These detailed course / revision notes were specially written to give GCSE Classical Civilization students a comprehensive understanding of the key knowledge from the specification for Women in the Ancient World: OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (9-1) Women of Legend Young Women Women in the home 'Improper’ Women Women and religion Women and power Warrior Women Women to be Feared Each of the above is split into two sections: Greece, firstly, and then Rome. These extensive notes are especially useful for students whose note-taking in lesson isn’t as good as others, or whose organisational skills mean they are missing notes/handouts on certain topics / areas. These notes will certainly help reduce the time it takes them to catch up with their peers, and also students like to use these as a checklist of topics to go into in further detail. They give peace of mind that every corner of the specification/syllabus has been covered. These notes can be given to students to work through at their own pace, or split up and given to students as and when each part of the content is studied throughout the course. As the teacher you may find it useful to go through the notes with my students as they highlight and annotate them with anything extra you want to give them according to their level. These notes though are comprehensive and detailed and work just as well as a stand alone revision aid as they do an in-class resource. Hopefully these notes help to save your students (and you!) some time in the hectic run up to exams. Thanks for taking a look :)

This lesson is designed with the new OCR Classical Civilisation 9-1 GCSE in mind. Specifically, Paper 1 (Myth and Religion) topic 1.6 Myth and Symbols of Power. it is designed to run over 2 hour long lessons. All worksheets referred to below are contained within the .ppt file in the appropriate places during the lesson which can be printed out and given to students. All instructions are also contained in the ‘notes’ section for each slide (in addition to helpful video links). The lesson starts with a comprehension starter regarding how Augustus came to power and an accompanying video. There is then some class reading on the aims of Augustan art in general and the messages Augustus was keen to promote. Students are then introduced to the Ara Pacis itself via Augustus himself through studying the appropriate part of the Res Gestae. A short OU video link is included to help students visualise the size of the Ara Pacis itself. A worksheet is then included ready to be printed off (pictured)looking at Ovid’s Fasti and what he has to say about the altar. An in-depth look at the carvings one each frieze then follows with accompanying exam questions (8 and 15 markers). In the plenary students are encourage to envisage their own version of the Ara Pacis and what it would depict.

This lesson was designed with the 9-1 OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation spec in mind. It covers everything pupils need to know about the events portrayed in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, and aims to solidify both their knowledge of the events of the poem, and to draw out quality analysis through the inclusion of study questions, handouts (included as hidden slides for printing) and a video. The resource is fully dual coded to reduce excess ‘noise’ - something my students are really keen on as it is clear at every point in the lessons, what the key information is that they should be focusing on. The use of dual coding also aids knowledge retention and allows pupils of all abilities to access this otherwise difficult poem. When I taught this it fit quite neatly into 2 x 1 hour lessons, with the first lesson focusing on knowing the story of Hades’ abduction of Persephone and the roles various other characters play (i.e. Hermes, Hades, Demeter, Helios, Hecate et al.) through to the poem’s resolution. A copy of the poem is included if you wish to use it with pupils, however key quotes with analysis are picked out on a separate handout (included as a hidden slide for printing) to aid the story-telling task in that forms the focus of the rest of the first lesson. The second hour focuses more on analysis of the characters and their relationships with one-another - including the complex relationships and power (im)balance between humans and the gods. Study questions are included along with an exam question at the end in order that you as the teacher can assess the extent of their learning. Thanks for taking a look :)

This ‘lesson’ on the importance of the Amazonomachy (which will ideally cover 2-3 lessons) is designed with the new Classical Civilisation 9-1 OCR GCSE in mind. Specifically, the Myth and Religion Paper 1 unit: 1.6 Myth and Symbols of Power. Students will ideally have just finished studying the Centauromachy and so at the end of this powerpoint they will be able to compare their knowledge of both and evaluate the significance of both in relation to each other. All worksheets mentioned here are included as slides within the .ppt file itself, ready to be printed off and inserted into the appropriate part of the lesson. The lesson starts with a look at how Amazons are depicted in art and students are introduced to the Amazon race through the video (link attached). Information about who the Amazons were and their battles with the Greeks is then included with a challenge question included below (designed to be printed off A5 size). Students are then introduced to the Temple of Apollo at Bassae with background information on the temple itself in order to contextualise the Bassae Frieze (a prescribed source for the course). This is followed by a numeracy challenge where students have to calculate the area of the temple (which can then lead to a discussion as to the length of the Bassae Frieze and its impressiveness etc.) A cloze test/passage is then included to be printed off where students fill in missing words in order to get them used to the kind of language they need to be using while analysing the sculptor’s use of space etc on the frieze. There is then an 8 mark source Exam question where students have to produce a similar style answer to the one on the cloze sheet but now off their own heads. Students should be encouraged to use the model as they write their own. Finally students are asked to link their learning during this topic to a set of abstract images where they can be questioned in order to explain fully what they have learnt in relation to the learning aims.

