Each pair is given one of the four earliest civilisations named in the Key Stage 2 history curriculum, Ancient Sumer, the Indus Valley, Ancient Egypt or the Shang Dynasty, so several pairs share each one. Using a short information sheet, they add two pins to a class Padlet map: one on the civilisation's heartland with its rough dates, and one on a place it traded with, such as the mountains of Afghanistan, the source of the lapis lazuli that reached Sumer, Byblos in Lebanon, where Egypt shipped its cedar from, or Ur, where Indus carnelian beads have been found. As pins appear, the teacher zooms the map on the board and asks pairs to explain links that cross or share a place, like Afghan lapis reaching both Sumer and Egypt. The lesson ends with the class adding the dates to a timeline strip and noticing that the Shang pins stand apart, far to the east and beginning well after the others. Pins mark historic places and nothing else.
This page is one of a growing set of PICRAT examples by cell, subject and grade. Page maintained by Andy Perryer.