Maya civilisation (KS2)
Teaching the Maya at KS2? Pyramid cities in the rainforest, a writing system barely anyone could read for centuries, and a civilisation that collapsed and left its cities to the jungle. It’s the most commonly chosen of the three non-European societies in the KS2 curriculum, and here’s what to teach, plus the lessons and resources to help you teach it.
What children learn about the Maya civilisation at KS2
What the national curriculum expects
The Maya civilisation is one of three options named in the KS2 history curriculum for a study of a non-European society that contrasts with British history. The curriculum’s specific reference is Mayan civilisation c. AD 900, alongside Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300 and early Islamic civilisation including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900. Schools choose one. The point of the study is contrast, so pupils should come away able to compare Maya society with what was happening in Britain at the same time.
Key knowledge and concepts
Within this topic, children build knowledge across Maya society, belief and achievement:
Where and when
Where the Maya lived, and how their civilisation compares in time with Britain
Cities and pyramids
How Maya cities were built, and what remains of them
Maya gods and beliefs
The gods worshipped, and the rituals built around them
Everyday life
Homes, food, work and family in Maya society
Writing and glyphs
The Maya writing system, and how it was finally deciphered
Numbers and calendars
Maya mathematics, and the calendars they built with it
Chocolate and trade
Cacao, its value, and what the Maya traded
Decline and legacy
Why the cities were abandoned, and what survives today
Where this topic sits within KS2
The National Curriculum doesn’t set a year group. The non-European society study sits within the wider KS2 history programme and can be placed wherever it suits a school’s long-term plan. Many schools teach it in upper KS2, where pupils can handle the comparison with British history more confidently.
How to access this topic
The Maya civilisation doesn’t sit on its own in the curriculum. The Cornerstones history curriculum is fully sequenced from EYFS through Year 1 to Year 6, so you can see what comes before, what follows and how the whole picture fits together. We’ve done the thinking, so your planning time goes into teaching, not sequencing.
Full curriculum
Subject curriculum
Quick Teach Individual lessons and resources for supplementing what you already teach.
Ready to bring the wider curriculum to life?
See how the full Cornerstones History Curriculum sequences topics like this one across every year group.