The mysteries of the Indus Valley civilisation
I can describe some of the mysteries that still remain about the Indus Valley Civilisation.
The mysteries of the Indus Valley civilisation
I can describe some of the mysteries that still remain about the Indus Valley Civilisation.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Archaeologists do not understand everything about the Indus Valley civilisation because we cannot read their writing.
- There is no evidence of how these places were ruled or governed, but they were clearly very well organised.
- Their religion is a mystery to us, although they made lots of figurines that may have been offered to gods.
- There are pictures of figures with horns or controlling animals, which historians know other Asian people believed in.
- There are buildings that archaeologists thought were granaries, but now aren't sure because no grain has been found.
Keywords
Mystery - a mystery is something that we aren't able to explain yet
Figurine - a small statue or model of a person is called a figurine
Granary - a granary is a large building used to store grain from the harvest
Common misconception
Pupils might think that it will never be possible to read the ancient Indus Valley civilisation script.
A new discovery similar to the Rosetta Stone could unlock the key to deciphering the writing and help to solve some of the mysteries!
To help you plan your year 3 history lesson on: The mysteries of the Indus Valley civilisation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 3 history lesson on: The mysteries of the Indus Valley civilisation, 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.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the The Indus Valley civilisation: What have archaeologists found out about it? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
they were good at organising cities
they could flush away dirty water
they were able to use clean water