A no-prep, 6-lesson history unit on A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history. Written for Year 4 (ages 8-9). 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: How did the Aztecs build the greatest empire in the Americas - and how did just 500 Spanish soldiers bring it down?

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: A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - the Aztec Empire of Mexico (c. 1325 - 1521)
• How the wandering Mexica people founded Tenochtitlan in 1325 - the great Aztec city on Lake Texcoco
• Aztec society - the emperor, warriors, merchants, farmers, and the system of human sacrifice
• The Spanish conquest under Hernn Corts (1519-1521) and the long Aztec legacy in modern Mexico and the world’s food

What pupils will learn

• Pupils know the AZTECS were a Mesoamerican people who founded TENOCHTITLAN (modern Mexico City) in 1325
• Pupils know the AZTEC EMPIRE was actually the TRIPLE ALLIANCE - Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan - formed in 1428
• Pupils know about TENOCHTITLAN - the city of canals and chinampas; population ~200,000; one of the biggest cities in the world in 1500
• Pupils know about Aztec society - EMPEROR (Huey Tlatoani), warriors, merchants (POCHTECA), farmers, slaves
• Pupils know about Aztec religion - the sun god HUITZILOPOCHTLI, the calendar, and HUMAN SACRIFICE to keep the sun moving
• Pupils know about HERNN CORTS - the Spanish conquistador who arrived in 1519 with about 500 soldiers
• Pupils know that Tenochtitlan fell to the Spanish on 13 AUGUST 1521