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Indus Valley Civilisation: Explore Cities by the River

Indus Valley Civilisation: Explore Cities by the River

Learn where the Indus Valley civilisation grew and how its people lived, as you plan a brick city, weigh trade goods and sail to Sumer.

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What you'll learn

  • Where Sumer, Egypt, the Indus Valley and the Shang grew
  • How to read BC dates and order civilisations on a timeline
  • How river floods left silt that helped farmers grow crops
  • How grid streets, baked bricks and covered drains planned a city
  • How seals and stone weights made Indus trade fair
  • How archaeologists learn about daily life without reading the script

Chapter by chapter

  1. Where and when: the first civilizations Free to try

    Years 3–6 history · 1

  2. The River Indus: floods, farming and growing cities

    Years 3–6 history · 1

  3. Planned cities: grid streets, baked bricks and drains

    Years 3–6 history · 1

  4. Trade: seals, weights, boats and carts

    Years 3–6 history · 1

  5. Daily life: homes, jobs, toys and writing

    Years 3–6 history · 1

  6. Final challenge: Indus Valley expert (10 questions)

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Years 3–6 history: The achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China

About this adventure

Indus Valley Civilisation is an interactive history game that teaches children aged 7–11 where and when the first civilisations appeared, and what the Indus Valley achieved in its planned cities, trade and daily life. It follows the KS2 History study of the earliest civilisations, pitched mainly at Year 4.

Guided by Mina, a girl from Mohenjo-daro, players match Sumer, Ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley and the Shang Dynasty to their rivers and order them on a BC timeline. They flood the River Indus to leave silt, lay grid streets, bake bricks in a kiln and connect covered drains.

Later they balance a scale with stone weights, stamp a seal on clay, and explore homes, toys and the Indus script, which nobody can read yet. Every line is read aloud, and a ten-question final challenge checks what has stuck.

Questions and answers

What was the Indus Valley civilisation?

The Indus Valley civilisation was one of the world's first civilisations, growing beside the River Indus in what is now Pakistan and north-west India from about 3300 BC. Its people built large planned cities such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.

Why were Indus Valley cities so well planned?

Indus cities were planned before they were built, with main streets laid out in a grid, same-shaped baked bricks, hundreds of wells and covered drains under the streets. This kept them cleaner and better organised than most ancient towns.

How did Indus Valley people trade without money?

Indus traders swapped goods rather than paying with coins. They used stone cube weights to weigh goods fairly, stamped seals into clay to label them, and carried them by ox-cart and by boat as far as Sumer.

What age is this Indus Valley game for?

The game suits children aged about 7 to 10 and is pitched at Year 4, where the Indus Valley is usually taught in KS2 History. Every line is read aloud, so less confident readers can follow along.

What does the Indus Valley game include and how long does it take?

It has five chapters plus a ten-question final challenge, and takes about 45 minutes to play through. Children can start at any chapter, and each one opens with a short animated introduction.

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