A no-prep, 6-lesson history unit on The achievements of the earliest civilizations. Written for Year 3 (ages 7-8). Pick it up at lunchtime, teach it that afternoon - every lesson has a full teacher script, projectable slides, a pupil worksheet, and an exit quiz.
Driving question: Why is the Shang Dynasty of 3,500 years ago still important to one fifth of the people alive today?

What’s included

• 6 x Teacher lesson plans (Word, fully scripted)
• 6 x Pupil worksheets in 3 differentiated tiers (Support / Core / Stretch)
• 6 x Projectable slide decks (PowerPoint, ~22 slides each)
• 6 x Exit quizzes (single-page printable, with answer key)
• 1 x Knowledge Organiser (Word, 2-page A4 landscape)
• 1 x End-of-unit assessment with baseline + mark scheme
• 50+ original illustrations included throughout
• Curated kid-appropriate YouTube videos linked from each lesson’s slide deck

Curriculum links

• UK National Curriculum - KS2 History: The achievements of the earliest civilizations - The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China c. 1600-1046 BC
• An overview of where and when the first civilisations appeared
• A depth study of the Shang Dynasty of Ancient China
• Shang inventions, art and the beginning of Chinese writing

What pupils will learn

• Pupils know the Shang Dynasty lived along the YELLOW RIVER in modern China, c. 1600-1046 BC
• Pupils know about ANYANG, the last Shang capital, and how the Shang lived
• Pupils know the Shang made the most beautiful BRONZE ritual vessels in the world
• Pupils know the Shang used ORACLE BONES - the EARLIEST form of Chinese writing
• Pupils know LADY FU HAO was a Shang queen, general and high priestess whose tomb was found INTACT in 1976

What pupils will be able to do

• Pupils can locate the Yellow River and the Shang heartland on a world map
• Pupils can describe a Shang bronze vessel and explain what it was for
• Pupils can analyse an oracle bone and explain why it matters for Chinese history
• Pupils can use ‘because’, ‘so’ and ‘however’ to explain ideas
• Pupils can compare the Shang with other early civilisations (Indus, Sumer, Egypt)