The Aztecs
Topic Overview
History
Geography
1
Where did the Aztecs live?
- Locating Mesoamerica and Mexico on a world map
- Identifying the continents of North and South America
- Exploring a map of Mexico to find Mexico City and what was
Tenochtitlan
2
What is Mexico like?
- Exploring the geographical features of Mexico, such as size,
population, landscape, climate, etc.
- Using data and information to answer questions about the
geographical features of Mexico
What would a holiday in Mexico be like?
- Exploring reasons why Mexico is such a popular holiday
destination
- Finding out about specific activities and locations tourists can
visit in Mexico
3
Art
1
Who were the Aztecs and when did they live?
- Finding out who the Aztecs were and how they built their
empire
- Placing the Aztecs on a timeline of world history
2
How was Aztec society organised?
- Exploring the roles of emperors, nobles, warriors, priests,
farmers and other people in Aztec society
- Finding out how families were organised into calpullis.
3
How did the Aztecs build the city of Tenochtitlan?
- Investigating how they changed a swampy island in Lake
Texcoco into a thriving city through the use of aqueducts,
causeways, chinampas, canals, etc.
4
What did the Aztecs believe and how did this impact on their
lives?
- Finding out about the Aztec belief that all life was governed
by a multitude of gods
- Investigating the Aztec practice of human sacrifice and the
reasons behind it
5
What was daily life for the Aztecs?
- Researching what daily life was like for the Aztecs in terms of
homes, clothes, schools, markets, food, etc.
6
How and why did the Aztec empire end?
- Finding out about Cortès, the conquistadors and their invasion
of Mesoamerica
- Exploring the chain of events that led to the downfall of the
Aztecs
- Thinking about the different views that the different sides held
about what happened
Computing
1
Weaving an Aztec artefact
- Finding out how Aztec women wove yarn into fabric for cloth
- Exploring how to create and use a loom
- Creating a bookmark, bracelet or wall-hanging using weaving
2
Creating an Aztec calendar
- Exploring the way Aztecs ordered time
- Drawing on images of the Aztec sunstone for ideas
- Creating an Aztec calendar from card and decorating in the
Aztec style
3
Creating a diorama of Aztec life
- Finding out what a diorama is and what they are used for
- Designing and creating a diorama to show a particular scene
from Aztec life
1
Designing, making and evaluating a patolli board game
- Exploring what patolli was and how it was played
- Designing, making and evaluating a patolli board
- Designing, making and evaluating packaging for their patolli
game
1
Using computing to create an information book on the Aztecs
- Exploring the features of information books and how they are
organised
- Using a variety of sources to find information, including the
internet
- Combining text and graphics in a word processing
programme to create an information book
2
Using digital cameras to make an Aztec A to Z film
- Finding words relating to the Aztecs for each letter of the
alphabet
- Learning how to use a digital camera to produce films and
photographs
- Editing video and photos to create an A to Z film
Design & Technology
2
Planning, making and evaluating Aztec food
- Following recipes to make Aztec guacamole and salsa
- Planning and making a tortilla wrap containing ingredients that
would have been available to the Aztecs
- Following a recipe to make Aztec hot chocolate
Further suggestions:
Art
1
Use clay to make a piece of Aztec jewellery
2
Create an Aztec headdress
Copyright © PlanBee
Computing
1
Use a graphics programme to create an Aztec repeating
pattern
Design & Technology
1
Design, make and evaluate a canoe to float on a canal in
Tenochtitaln
www.planbee.com
Understanding English,
communication and language
- Following instructions on a recipe to create Aztec
food
- Creating instructions to describe how to make an
Aztec tortilla wrap
- Using a variety of sources, including data, to
describe what Mexico is like
- Creating booklets and/or posters to describe what
Mexico is like
- Creating posters to advertise Mexico as a holiday
destination
- Using persuasive language to encourage tourists
to visit Mexico
- Writing a letter to describe what the city of
Tenochtitlan seemed like to a traveller
- Using a variety of sources to find out about Aztec
life and answer questions
- Creating a quiz about Aztec religion
- Writing acrostic poems to describe Aztec beliefs
- Organising statements about daily life into
categories
- Using storyboards and cartoon strips to re-tell the
story of the end of the Aztec empire
- Writing a playscript about the end of the Aztec
empire
- Exploring the features of information books
- Using computers to create an information book
about the Aztecs
- Finding words relating to the Aztecs for each letter
of the alphabet
- Using digital cameras to record an A to Z film of
the Aztecs
Scientific and technological
understanding
- Constructing packaging for a patolli board
game
- How ingredients can be mixed and
combined to make new foods
Copyright © PlanBee
The Aztecs
Topic Overview
Understanding the arts
- Exploring how Aztec women used yarn to
weave cloth for clothes
- Using a loom to weave an artefact
- Exploring the images and patterns on the
Aztec sunstone
- Creating an Aztec calendar, drawing on the
Aztec sunstone for ideas for patterns and style
- Finding out what dioramas are and what they
are used for
- Designing a diorama using a variety of
materials, media and techniques to show a
scene from Aztec life
Historical, geographical and social
understanding
- Exploring where the Aztecs lived and
locating on a world map
- Using world maps and maps of Mexico to
answer questions about where the Aztecs
lived
- Finding out about the geographical features
of Mexico
- Locating the Aztecs on a timeline of world
history
- Finding out who the Aztecs were and how
they built the city of Tenochtitlan
- Exploring how Aztec society was organised
and the roles and status of different people
- Investigating Aztec beliefs and how these
impacted on their lives
- Finding out what daily life was like for ordinary
Aztecs
- Investigating how the Aztec civilisation
ended
- Finding out about Cortès and his invasion of
the Aztecs
- Exploring how the events of the Spanish
invasion were interpreted differently by the
Aztecs and the Spaniards
Mathematical understanding
Understanding physical
development, health and well-being
- Understanding why following health and
safety rules when working with food is so
important
- Using rulers and measurements to accurately
make a patolli board
- Using a compass to accurately draw circles
- Using protractors to accurately measure
angles
www.planbee.com