This lesson was designed for my students who are studying OCR’s GCSE Classical Civilisation Myth and Religion Unit. It’s fully dual coded, which my students are big fans of as we’ve found it reduces cognitive load and aids knowledge retention - it eliminates excess ‘noise’ on the screen / board so that pupils know what they need to focus on. The lesson starts by going into the background of why Hercules is called Hercules and not Heracles by the Romans, followed by the reason why Hercules was important to the Romans, how he found himself in Italy during his 12 Labours etc. A handout is then provided with passages from Virgil’s Aeneid on it from which pupils create an 8 part story board to cement their knowledge of the chronology of the story. The handout and storyboard template are both included as hidden slides for easy printing. A series of questions designed to stretch students’ thinking are then posed - these can be answered verbally as a class, or can be answered individually by students and peer-assessed. Finally, pupils are encouraged to link the Hercules and Cacus legend with the Romans’ own identity and how they viewed themselves. There is a coloured overlay on each slide for pupils struggling with Dyslexia/ Irlen’s - but this can easily be deleted if it isn’t needed. Thanks for taking a look :)

This lesson was designed my students studying OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation Myth and Religion. It’s fully dual coded to reduce cognitive load, enhance engagement and aid knowledge retention - we’ve found our students really like this style and they find it helps them access the content more readily. The lesson starts with a video reminding them why Hercules is famous, before launching into the story of Hercules and his fight with Achelous over princess Deianira of Aitolia. Primary source work is included throughout as students are presented with passages from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and are prompted with challenging questions associated with them. They can answer these verbally or in their books depending on the type of class you have and students you teach. The lesson will fit quite neatly into 1 hour and it finishes with a video where students are encouraged to listen to the original text from Ovid being read aloud, and use this to add more detail to their answers, followed finally by some peer assessment. There are coloured overlays on all the slides to help any students with Irlen’s / Dyslexia but these can easily be deleted if you don’t need them. Thanks so much for taking a look :-)

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.

This lesson provides an overview of the key themes of the Roman Republican period. I designed it as an introduction for my GCSE Ancient History class to their chronological study of the Republican period. The lesson uses Livy as a primary source and Mary Beard as a secondary source to outline the main themes that crop up in a study of the Republic. The lesson uses both authors as a ‘way in’ to the era. The lesson seeks to draw out an understanding of: The conflict between the patricians and plebeians How the Romans saw the Republic favourably in comparison to the Regal (kings) period What the main political offices were in Republican Rome The extent to which we can trust what ancient writers tell us about the early and later Republic. Progress checks are included throughout to promote literacy - matching key words to abstract/non abstract images to exhibit understanding. A video link is also included in the plenary which outlines the main political offices of the time and how elections were conducted. This is very much an overview lesson for the time period which can stand alone or be used as an introduction to the Roman republic. I felt it was necessary to ‘set the scene’ for my students before doing so and this lesson does this really well.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

This lesson contains numerous handouts with a literacy focus but also seeking at analysing whenever possible, the accuracy and reliability of the primary sources we have available to us, when discussing Cleopatra’s personality traits; namely her courage, humour and how she was perceived by her own subjects. The .ppt file contacins all handouts as slides ready to print and clear instructions as to what to do with each handout. Plutarch’s Life of Antony and Horace’s Odes are used to give us an insight into what she was like and the characteristics she needed to exhibit in order to be a successful queen of Egypt. Both of these primary sources are prescribed sources for the new 9-1 OCR Ancient History GCSE. There is also plenty of discussion included surrounding the accuracy and reliability of both sources and students are challenged at every turn to consider this and back their explanation up with evidence from the text. The lesson ends with a discussion on how she was perceived by her own subjects and students use the information they have gathered over the course of roughly 2 hours worth of work to create a letter from Cleopatra’s point of view to Antony, discussing proposals to raise taxes on grain. Through outlining her worries and advice she needs from Antony, students can demonstrate the nuances of how she was viewed by different parts of Egypt and the effect of her actions on the wider world i.e. Rome.

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.

And how well did each one rule the Persian Empire? This lesson has been designed as an ‘opening’ or ‘overview’ lesson for OCR Ancient History GCSE students, embarking on their study of the Persian Empire/ Achaemenid kings (Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius and Xerxes). It has also been used however as a stand alone lesson, for example as a lesson in a thematic unit on different empires throughout history. The starter introduces students to the geography of the Persian Empire in relation to Europe and the rest of the world - giving students some context. The main bulk of the lesson is based around an activity involving four A5 cards. Each A5 card has details about each king. Students identify positives and negatives of each king from the cards and then evaluate the relative success of each one in relation to the others. The information cars are included as slides within the PowerPoint, ready to be printed. Students are then advised how to apply the knowledge they have gained to the June 2019 summer exam essay question through the use of visuals, followed by an effective plenary involving students judging their own progress (with your support) using ‘post-it’ notes. This lesson is designed to last an hour, unless you elect for students to attempt the exam question, in which case it will run to nearer two. The resources are very accessible are designed with the research behind ‘dual-coding’ in mind. The resources do not shy away from some ambitious vocabulary though and teachers may find spending some lesson time unpicking some of this vocabulary useful.

This lesson is designed with OCR Ancient History 9-1 GCSE spec in mind. Although it fits snugly into any study of the Roman Republic and plays a pivotal role in the ‘Conflict of the Orders’; the struggle between the Patricians and the Plebeians in Ancient Rome as the plebs struggled to secure more rights, freedoms and controls from their Patrician counterparts. The lesson begins by studying a cartoon and trying to draw inferences about the story from it, after briefly looking at lictors and their job (since lictors play as big role in the first part of the story of Publilius’ ascencion to tribune of the Plebs). There is then a ‘gap fill’ exercise sheet to be printed off aimed at nailing key vocabulary. Brief audio files (edited and adapted from the free Ancient Rome Podcast The Partial Historians are included along with relevant questions for students to answer based on these audio clips (each roughly 5 minutes in length). It is important to note that the podcast is free and is available to download at https://partialhistorians.com/category/podcast/from-the-founding-of-the-city/ But the audio files are included for ease of use and obviously no copywright infringement is intended. I have found these podcasts really enjoyable and an invaluable resource as a teacher of this unit given the lack of available CPD and cannot recommend them highly enough :) I have also tried to point my students in their direction as a revision resource. There is then a brief discussion about the reliability of Dionysius and Livy’s accounts of Volero Publilius’ reforms and then a comprehension sheet which can be printed off (included within the relevant point in the lesson) which has a 6 mark exam question as a challenge at the end.

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.

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 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 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.