Maya Civilisation End of Topic Test

Year 6 HistoryMaya Civilisation8 pages

About this worksheet

An eight-page Year 6 end of topic test on the Maya, with a full answer key. Thirty questions run across five sections. They move from the Yucatรกn Peninsula and cenotes to the social hierarchy, maize, cacao and slash-and-burn farming. Later sections cover Chaac and Kukulkan, Pok-ta-pok, glyphs, codices and base 20 numbers with a shell for zero. The test ends by comparing the Maya c. AD 900 with Anglo-Saxon Britain in the time of Alfred the Great. It follows the England National Curriculum for history.

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Curriculum objectives covered

A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history

โ€œA non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.โ€

The whole test is on Maya civilisation, and questions 28 to 30 draw the contrast with Anglo-Saxon Britain c. AD 900.

What's inside this worksheet

Section 1: Geography, Environment and City-States

Questions 1 to 6 on the continent, the Yucatรกn Peninsula, the rainforest, cenotes and independent city-states.

Section 2: Society, Farming and Daily Life

Pupils order four social groups from Halach Uinic to enslaved people, then answer questions on maize, cacao beans, slash-and-burn farming and homes.

Section 3: Religion, Beliefs and the Ballgame

A match for Chaac, Kinich Ahau and Kukulkan, then questions on Xibalba, bloodletting and the rules of Pok-ta-pok.

Section 4: Writing, Mathematics and Astronomy

Questions on glyphs and codices, then dot and bar numerals, such as two bars and three dots to convert.

Section 5: The Decline and Contrasts with Britain c. AD 900

Theories for the Classic Maya Collapse, a comparison table with Anglo-Saxon Britain and an extended answer on how advanced the Maya were.

How teachers use it

Two sittings

Split it over two lessons, Sections 1 to 3 and then 4 and 5. Eight pages is a lot for one sitting.

Maths first

Teach dot and bar numerals in a maths lesson first, so question 24 tests history and not new maths.

Extended writing

Question 30 works as a separate piece of writing. Give pupils a planning frame with two points for and two against.

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