equator, they will develop their understanding of the climates, landscapes, plants and animals found in these regions, using a range of geographical information sources - including digital maps,

This KS2 Ancient Maya Geography Lesson Pack gives your Year 3 or Year 4 everything you need to compare the physical geography of Mesoamerica and the UK with your class, including a detailed lesson plan, PDF lesson slides and printable resources.

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Maya Culture

Children will learn how the modern Maya live, work and interact with their environment in this lesson focusing on human geography and culture.

Children will explore the impact of the Spanish conquistadors on the religious practices, language and architecture of the Maya and also discover how modern Maya people have kept aspects of their traditions and culture alive throughout the centuries.

An easy-to-follow lesson plan, slideshow and printable worksheets and other resources are all included in this Maya KS2 Human Geography Lesson Pack, leaving you free to deliver a great lesson without having to spend hours planning!

View Geography Lesson 3