Ideas provided by Penelope Barrell
In history, we have been learning about the Aztecs and Mayans. We learnt about when they lived- Maya in 1800 BCE and the Aztecs in 1325 CE. We learnt about where that was placed on a timeline and where it fitted with other periods of history we have studied.
Our Mexicolore visit was AMAZING! We learnt so much from temples to ordinary homes (Naah). It was really hands on and everyone enjoyed it.
We’ve also learnt about the society structure from emperors to slaves. We made information posters.
We also discovered all the food they ate and had fun making creative menus with pretend cafes. Did you know they used cacao beans like money?
We learnt about the agriculture and how they made something called a ‘chinampa’. It was a floating garden where they grew their crops. We tried to make a model of one in a tray with soil and any natural resources! Fun and messy!
We had a cooking morning too- making salsa/guacamole/tortilla and a real Aztec hot chocolate around a campfire.
We’ve also played a game they invented- Pok ta Pok (see photo). It was a very savage game and some of us found not having rules very difficult !
Last week, we started to learn about how sacrifices played a part in their civilisation.
With all that we have studied, our final piece of writing is going to get us thinking about whether the Mayans were a barbaric or civilised society?
