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How did Servius Tullius become king of Rome and what impact did he have?
This lesson is designed with the new OCR Ancient History GCSE in mind.
As Rome’s second Etruscan king, Servius Tullius introduced a number of reforms into Rome which this lesson looks at in detail using Livy as a primary source throughout. This is done because students need to be used to seeing, reading and understanding primary sources as they will be required to do so in their exam.
The lesson starts with a discussion of the names of some of the Roman kings and how that influences the way Livy writes about them/interprets their legacy. It then proceeds onto Servius’ background and Livy’s scepticism of the legend regarding this story.
Servius’ reforms are then looked at in brief and students are asked to rank them in order of their impact which they will revist later after looking at each reform in detail and recording it on a worksheet that is included. There are a number of handouts included within the .ppt file as slides which are located in the place within the lesson they need to be used and can be easily printed out from here and given to students. It is also clearly signposted within the lesson slides when each handout needs to be used and how.
This presentation will likely take 2-3 hours worth of lesson time as there is substantial content. The lesson ends with a comparison of Servius to his predecessor and first Etruscan king Tarquinius Priscus. This is anothe rimportant skill they will need to develop for their exam.
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How did Tarquinius Priscus become king of Rome and what impact did he have?
This lesson is designed with the OCR Ancient History GCSE course in mind. It takes students through the succession of Tarquinius Priscus (The first Etruscan king of Rome) through to his military achievementsvia the use of Livy as a primary source.
There are a number of worksheets which are included in the .ppt file at various points which should be printed of and given to students. All instructions are clear at each point as to what students must be doing and taks are easily and clearly ‘chunked’. The aim of the worksheets (often with a passage from Livy on them) is to summarise what is being said by the ancient author at each point and then use this information to make answering exam questions (at the bottom of each sheet) more accessible.
Included in this lesson are Priscus’ social, political, religious and military initiatives which students are given, and then have to analyse and evaluate in order to determine which were his most significant. At the higher end of the thinking scale is the idea that Priscus is considered a great military commander, but not necessarily a great king. Students should be invited to reflect on this at the end of the lesson.
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How did Romulus shape the early history of Rome?
This lesson is designed with the new OCR Ancient History 9-1 GCSE spec in mind, although it would provide an excellent introductory lesson to Rome’s early history for any students embarking on a study of Rome. It would be helpful if students had some prior knowledge of Rome’s foundation myths (Romulus & Remus, Aeneas) but this is not essential at all.
All worksheets referenced here and in the lesson are included as Powerpoint slides within the .ppt file and can be printed off and given to students.
The lesson begins with a quick quiz and quick-fire answers provided to establish what students know already about Rome’s foundation stories. This quiz is repeated at the end to see if students can retain any of this information - the idea being that giving them time to forget and remember helps them to retain the knowledge in the long run.
Students are then given accessible information on:
Romulus’ political intitiatives
Rome’s abduction of the Sabine women
The development of the Senate under Romulus
And complete a table worksheet (included in the .ppt file) with details and then they are encouraged to think which event was the most significant. Students can then challenge themselves by considering the long term significance of these events in relation to each other.
Three 6 mark exam questions are then included + advice on how to answer them. These can be used simply as summary questions for those not studying the OCR Ancient History GCSE and will allow you to assess the extent of their learning.
Finally (prior to students attempting the initial quiz again) there is a link to a video summarising Romulus’ impact on early Rome which students can use to add to their notes they have made in the lesson.
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What was so special about Athenian politics?: Democracy
This lesson is designed to introduce the ideas of Athenian democracy to students who already have some understanding of the Ancient world and Athens itself.
The lesson starts in an SMSC-type way with students encouraged to think about what kind of society they would like to live in, if they had no knowledge of who they were going to be before they were born. The ideas of democracy and equality can be drawn out here.
Students are then invited to discuss what democracy is and what it means in our day and age so that they can later compare it to Athenian democracy as a point of reference. A numeracy task allows students to work out what fraction of Athens’ population was actually eligible to take part in politics - a discussion of whether this counts as real democracy or not can then ensue.
A link to an educational video is included so students can add to their notes and then some historical details are included on a handout on a slide within the .ppt file. This can be printed off and given to students who are set some tasks based on it.
There is then a choice of two plenaries where students can summarise their learning in a creative or written way.
