Ayutthaya — KS2 Worksheet · Postcard from Thailand

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Postcard from Thailand

Classroom Worksheet · Key Stage 2

The Kingdom of Ayutthaya

Name: Class: Date:

1 Things to watch for

While you watch the film

Tick each box when you spot it or hear about it.

The tall pointed brick towers called prangs
The three rivers that wrap around the island city
The stone Buddha head held in the tree roots
Traders arriving from China, India, Persia, Japan and Europe

2 Let's think about it

Answer in a sentence or two

Ayutthaya was built on an island with three rivers around it. Why would that be useful for a city that wanted to trade with the world?

People from many countries lived in Ayutthaya, each with their own neighbourhood. What might be good about living in a city with people from all over the world?

A tree slowly grew around the stone Buddha head over hundreds of years. Why do you think so many people love to visit it?

3 Quick quiz

Tick the right answer

1. Ayutthaya was built on…

a mountain

an island wrapped by three rivers

the seabed

2. People called Ayutthaya "the Venice of the East" because…

you could travel around it by boat

it was always cold

it was in Italy

3. Today, Bangkok is described as the… of Ayutthaya.

enemy

child

twin

4 The city that traded with the world

Draw a line to match each place to the sea it lies across

Merchants sailed to Ayutthaya from all over. Match each trading land to something it was famous for. (Have a guess — it's about thinking, not just knowing!)

Traders came from…

China

India

Persia

Europe

Famous for bringing…

silk and porcelain

spices and cotton cloth

carpets and fine metalwork

guns, clocks and glass

5 Design a postcard from Ayutthaya

Use your imagination

Your task. Imagine you are standing in Ayutthaya hundreds of years ago, when it gleamed with gold. Draw a postcard picture of the city in the box, then write a short message home about what you can see.

Dear friend, today I saw…

6 Your town in the future

Big thinking · beyond Ayutthaya

Think beyond Thailand

Ayutthaya was once one of the greatest cities on Earth — and now it is beautiful ruins that tell us about the past. Every place has a story that carries on.

Your turn: Imagine people dug up your town or city in 500 years. What might they find? What would it tell them about how we lived?