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!

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 and reduces cognitive load. It tells the story of the trials and tribulations Rome’s new Consuls Brutus and Collatinus went through in trying to establish the new Republic in Rome after the exile of Superbus. The story and Livy / Dionysius are also analysed throughout, and this lesson sets up the next one on the origins of the Conflict of the Orders nicely. On each slide are pertinent questions posed to students that they can answer verbally or in writing and are great for AfL - summative and formative depending on how you want to use them. 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 challenges and details of the establishment of Rome’s new Republic that exists at the moment - it’s why I made it because there was hardly anything accessible out there for me and my students… Thanks for taking a look!

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 by recapping Gnaeus Genucius’ murder which gives Volero Publilius the platform he needs for his uprising and reforms - this story is then told and analysed throughout, allowing connections to be made to the broader Conflict of the Orders between Plebeians and Patricians that was going on during the early years of the Roman Republic. On each slide are pertinent questions posed to students that they can answer verbally or in writing and are great for AfL - there is also a 6 mark exam question at the end so that students can apply their knowledge in one of the more low stakes questions they will get on the paper. 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 Volero Publilius Uprising and his legislation that exists at the moment - it’s why I made it because there was hardly anything accessible out there for me and my students… Thanks for taking a look!

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 Servius became king and why, what Livy says about him in his History of Rome, and his various political reforms and building projects. Students are also introduced to what Dionysius of Halicarnassus says about Servius and there is a comparison to Livy’s opinion. There is also a clear and detailed explanation of Servius’ murder and his family tree - a complicated issue but made as simple as possible here and easy for all students to access. 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 contains various useful embedded video clips (hence the large file size) - the first ones recap Romulus, Numa, Tullus, Ancus and Priscus’ reforms as kings of Rome - since it is difficult to understand the significance of Servius without looking at the actions of his predecessors. There is also a short entertaining video clip detailing the extent to which we can trust Livy as a source.

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!

This lesson is designed to be a succinct and clear lesson that provides enough detail for the Ancient History OCR 9-1 GCSE Foundations of Rome Unit. Including the exam question at the AfL questions - this lesson would ideally run over two hours. It goes through how Tarquinius Superbus became king and why, what Livy says about him in his History of Rome, and his various disastrous political tyranny and cronyism. There is also a clear and detailed explanation of Tarquin’s exile and his family tree - complicated issues but made as simple as possible here and easy for all students to access. 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 contains various useful embedded video clips (hence the larger file size) - a short entertaining video clip detailing the extent to which we can trust Livy as a source and one summarising Tarquin’s reign. There is also a 10 mark OCR exam question at the end with a variety of model answers which students can analyse before attempting their own with the help of sentence starters.

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 Priscus was appointed and why, what Livy says about him in his History of Rome, and his religious, military and building reforms / projects. 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 contains various useful embedded video clips (hence the large file size) - the first ones recap Romulus, Numa, Tullus and Ancus as kings of Rome - since it is difficult to understand the significance of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus without looking at the actions of his predecessors. There is also a short entertaining video clip detailing the extent to which we can trust Livy as a source - plus a more detailed one later on where students can add to their notes.

Any students trying to study the origins of Rome are met with the difficulty of marrying mythology and archaeology. The mythology of Aeneas and Romulus and Remus often takes precedent, leaving students without any contextual knowledge about what Italy was actually like at the time. This lesson helped my students address this issue. By teaching this lesson in between an ‘Aeneas’ and a ‘Romulus and Remus’ lesson, they could much more easily recall the key details of both stories - thanks to the contextual knowledge of Italy that this lesson provides. Students are introduced to all the different prominent cultures and peoples of Bronze Age Italy, including many like the Sabines and the Latins who Rome will come into conflict with shortly afterwards. this lesson provides a snapshot of Italy in 1000 BCE, which provides the handle students need to hang their subsequent learning about early Rome on. The lesson is dual coded to reduce cognitive load and videos are included (hence the large file size) at appropriate points to provide extra exposition.

