Base 4 – Maya

Today in class, we began our exciting new learning about the Maya civilisation through our class text 'The Curse of the Maya. We read the opening chapter where the twins travel to Guatemala, and we paused to really think about how their surroundings changed as they arrived. The children picked up on clues in the text to describe the climate, noticing differences in heat, humidity and vegetation compared to the UK.

This led us into some brilliant geography work. Using maps and globes, we explored the tropics, learning why countries close to the Equator experience warmer climates all year round. The children then applied this knowledge by identifying the latitude and longitude of different locations, including Guatemala, and discussing how a place’s position on the globe affects the way people live there.
There was a lot of thoughtful discussion, careful map reading and great curiosity shown throughout the lesson. A fantastic start to our Maya topic!