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The Later Achievements of Theseus
The lesson starts with a task aimed at getting students to recall what they already know about Theseus through the study of his labours.
Next the lesson focuses on the three versions of the Ariadne myth with a set of questions designed to look at the myth from their own perspective, but also through the eyes of an ancient Athenian.
After this students are introduced to Theseus’ significance as king of Athens and then are presented with an extract from Plutarch’s Life of Theseus and asked 5 questions (can be printed as a handout) designed to get students thinking more deeply about primary sources in Classical Civilisation. Finally they need to consider why Plutarch decided to parallel Theseus to Romulus, even though their roles in terms of founding their respective cities are different.
Students then read through the relevant parts of Euripides’ Heracles (included) and are asked 3 questions to answer for each part. Students can be assigned a different character and the relevant part of the play for students is split into six- From when Heracles learns he has murdered his wife and children, to the end of the play.
This allows the play to be accessible and a chance for the teacher to address any misunderstandings or misconceptions. Obviously there is a focus on Theseus despite the name of the play, since it is Theseus who proves the greater man at the end of the play.
1 and 2 mark questions then follow based on their learning in the unit so far and finally there is an 8 mark comparative exam question. Students can recall their prior knowledge of Heracles’ association with Olympia from earlier in the course, and compare it to Theseus’ association with Athens. There is an extension task added on which involves students imagining they are at Theseus’ public funeral and writing an appropriate eulogy for him. This is designed for students to summarise their knowledge of Theseus’ life and demonstrate their ability to highlight the most significant moments.
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Who was Cleopatra and how much can we actually know about her?
The lesson begins with students making inferences about Cleopatra based on a single representation of her from Hollywood. This helps us to pick apart the generic view of Cleopatra as a seductress/ tragic queen as the lesson progresses.
There is a wealth of different secondary history within this lesson. It uses excerpts from Roller, Morgan and Weigall to introduce what she was like as a person (as far as we can know).
The second part of the lesson focuses on the limitations of the ‘primary’ sources from the ancient world we have available to us. There is a comprehension task included with a literacy focus and some challenge questions for HA learners.
The final part of the lesson then moves onto what Cleopatra’s world looked like geographically and some of the potential pitfalls that would befall her thanks to her father’s ‘up and down’ relationship with Rome, the growing superpower of the time vs Egypt, which was on the decline.
The end of the lesson very much sets the teacher up to teach lessons on the events of her life and ensures that students have a sound understanding of what she was probably like vs how she has traditionally been portrayed (both in the ancient world and in the ‘modern’ media).
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How did Cleopatra expand the Ptolemaic Empire? (+Intro to OCR Ancient History GCSE questions)
The lesson starts with a creative drawing competition starter activity familiarising students with what Alexandria would have looked like. Students are then presented with a timeline of events from Cleopatra’s life and asked to outline the 5 most significant events and explain their reasoning. This allows students with little prior knowledge of Cleopatra understand the significance of her life in a short activity.
The focus of the lesson then moves onto lands she managed to secure from mark Antony and students are encouraged to come up with a memorable acronym to help them remember which lands she gained. Students are then introduced to the Donations of Alexandria and have to analyse its significance in relation to the first lands she managed to secure from Antony.
Students are then given an extract from Plutarch’s ‘Life of Mark Antony’ and given two 5 mark OCR Ancient History GCSE questions to think about. Sentence starters are included to help them structure their work. After they have had a go they can look at the two model answers provided and use these to improve their own.
Students finally are asked in the plenary to consider how she managed to be successful in expanding Egypt’s influence when her predecessors had failed in this regard.
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How significant and how accurate is Herodotus?
This lesson is designed as a stand alone lesson for students of any age 13+ who studies Herodotus. It acts as a great introduction, covering who he was, what he was writing and why he was writing it.
The lesson begins with a series of images asking students to try and work out what the lesson will be about. In order to demonstrate progress the same images are used at the end in a plenary where students are encouraged to show how each image links to their learning.
The lesson proper begins with a discussion of what ‘accuracy’ means based on students coming up with their own synonyms.
Students are then introduced to who Herodotus was through a handout (included as a slide within the .ppt file) which has a literacy focus and some challenge questions attached.
A short passage from Herodotus’ History is then included with students being encouraged to draw inferences from the passage (with prompt questions down the side to promote discussion). Students then address issues such as ‘how could Herodotus possibly know this happened’? etc.
