What do we know about the early life of Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt?

This lesson was designed for GCSE students as an introduction to Cleopatra and the likely features of her early life/ childhood.

The lesson covers both her likely experiences but also the reasons for the lack of evidence available to us when examining her formative years. Scholarship from Weigall and Tydesley is included in various places with students asked to make inferences about her earliest experiences from the text.

Challenge questions are included throughout to encourage deeper thinking and both worksheets are included as slides within the .ppt file in the appropriate places ready to be printed out. All instructions are clear to both students and staff and it is a very straightforward, yet informative, lesson to teach.

A progress check activity in the middle of the lesson is included and the plenary at the end is more creative/cross-curricular in its focus.

There are multiple opportunities throughout for students to consider how her earliest experiences may have shaped her future actions as queen, without necessary prior knowledge of the events of her reign required.