Qin dynasty, China · 246-210 BC

The terracotta army: soldiers for the afterlife

In 1974 farmers digging a well near Xi'an hit pieces of a clay soldier. Below them stood thousands more, guarding the tomb of the First Emperor. Students explore what this buried army reveals about Qin power, beliefs and organization.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
10–13
On the map
3 steps, 210 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 1974 farmers digging a well near Xi'an hit pieces of a clay soldier. Below them stood thousands more, guarding the tomb of the First Emperor. Students explore what this buried army reveals about Qin power, beliefs and organization.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe what was found near the First Emperor's tomb and how it was discovered.
  • Explain what the terracotta army tells us about Qin beliefs, power and organization.
  • Discuss whether the emperor's burial mound should be opened, using arguments from archaeology.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

210 BC

The army in the ground

Open the map in 210 BC and zoom in east of Xi'an. Turn on Historical Events and click "Terracotta Army Buried". Read it. What was the army meant to protect?

Open this view on the map
b

210 BC

Capital and tomb

Turn on the Cities layer and find Chang'an. The Qin capital Xianyang lay just to its northwest. Estimate the distance from the capital to the tomb.

Open this view on the map
c

210 BC

Facing east

Zoom out to see the whole empire (the map already shows the borders of 200 BC, labelled Han). The soldiers face east. Find the lands of the conquered states in the east.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why would an emperor want an army in his tomb?
  2. Thousands of workers spent decades on the tomb. Who paid the price for this project?
  3. The figures were once brightly painted. How does color change the way we imagine the past?
  4. Archaeologists have not opened the emperor's burial mound itself. Should they, or should they wait?
  5. The army was found by farmers digging a well. What does this tell us about how history is discovered?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Qin Shi Huang in Rule History. Before you start, remind students that this emperor spent decades of workers' time on his tomb. After the round, discuss: which of your rulings used the empire's people and money, and would you have spent them on a tomb?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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