There is another handout (included as a slide) explaining the degree to which Herodotus is accurate and students plot Herodotus’ accuracy on a target (based on their own opinion, formulated throughout the lesson).
A link to the TEDed video discussing Herodotus is also included with encouragement for students to add to their notes and then finally (before the plenary) there is a task where students have to agree or disagree with a ‘verdict’ given by a Historian on Herodotus’ accuracy/reliability.
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The 'truth' about Alexander: Why is it so difficult to find?
This resource can be used at any point during any sort of study of Alexander the Great. In our school we have designed it to sit at the beginning of our OCR Ancient History 9-1 GCSE unit on Alexander.
One of the biggest issues with studying Alexander (and something crucial to the 20 mark essay question on the GCSE paper!) is our sources for his life and conquests.
This resource tackles the four main problems with our sources. It also encourages students to come to a judgement in the form of an exam question at the end of the lesson as to how much we can ever really know about Alexander.
There are ample notes in the ‘notes’ section on the Powerpoint to support teachers in delivering the lesson accurately and the aim has always been to create an easy-to follow, high quality resource that can be used ‘off the shelf’ and can easily slot in to any scheme of work as a stand-alone lesson.
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What Renaissance themes does Kenilworth Castle exemplify?
This lesson aims to comprehensively cover all of the Renaissance influences prevalent throughout the castle buildings and, particularly, the castle gardens.
It would be particularly useful to anyone teaching AQA GCSE History, wehre the 2021 site study is Kenilworth Castle.
The lesson starts by quickly analysing the view of a historian about the balance between the Medieval and Renaissance features of the castle. There is then brief discussion of what the Renaissance actually was (with reference to early (low) and later (high) Renaissance architecture.
There are various examples of Renaissance architecture then presented to students alongside the ancient Classical buildings they were influenced by. This allows students ti visually compare the buildings and see how Classical architectural styles influenced buildings during the Renaissance.
The notes section also provides the key thinking behind each slide if you are unsure of the discussion points pertinent to a particular slide.
Robert Dudley’s Renaissance extension of Kenilworth Castle is then discussed, followed by a discussion on how he was somewhat of a trend-setter, influencing later Renaissance architecture in England (e.g. Hardwick Hall). But also why Dudley, Earl of Leicester, believed them to be important. The imagery surrounding the Roman goddess Diana is also discussed as well as parallels Dudley was perhaps seeking to make between her and Elizabeth.
Finally, there is advice on an exam-style question (16 mark essay question) and students revisit the initial historian’s interpretation to see whether their views have become more nuanced. Key learning is emphasised on slides throughout the lesson to be printed off or just to help anchor the lesson.
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Aeneas: Why was he so important to the Romans & their identity?
This lesson seeks to explain, despite the existence of the Romulus and Remus Foundation Myth, that Aeneas remains an important figure for Romans in terms of the founding of their city. (It does also at the end explain how Romans got from Aeneas to Romulus story-wise!)
There are 3 short storyboard tasks, already filled with text (included as slides ready to print within the PowerPoint) which students need only draw quick images for. These are presented at 3 different points in the lesson in order to quickly get across the main parts of Aeneas’ story after his escape from Troy.
I have really only tried to include events which directly pertain to or foreshadow the founding of Rome - it was impossible to include everything!
In between these, scholarship is used in an accessible way (including one comprehension with a glossary for difficult to understand terms) to draw out the importance of Aeneas to the Romans, but also what his actions tell us about how the Romans saw themselves and their new emperor Augustus (Virgil was writing at the time of the new Imperial Age).
This lesson is designed to be engaging and academic in its approach, with appropriate support and challenge throughout to support all learners, but also to ‘teach to the top’ wherever possible.
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Sicinius and the First Secession of the Plebs - Conflict of the Orders
This lesson is part of a scheme of lessons I created to try and fill a gap in the OCR Ancient History GCSE available resources. I felt like this is quite a complex era in Roman history and the resources that exist are complicated too - leading to cognitive overload for many of my students.
This lesson is completely dual coded and my students loved it because it is clear and succinct. it starts with a couple of video clips recapping Sicinius’ reasons for calling for the First Plebeian Secession (Secessio Plebis) and it then tells the story of the Secession itself - followed by a debate surrounding whether it actually achieved anything meaningful.