This lesson provided the perfect link for my GCSE pupils between the Trojan War and the founding of Rome. It’s all dual-coded to ensure cognitive load isn’t an issue and this way of presenting information really helped the story to stick in the minds of my classes. The slides take you through Aeneas’ escape from Troy and introduces students to the Aeneid by Virgil in quite a light way. The fact that it was commissioned by the emperor Augustus is also discussed. Two useful and entertaining videos are embedded seamlessly within the PowerPoint which helps add colour to the slides and your other exposition. The final task involves students creating images on 3 storyboards (all the writing is already there) which just tells the story of Aeneas’ journey to Italy, and why he many consider him the first Roman, in an interesting and very accessible way. If you’re looking for a lesson that just tells students straight up how Aeneas got to Italy and why he is important to the Romans then this is perfect.

These painstakingly created Graphic Organisers are ideal for Ancient History 9-1 GCSE. Quality resources for the GCSE seem scarce and this is me trying to rectify that a bit. These provide all the required information in an easily accessible and memorable way for the Period study of Persia - just over a quarter of the whole GCSE. My students really appreciate these. The organisers give enough ‘knowledge’ or ‘information’ for students to get a good grade at GCSE - a 4/5/6 depending on how much information they can retain. We print these out A5 size and stick them in the middle of our books and as I am teaching students will annotate these sheets according to how much extra information they need to get above a 4/5/6. The visuals are a huge help and icons and schemas are repeated as and when appropriate across the organisers which makes pupils feel secure and build a mental image of all the content - something I had found challenging to help them create before using these. The GOs really help tell the ‘story’ of the Achaemenid (Persian) Kings: Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius and Xerxes. Topics included: Cyrus’ birth and early life Cyrus’ conquest of Astyages and the Medes / Media Cyrus’ conquest of Croesus and the Lydians / Lydia Cyrus’ conquest of Nabonidus and the Babylonians / Babylon The importance of the Nabonidus Chronicle, Cyrus Cylinder and Herodotus as sources The foundation of Cyrus’ city at Pasargadae Cyrus’ death at the hands of Queen Tomyris and the Massegatae Early Cambyses and Succession Background to Cambyses’ invasion of Egypt Cambyses conquest of Egypt Cambyses positives as ruler of Egypt Cambyses’ negatives and 'madness as ruler of Egypt Cambyses’ military failures after conquering Egypt (Carthage, Ammonia, Ethiopia) Smerdis’ the usurper and death of Cambyses Accession of Darius Behistun (Bisitun) Inscription Darius’ reorganisation of the Persian Empire The foundation of Darius’ city at Persepolis Darius’ initial expansion attempts from 517 BCE The backstory and causes of the Ionian Revolt The events of the Ionian Revolt 499 BCE The aftermath and consequences of the Ionian Revolt Darius’ final invasion of Greece and death Accession of Xerxes to the Persian throne Xerxes’ preparations for his invasion of Greece Xerxes’ invasion of Greece The Battle of Thermopylae The sack of Athens Battle of Salamis Battle of Eurymedon End of Persian forays westward

This lesson tells what can be a relatively confusing story in a clear, step by step way. It’s dual coded to reduce cognitive load and take students through all the key details from who Ascanius was and why Romulus and Remus were outcast to the differing accounts of Remus’ death. Short video clips are also included at appropriate places within the powerpoint (hence the large file size) which help to break up the ‘teacher talk’ and add colour to the story. The final tasks involve storyboard creation and student explanation. My classes were big fans of the simplicity of the presentation and the clarity of the story - it really helped them retain all the information. There are a few quick quizzes included which are great for AFL.

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 Tullus was appointed and why, what Livy says about him in his History of Rome, and his descent into villainy throughout his reign, looking at his military achievements and religious incompetence too. 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 contains various useful embedded video clips (hence the large file size) - the first ones recap Romulus and Numa’s reforms as kings of Rome - since it is difficult to understand the significance of Tullus without looking at the actions of his predecessors. The final video clip details the extent to which we can trust Livy as a source.

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.

