Year 4- The Indus Valley Enquiry Question What is the evidence that the ancient civilization of the Indus Valley was a well-developed society? Learning Challenges Where and when did the ancient civilization of Indus Valley begin? How did the inhabitants of the Indus Valley live? What were some of the main achievements of the people of the Indus Valley?. What comparisons can be made with Britain at that time?. What happened to this ancient civilization? Key words. civilisation. achievements. India. Pakistan. culture. ancient. trade
Hook: What can evidence tell us about the past? Pupils were introduced to the learning question and then to a game, Archaeology Attack. This enquiry based start to the new topic provided useful discussion points where pupils had to weigh evidence and sift arguments. The artefacts piqued pupils curiosity and allowed some to begin making predictions and links across the topic.
Wednesday 6 th September 2017 LC: Can I create a KWL grid about the Indus Valley? This week in Humanities the children were given the opportunity to share any exiting knowledge they had on the Indus valley. They came up with some great facts and it was clear that the working wall had sparked their interest. The children were then given an opportunity to discuss what they would like find out about the Indus Valley. I know that the Indus Valley is near India. - David I want to find out what language the people of the Indus Valley spoke. - Zenerah
I want to find if the people of the Indus Valley went to school. - Shirin I want to find out whether the Indus Valley was ruled by a king or queen. - Flora
Wednesday 6 th September 2017 LC: Can I recognise different artefacts and objects from the Indus Valley and suggest what they might have been used for? This week in Humanities the children were given images of different artefacts, objects and building from the Indus Valley. They were asked to discuss in groups what they thought the items were and write their ideas around the image. I think this is I think these are jewellery, probably decorative tiles that owned by a rich went on the floor. person. - Avani - Jonathan
I think these are pots that were made by the people of the Indus Valley. - Kanyin I think these are pots that are used for cooking. - Bukunmi I think these are toys that children who lived in the Indus Valley played with. - Jonathan
Friday 15 th September 2017 LC: Can locate the Indus Valley and identify other land features on a map? This week in humanities the children used a world atlas to locate the Indus valley, surrounding countries and other land features. Some children even created their own key. - The Indus Valley borders India and the Arabian sea. - Joe
Mohenjo Dharo is one of the main cities within the Indus Valley. - Kanyin The land surrounding the Indus Valley was very fertile and great for growing crops. - Elouise
Friday 22 nd September 2017 LC: Can I research and present my findings on the Indus Valley? This week in humanities the children researched various aspects of the Indus valley including farming, trade, clothing entertainment and cities. The children used a range of resources to produce factual posters for their area of research and presented their findings as a class. I found out that the the people of the Indus Vealley played chess. - Paige W I found out that the people of the Indus Valley wore robes. - Chloe
I found out that the bricks that were used to build houses were all the same size. I found out that the Indus Valley people had wells and a sewerage system. - Tunrayo - Bukunmi
I found out that the town centre had a bath. - Makeda I found out that people traded crops and jewels. - Favour
Monday 2 nd October 2017 L.C Can I write my own version of a story from Tales told in Tents? In English, the children learnt a tale called The fountain of Life using actions, drama and story text. They then innovated the story and planned and wrote their own version.
I wrote a tale about friendship using openers and conjunctions. - David
I wanted my tale to include higher level conjunctions. Sekyi I used different expanded noun phrases to make my writing descriptive. - Henry
Wednesday 11th October 2017 L.C Can I design my own Indus Valley tile using sketching techniques? In art, the children have been designing their own tiles Inspired by the Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Culture. This style incorporates stick figure human and animal designs and the patterns Incorporate many zig-zags similar to the Aztecs. My tile was inspired by farming in the Indus Valley - Jotham My tile design was inspired by items that were found in the Indus Valley. - Paige W
I tried to use different designs inspired by the Aztecs. - Samson My tile was inspired by jewellery that was worn by people of the Indus Valley. - Shirin
Thursday 12 th October 2017 L.C Can I find out why the people of the Indus Valley were so important? In humanities, the children were asked to compare the Indus Valley civilisation to that of the stone age to understand why the people of the Indus Valley were so important. After comparing various aspects of both life in the Indus Valley and the Stone Age, it became apparent to the children that the Indus Valley civilisation was significantly more advanced and modernised than other ancient civilisations at that time. I found out that we learnt lots about drainage systems from the Indus Valley. - Chloe The Indus Valley has evidence of pot, architecture and modern town. This was far more advanced than the Stone Age. - Bukunmi
We also had a class debate about whether we would have preferred to live in the Stone Age or as part of the Indus Valley civilization. Both sides had very convincing arguments. I d definitely rather live in the Indus Valley. Look at the jewels and clothing they wore! - Henry - I d prefer to live in the stone age. I think hunting for food would be great! - - Jotham
Thursday 2 nd November L.C Can I create an Indus Valley tile? In art, the children designed and made their own clay tiles Inspired by the Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Culture. This style incorporates stick figure human and animal designs and the patterns incorporate many zigzags similar to the Aztecs. I wanted to create a tile using animals that were important in the Indus Valley. - Flora
I wanted to create a detailed pattern using a dotting technique. I tried to make my tile symmetrical. - Sekyi I loved designing and creating the tile. The clay was quite difficult to work with so I found it challenging. I was really pleased with my tile. - Eloise