Weaver Primary School Year 6
Medium Term Planning
Autumn 2016
History
Geography
When were the Mayan ruins discovered?
- Finding out about the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs in the
16th century and the subsequent discovery of mysterious ruins
in Mesoamerica
- Using photos of Mayan ruins to generate questions
- Considering what the Spanish conquistadors might have felt
when they discovered the ruins and the questions they might
have asked
How do we know about the Mayan civilisation?
- Exploring what archaeologists have discovered and what this
can tell us about the Mayan way of life
- Looking at a variety of Mayan artefacts to gather clues about
the Mayans
- Establishing a brief timeline of the Mayan civilisation
How was Mayan society organised?
- Thinking about how our society is run and who is in charge
- Exploring the city states of the Mayans and how they were
organised
- Investigating the roles of different groups of people in Mayan
society, such as kings, nobles, merchants and slaves
What did the Mayans believe?
- Finding out about the Mayan gods
- Exploring religious rites and rituals, including bloodletting and
human sacrifice
- Finding out about Mayan beliefs of the afterlife
What was everyday life like for the Mayans?
- Using a variety of sources of information to explore what daily
life was like including homes, food, clothes and farming
What did the Mayans achieve?
- Exploring the writing system of the Mayans, including a
number system
- Exploring the Mayan calendar and knowledge of astrology
Why did the Mayan civilisation decline?
- Exploring why records of battles between city states
disappeared from stelae around the year 900
Consider possible reasons for the decline of the Mayan
civilisation
Where did the Mayans live?
- Locating Mesoamerica on a world map
- Identifying the modern countries and cities that are now
located where the Mayans lived
What is Mesoamerica like?
- Using a variety of sources of information, including graphs, to
explore the physical geography of Mesoamerica
- Using ‘street view’ functions on online maps to explore the
area and identify features
What is life like for modern Mayans?
- Exploring what life is like for modern Mayans and how it is
similar to or different from the life of Mayans in the 1st century
- Using photographs and other sources of information to find out
facts
Art and Design, Technology,
Music, Computing
Mayan Art
Create an imprint of a Mayan image on gold paper to create a
class display.
Find out what we know about Maya from the drawings of
Frederick Catherwood.
Using clay to recreate Mayan artefacts
Explore the Mayans skills of stone-carving and pottery
Look at a variety of artefacts to gather ideas
Use clay to create tiles and coil pots
Designing, making and evaluating a model of a Mayan temple
Look at examples of Mayan temples to explore shape and
structure. Investigate ways of creating sturdy structures
Use a variety of materials to design, make and evaluate a model
of a Mayan temple, including using 3D nets
ICT Create a multimedia presentation about an aspect of Mayan
life, such as religion, family life or food
Coding –Computing
Using Espresso coding program to design games
Use a micro bit for writing coding
Plan adapted by A Horsley 2016 from one produced by S.Daniels in 2014
Science
Living things and their habitats
 Describe how living things are classified into broad groups
according to observable characteristics and based on
similarities and differences, including microorganisms, plants
and animals. Research the work of Carl Linnaeus. Write a
biography (cross curricular link to English)
 Use keys and classification systems to identify plants and
animals in our immediate environment and in Central America
(link to Mayan topic)
Evolution and inheritance
 Recognise living things have changed over time and that
fossils provide information about living things that inhabited
the earth millions of years ago.
 Recognise that living things produce offspring of the same
kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their
parents
 Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their
environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead
to evolution.