The Mayan Civilisation: Takeaways

Music makingThe Maya had no stringed musical instruments, and they relied on percussion and wind instruments to make their music. Look at the instruments on the recommended websites and then see if you can reproduce the sound. You could make your own instruments or maybe you could borrow some from school. Get ready to give a performance at the Big Finish.

Ball games: Design a PosterThe Mayan played a very special type of ball game where you used your arms, hips, knees to pass the ball. Find out more about the game using the recommended websites and design a poster comparing the game to one of your favourite ball games. You could look at where they played the game, rules, what they wore, rewards for the winning team and what happened to the losers.

Discovering a list city: Adventure storyMayan lost cities are still being discovered in the rainforests of Central America. Imagine you are an archaeologist/ explorer and write an adventure story about how you made one of these amazing discoveries. Remember it is vital to include accurate information within the story, so your research is important.

Prepare a banquetThe Maya introduced us to many of the foods we love to eat today, including chocolate. Spend some time finding out about some of these, and also some of their foods we don’t eat. Write a menu for a Mayan banquet decorated with illustrations of Mayan food. You could also include some recipes. It may be possible for you to help to prepare some food for the Big Finish.

Building a pyramidThe Maya constructed amazing pyramids. Can you make your own model of one of these pyramids from junk materials? Perhaps you can design your model to show how we think the actual pyramids were made. Remember it is vital to research before you begin to build.

Design and make a Mayan decorated potThe Maya made pots without a potter’s wheel. Could you make a coil pot from clay and decorate it in the Mayan style? Remember both the images and colours used should be like those used by the Maya. Use the recommended websites to help you with the design.

Cacao bean calculations Designing and making a

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The Maya used cacao beans for currency in trading. Find out more about how they did this and about the base 20 numeral system using the recommended websites. Could you write some calculations using the beans and base 20 numeral system for your class to answer?Want a challenge?The Maya could be compared to another civilization you have studied, perhaps Stone Age Britain, Ancient Egypt or both. Design a poster showing similarities and differences between the societies. You could include both words and illustrations. You can display this at the Big Finish.

stelaeThe Maya carved tall stone pillars called stelae. On these they included scenes of gods, rulers and important events. Could you design a stelae? You could include an inscription using Mayan glyphs. It may then be possible for you to make it from junk material and then add the design on the front.

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