This half term we will be learning about The Mayans!

In History, pupils will learn about The Mayan Civilisations. We will be exploring Chichen Itza and why it was important to the Mayan people. We will look at the Mayan timeline and develop our understanding of the significant events which took place. We will be looking at the number system and how the Mayans used this to create their own calander system to keep track of days and weeks. 

Inspiration Day - Friday 6th January

Throughout our inspiration day both Year 5 classes have had lots of fun and learnt all out the Mayans. Our day was jam packed with lots of fun activities. 

Activity 1: Both classes made Faijita's using fresh red, yellow and green peppers, Fajita spice and Quorn Chicken. 

"First of all we cut the pepper up into small cubes using a plastic knife. We then cooked the Quorn on the hob with oil and spices. We added the peppers in a little bit at a time. We had to make sure we mixed it up so the ingredients didn't stick. Once the ingredients were cooked, we made cones out of wraps and spooned the mixture in carefully. The fajitas were not too spicy but had lots of flavour. They were delicious!" - Ronak.

Activity 2: Practicing out spanish.

In Year 5, we love learning about new places. However as Mexico is a spanish speaking country it has given us plenty of opportunity to practice the Spanish we already know. We started off practicing out greetings. 

Followed by asking how we are and our feelings. It was fun to fully immerse ourselves into Mexican culture and practice our prior learning. 

Activity 3: Dia des los muertos (Day of the dead).

Day of the dead is a huge celebrated holiday where it is believed the spirits of deceased loved ones can pass through the gates of heaven as of midnight on halloween (31st October). It is believed that the gates remain open for 3 days. 

Day 1 - The gates of heaven open,

Day 2 - Spirits of children vist,

Day 3 - Spirits of adults visit. 

People create Ofrendas (Altars) are created to honour the deceased. Altars are made up of photos of loved ones, the people’s favourite food/ drink, items they were fond of, candles to guide the spirit, flowers to entice the spirit home and finally gifts. The day of the dead celebration is a happy time spent with family reminiscing about joyful memories with loved ones who have passed.

We decorated and made our own sugar skull decorations. We made them as colourful as possible as the day of the dead celebration is a very colourful festival.  We also created Papel Picado (Colourful tissue paper decorations used to brighten up the streets of Mexico and invite the spirits through the gates.