Throughout there are pertinent questions posed to students on screen that they can answer verbally or in written form and are great for AfL - there is also a 15 mark exam question at the end (based on a passage from Livy that is included) with sentence starters and a suggested plan, looking at how the relationship between the Patricians and Plebeians had changed between the exile of Superbus and the First Secession - analysing the second order concept of Change and Continuity which is one of the key second order concepts that 15 mark questions look to address in the exam.
Even if you aren’t teaching the OCR AH GCSE, I’d argue this is probably the clearest and easiest to understand overview of the First Secession that exists at the moment - it’s why I made it because there was hardly anything accessible out there for me and my students…
There are also embedded video clips (hence the large file size) outlining the patron-client relationship in Rome, the origins of the Conflict of the Orders and a summary of the Plebeian Secession.
Thanks for taking a look!
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Rome 's Wars of Independence: Silvia Arsia, Lars Porsena & Lake Regilius
This lesson is part of a scheme of lessons I created to try and fill a gap in the OCR Ancient History GCSE available resources. I felt like this is quite a complex era in Roman history and the resources that exist are complicated too - leading to cognitive overload for many of my students.
This lesson is completely dual coded and my students loved it because it is clear and succinct. it starts with a couple of video clips recapping Superbus’ reasons for being exiled and it then tells the following three ‘stories’ that Livy outlines in his History of Rome:
The Battle of Silvia Arsia - where Rome’s exiled king Tarquinius Superbus teams up with members of the Latin League to try and regain Rome.
Lars Porsena’s siege of Rome - where Superbus persuades a powerful neighbouring king to try and get him back into power in Rome.
The Battle of Lake Regilius - Superbus’ last hurrah and ultimate failure to regain the Roman throne.
Throughout there are pertinent questions posed to students on screen that they can answer verbally or in written form and are great for AfL - there is also a 10 mark exam question at the end (with sentence starters) on the battle of Lake Regilius (with an accompanying passage from Livy to refer to) so students can apply their learning and hone their exam skills.
Thanks for taking a look!
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What impact did Numa have as king of Rome?
This lesson is designed to be a succinct and clear 1 hour lesson that provides enough detail for the Ancient History OCR 9-1 GCSE Foundations of Rome Unit.
It goes through how Numa was appointed and why, through his parallels with the Emperor Augustus in Livy’s History of Rome, and his extensive religious and political reforms.
The lesson is punctuated by pertinent questions which students can either verbally respond to or write out short explanations. these help to embed the knowledge and I’ve found them pretty useful for AfL.
My students liked these kind of lessons because they’re completely dual coded and as a result it massively reduces cognitive load, allowing pupils to easily access what is otherwise quite complex information.
The lesson is bookended by two embedded video clips (hence the large file size) - the first one details Romulus’ reforms as king of Rome - since it is difficult to understand the significance of Numa without looking at the actions of his predecessor. The final video clip goes into more detail about various acts Numa undertook in pursuit of making Rome a more pious society.
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What were the key features of a Greek Theatre?
This lesson is designed to be delivered in an hour and includes a range of handouts and video clips (hence the larger file size) included as slides within the PowerPoint.
Students are introduced to the key features a Greek Theatre and the role they played in Greek society and religion.
It is clear and concise and throughout there are numerous comprehensions and other opportunities to engage the students and embed their learning.
This lesson was ideal in our introduction to GCSE Classical Civilsation unit we did at the end of KS3 / beginning of KS4 as students are starting to discover the Classical World - it helps give them an excellent sense of period.
Thanks for taking a look :-)
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Nessus & The Death of Hercules
This lesson was designed for my GCSE Classical Civilisation class for their Myth & Religion Unit.
It’s fully dual coded to reduce cognitive load, increase engagement and aid knowledge retention. There are two handouts included as hidden slides for printing and each slide has a coloured overlay to help pupils with dyslexia / Irlen’s - which can be removed if you don’t need or want it.
The lesson picks up from where the last one (Hercules’ fight with Achelous) left off. It tells the story through Ovid of how Hercules came to meet Nessus on his way back to Tiryns with Deianira.
Students are then presented with a short passage from Ovid which they stick in their book, highlight and answer questions on (verbally or written - depending on how you want to run the lesson).
This is important as Nessus gives Deianira the cloak that will eventually kill Hercules - as is told in the next part of the lesson. Students are again presented with a (longer) passage from Ovid’s Metamorphoses which describes the lead up to Hercules’ death, and the death itself, in great detail.
