Maya cities and the geography of Mesoamerica
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe Mesoamerica and the cities the Maya built there.
Key learning points
- The Maya lived in a part of central America called Mesoamerica.
- Mesoamerica contained rich fertile lands in the highlands and plains, and humid rainforests in the lowlands.
- From about 750 BCE, the Maya built cities like Copán near rivers, just like other early civilisations.
- These were all different, but usually contained a ceremonial centre with temple-pyramids, ballcourts and palaces.
- They often contained causeways and standing stones carved with pictures and writings about their rulers.
Keywords
Maya - the Maya are an indigenous people of Mexico and Central America
Mesoamerica - Mesoamerica is an area of land that stretches from the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America
Ceremonial - ceremonial means something that refers to a ceremony or is used in a ceremony
Ballcourt - a ballcourt is a large stone structure used in Mesoamerica to play the Mesoamerican ballgame pok-ta-pok
Common misconception
Mesoamerican civilizations were primitive or less advanced compared to European counterparts.
Mesoamerican societies achieved remarkable advancements in architecture, mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, and writing systems. E.g., the Maya developed calendar systems and made contributions to mathematics, including the concept of zero.
Teacher tip
Locate Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica on a map to establish where Mesoamerica is.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the word to its meaning.
relating to the features of the earth's surface
relating to history or past events
relating to the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a society
relating to the government of a country
Q2.What is hieroglyphics?
Q3.What is a temple?
Q4.Copán is a city built by the ancient .
Q5.What is meant by 'Non-European societies'?
Q6.What are primary sources in history?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Who are the Maya?
Q2. Just like other early civilisations, the Maya built cities near .
Q3.Match the feature of a Maya city to its meaning.
where people gathered for important events like religious events
standing stones decorated with hieroglyphs
raised paved roads that connected buildings within and between cities
Q4.The Maya game "pok-ta-pok" was played on a .
Q5.Which of the following geographical features are found in Mesoamerica?
Q6.Which of the following countries are part of Mesoamerica?
To help you plan your 6 history lesson on: Maya cities and the geography of Mesoamerica, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 history lesson on: Maya cities and the geography of Mesoamerica, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the The Maya: what made the Maya so distinctive? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.