New
New
Year 3

The Indus Valley

I can describe the location of the Indus River and what was found there in 1921.

New
New
Year 3

The Indus Valley

I can describe the location of the Indus River and what was found there in 1921.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In 1921 an archaeological dig began at a place called Harappa on the banks of the River Indus.
  2. As the archaeologists excavated they began to find evidence of an ancient civilisation in the Indus Valley.
  3. The Indus is a powerful river that flows through India and Pakistan.
  4. Just like the Nile, the Euphrates and the Tigris, the Indus floods, making the land around it very fertile.
  5. About 8,000 years ago the people of the Indus Valley began to farm this land, and got better and better at it.

Keywords

  • India - India is a country in southern Asia, surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean

  • Pakistan - Pakistan is a country in southern Asia that shares a border with India

  • Valley - a valley is a flat area of land where a river flows between hills or mountains

  • Fertile - soil is fertile when it is very good for growing lots of healthy plants

Common misconception

That the civilisation in the Indus Valley began 8000 years ago.

Archaeologists believe farming in the valley began around 8000 years ago but the evidence for the cities and civilisation dates from around 5000 years ago.

Let pupils use maps or an atlas to locate the places mentioned themselves and to understand the relation to the other ancient civilisations.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was known as…
Egypt
India
Correct answer: Mesopotamia
Q2.
Which of the following is the correct definition for ‘civilisation’?
extra or more than is needed
Correct answer: when humans live together in large groups in a very organised way
people buying or selling items they need or want
Q3.
A type of ancient invented in Sumer was called cuneiform.
song
game
Correct answer: writing
Q4.
The areas around the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers were bad for growing crops.
True
Correct answer: False
Q5.
Select all the similarities between the ancient civilisations of the Egyptians, Sumerians and the Indus Valley.
Correct answer: They built cities.
They moved around and did not settle in one place.
Correct answer: They had forms of writing.
Correct answer: They worshipped gods and goddesses.
Q6.
The ancient civilisations of the Egyptians, Sumerians and the Indus Valley existed around years ago.
Correct answer: 5000
1000
500
100

6 Questions

Q1.
The River begins in the Himalayan mountains and ends in the Arabian Sea.
Correct Answer: Indus , indus
Q2.
Match the word to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:valley,a flat area of land where a river flows between hills or mountains

a flat area of land where a river flows between hills or mountains

Correct Answer:fertile,soil that is very good for growing lots of healthy plants

soil that is very good for growing lots of healthy plants

Correct Answer:India,a country in Asia, surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean

a country in Asia, surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean

Correct Answer:Pakistan,a country in southern Asia that shares a border with India

a country in southern Asia that shares a border with India

Q3.
The first evidence from the Indus Valley civilisation was found at…
Babylon
Correct answer: Harappa
Ur
Cairo
Q4.
The land surrounding the River Indus is very…
Correct Answer: fertile, furtile
Q5.
In the Indus Valley around 8000 years ago, historians think that people started to….
Correct Answer: farm, grow plants, grow crops, farming
Q6.
The Indus Valley civilisation probably started around years ago.
5
50
500
Correct answer: 5000

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