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 the four areas Romulus changed Rome: Military changes Political changes Religious changes Population changes In between each area of change there is a short explanation question with sentence starters so pupils can embed the knowledge - they are very useful for AfL I have found. My students liked this lesson because it is dual coded and as a result it massively reduces cognitive load, allowing pupils to easily access what is otherwise quite complex information. There is a short video clip embedded at the very beginning of the lesson (hence the large file size) telling the story of Romulus and Remus - i.e. how Romulus became king, and there is an embedded clip at the end going into detail about Romulus’ kingship - so students can add more details to their notes.

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 and reduces cognitive load. It tells the story of the how the Plebeians and the Patricians argument with each other at the beginning of Rome’s new Republican era ended with the Plebs leaving the city for the second time - in addition to the role the Decemvirs played in all this. On each slide are pertinent questions posed to students that they can answer verbally or in writing and are great for AfL - summative and formative depending on how you want to use them. There’s a 15 mark exam question to finish off the lesson for those teaching the OCR Ancient History GCSE - including a passage from Livy and sentence starters. 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 Second Secession (Secessio Plebis) that exists at the moment - it’s why I made the lesson because there was hardly anything accessible out there for me and my students… There is also a summary video clip at the start to tell the story so far. Thanks for taking a look!

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 and reduces cognitive load. It tells the story of the how the Plebeians and the Patricians argument with each other at the beginning of Rome’s new Republican era was attempted to be solved - and how this attempt at being solved was hijacked by a few Patricians unwilling to cede any power to the Plebeians. On each slide are pertinent questions posed to students that they can answer verbally or in writing and are great for AfL - summative and formative depending on how you want to use them. There’s a 6 mark exam question to finish off the lesson for those teaching the OCR Ancient History GCSE. 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 challenges and details of the First and Second Decemvirates (and the 12 Tables that were the product of both) that exists at the moment - it’s why I made the lesson because there was hardly anything accessible out there for me and my students… There is also a summary video clip at the start to tell the story so far and a video clip included at the end so students can recap their learning. Thanks for taking a look!

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 and reduces cognitive load. It tells the story of the how the Plebeians and the Patricians came to argue with each other at the beginning of Rome’s new Republican era. On each slide are pertinent questions posed to students that they can answer verbally or in writing and are great for AfL - summative and formative depending on how you want to use them. There’s a 6 mark exam question to finish off the lesson for those teaching the OCR Ancient History GCSE. 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 challenges and details of the origins of the Conflict of the Orders in Rome that exists at the moment - it’s why I made it because there was hardly anything accessible out there for me and my students… Thanks for taking a look!

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 and reduces cognitive load. It tells the story of the how the consuls Valerius and Horatius attempted to bring an end to the bickering between the Patricians and Plebeians that had characterised the Conflict of the Orders for such a large part of Rome’s early Republican period. On each slide are pertinent questions posed to students that they can answer verbally or in writing and are great for AfL - summative and formative depending on how you want to use them. There’s a10 and 15 mark exam question to finish off the lesson for those teaching the OCR Ancient History GCSE - including a passage from Livy. 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 this time period in Rome’s history that exists at the moment - it’s why I made the lesson because there was hardly anything accessible out there for me and my students… Thanks for taking a look!

These Graphic Organisers are ideal for Ancient History 9-1 GCSE. The Foundations of Rome unit, especially after studying the kings of Rome, can become tedious for students and staff alike. Quality resources for this part of the unit are scarce and this is me trying to rectify that a bit. My students really appreciate these. The organisers give enough ‘knowledge’ or ‘information’ for students to get a good grade at GCSE - a 4/5/6 depending on how much information they can retain. We print these out A5 size and stick them in the middle of our books and as I am teaching students will annotate these sheets according to how much extra information they need to get above a 4/5/6. The visuals are a huge help and icons and schemas are repeated as and when appropriate across the organisers which makes pupils feel secure and build a mental image of all the content - something I had found challenging to help them create before using these. The GOs really help tell the ‘story’ of the early Roman Republic. Topics included: Creation of the Roman Republic by consuls Brutus and Collatinus The history and trajectory of the Conflict of the Orders Sicinius and the First Secession of the plebs The Volero Publilius Uprising and subsequent reforms The First and Second Decemvirates The Twelve Tables The second Secession of the plebs The Valero - Horatian Laws and other reforms Legal Reforms of the 440s BCE and the end of the Conflict of the Orders