Students are to highlight key information on their copy and use it to answer some written questions that gradually increase in the level of challenge posed - in order to stretch their thinking and allowing them to demonstrate the full extent of their understanding.
Finally, students are asked whether this is a fitting end to a hero such as Hercules, and what his death says about the relationships between the Olympian gods themselves.
Thanks for taking a look - it’s a really straightforward lesson which will fit into an hour if the first comprehension is done verbally, or can be stretched over two hours if the first comprehension is written (like the second) and you include the optional plenary at the end involving an obituary for Hercules :)
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2 lessons: What were the Long and Short Term Causes of the English Revolution/ English Civil War?
Designed with the new 9-1 AQA History GCSE Spec in mind.
2 lessons covering in detail:
The long term causes of the English Revolution/Civil War + associated worksheets & links to helpful videos.
The short term causes of the English Revolution/Civil War + associated worksheets
Each lesson includes a starter, plenary and progress check and are very easy for teachers and students to follow. They are designed to squeeze what is a large breadth of content into 2 simple lessons.
Students will leave the lesson secure in the chronology of the events leading up to the English Revolution/Civil War and details of events + their significance in the process.
A practice exam question with help on how to structure it is also included.
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What was the 'Boom'? - A detailed look at the US Economic Boom of the 1920s
This lesson was designed for my GCSE students as an introduction to The US Economic Boom of the 1920s (AQA spec) prior to the Wall Street Crash in 1929.
There's enough information on here to stretch higher ability students but a few of the tasks are simply differentiated to allow students of all abilities to access the information, without it ever being 'dumbed down'.
An information handout is included at the end of the Powerpoint (2 copies for printing A5 size)
There's some slides with information on (with an associated short written task) but it may be that you want to print these out too (depending on your departmental budget!) and give them to students.
A link to a brief video clip is also included. which should make it easier for students to remember the main reasons for the Boom.
In addition to the above there are also two Lower ability/SEN worksheets (one follows on from the other) which closely follow the tasks set on the board. I have found these helpful in getting better outcomes for those students who don't write particularly fast or who struggle with making quality notes to revise from. This allows these students to access the same tasks and information as their peers more readily.
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Were the Plebeians better or worse off after the expulsion of the kings in the new Republic?
The lesson begins with a reminder of why the Plebeians had been unhappy under Tarquinius Superbus and should have had a lot to look forward to under the new Republican regime.
There is then a handout included within the .ppt file (as a slide to be printed out) defining the Plebeians and describing their daily lives, occupations and concerns. There are some literacy and comprehension based questions that go with this that students are to answer (along with a challenge question to stretch the more able).
Students are then presented, in turn, with the 6 concerns of the Plebeian class under the new Republican regime and reasons for this dissatisfaction. Students then fill in a table (included) with details of the concern and why each one caused such resentment towards the patrician class.
There is then discussion surrounding just how politically aware the plebeian class would have been in the 5th c. BC with trade links with Athens providing us with the scant evidence for this.
There is then finally an SMSC plenary looking at questions surrounding what people can do when they are oppressed and how ‘people’ can change/ have changed their societies for the better. Students are then encouraged to link this to the Roman Plebeians in a discussion.
This lesson acts as a ‘scene-setter’ for the ‘Conflict of the Orders’ and the resulting publishing of the Twelve Tables and other reforms the plebeians managed to secure from the patricians.
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How did the consulship develop during the early Republic?
This lesson has been designed with the OCR GCSE Ancient History course ( ‘Rome and its neighbours’) Period study in mind.
The lesson begins with a drawing game where two consuls and a lictor are depicted and students are invited to infer this.
Students are then presented with an image of Scipio Barbatus’ sarcophagus and invited to make inferences. Its importance in terms of it being the earliest archaeological record of a ‘consul’ is then discussed.
This leads on to the ‘problem’ of the consulship in terms of when Romans say it developed vs what evidence we have for when it developed.
Mary Beard’s take on the situation from SPQR is then included (slightly adapted for easier understanding) and this is finally followed by a handout on the main political offices of the early Republic with accompanying information. There are then some comprehension questions based on this handout for students to answer.
The lesson finishes with students asked to match an image to their learning and the teacher can draw out explanations through these in order to check the progress of students.