This lesson is designed with the topic ‘Myth and Symbols of Power’ within the ‘Myth and Religion’ unit (for the new OCR Classical Civilisation 9-1 GCSE) in mind. The lesson begins with introducing students to the origin story and details of Centaurs. A worksheet is included within the .ppt file (pictured) which also briefly outlines the events of the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. This can be printed out, highlighted and annotated by students as it will be useful later in the lesson. Students then examine the importance of the Centauromachy to a) The Greeks as a whole, B) The Athenians and c) The Parthenon building itself. A link to a helpful Youtube Video has also been included so students who do not have the opportunity to see the marbles up close in real life can do so through this video. A cloze test where students fill in the missing words in a passage analysing a metope from the Parthenon frieze is also included which can be worked through on the board as a class or printed out and given to students. Answers are also included on the following slide. The lesson finishes with a practice exam question where students need to use the type of language used in the analysis they have seen while doing the cloze test to successfully answer the 8 mark question. (Also included for students who may finish this and need further challenge are questions comparing the Parthenon frieze to the Bassae frieze and Temple of Zeus pediment versions of the Centauromachy). In addition to this for top students a translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses is included so that they can look at the account of the battle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths at the wedding in detail.

These detailed course / revision notes were specially written to give GCSE Classical Civilization students a comprehensive understanding of the key knowledge from the specification for Myth and Religion: OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (9-1) Gods The Universal Hero: Heracles/Hercules Religion and the City: Temples Myth and the City: Foundation Stories Festivals Myth and Symbols of Power Death and Burial Journeying to the Underworld These extensive notes are especially useful for students whose note-taking in lesson isn’t as good as others, or whose organisational skills mean they are missing notes/handouts on certain topics / areas. These notes will certainly help reduce the time it takes them to catch up with their peers, and also students like to use these as a checklist of topics to go into in further detail. They give peace of mind that every corner of the specification/syllabus has been covered. These notes can be given to students to work through at their own pace, or split up and given to students as and when each part of the content is studied throughout the course. As the teacher I found it useful to go through the notes with my students as they highlighted and annotated them with anything extra I wanted to give them according to their level. The notes though are comprehensive and work just as well as a stand alone revision aid as they do an in-class resource. Hopefully these notes help to save your students (and you!) some time in the hectic run up to exams. Thanks for taking a look :)

Designed with the new OCR Classical Civilisation 9-1 GCSE in mind. Students are introduced to Ancient religion in general and the concepts of Hiera & Religio and the contractual nature of worship in the ancient world. In addition to this there is an exercise for students that is designed to compare ancient worship to modern worship and draw out the similarities and differences. There is a wealth of information contained within. The presentation goes through first the Greek gods and then their Roman equivalents. Each of the god's/goddess' areas of patronage are outlined, as are details about their associated mythologies, stories of origin and iconography. An A3 sheet is included to print and photocopy for students to record details about each deity, first for Greece and then for Rome. Primary Sources and GCSE practice questions are included as are model answers which students can use to improve their own answers. A final assessment task is also included which has GCSE rigour and can be used to get an accurate understanding of student's understanding of the topic to GCSE standard. Throughout, all technical terms are explained in 'glossary boxes' and students are encouraged to make a note of these as the lessons progress to build up their own glossary of key terms. The lesson could be easily differentiated for KS3 pupils by cutting out the GCSE style questions and focusing instead on the stories of each god/goddess.

This lesson is designed with the OCR 9-1 GCSE spec in mind. Topic 1.5: Festivals in the Myth and Religion Unit of the paper. The lesson starts with reminding students of who Saturn was and his background as father of Jupiter and rule of the Earth during the Golden Age. Students then look at the 17th c. copy of the 4th c. Calendar depicting elements of the Saturnalia and are encouraged to draw inferences about what might have happened during the festival itself. A worksheet is included in the .ppt file for this. A knowledge organiser is also included on a slide to be printed out and given to students who then highlight and annotate it and use it to inform a travel guide/newspaper task where they have to write about their experience of the Saturnalia to a ‘foreign’ (I.e. non-Roman) audience. Practice exam questions are also included with help on how to structure their answers. These involve a Source inference (2 mark question) and two 8 mark comparison questions where students are told to compare the festival to the Lupercalia. Finally, students are encouraged to match a series of abstract images to their learning in order to demonstrate how much they have learnt in relation to the success criteria/ learning aims.

This lesson was designed for my pupils studying OCR Classical Civilisation 9-1 GCSE. It provides an excellent in-depth look at the Roman Domus / Villa - the household and home of wealthy Romans / Roman Patricians. The lesson is dual coded and there is an emphasis in reducing excess ‘noise’ in the PowerPoint file - allowing pupils to easily access the content without distraction. There is also a yellow overlay on each slide to aid any pupils with irlens / dyslexia (this can easily be removed though by clicking on the overlay on each slide and pressing ‘delete’). The lesson begins with a look at a map of Pompeii to allow pupils to see the prevalence of the Domus in a Roman city and then pupils are given a handout (included as a slide to be printed off) of a typical domus floor plan with a key and pupils must colour code both. Once pupils thus have an understanding of the uses of the rooms in a typical domus and what they were called, there is a handout (again, included as a slide) to be printed off of extra info where pupils are encouraged to highlight key points and use to make extra notes to supplement their work up to this point. There is then a short 3 minute video embedded in the next slide which summarises what pupils should have learnt up to this point. Having established the key features of a typical domus, pupils are then presented with the floor plans of three important Roman villas in Herculaneum and Pompeii: The House of the Wooden Partition The House of Menander The House of Octavius Quartio Pupils are prompted to compare the floorplans and key features of these houses to their ‘typical’ domus floorplan and pick out similarities and differences. A group task then ensues where pupils fill in their fact file sheets on each house using more detailed information included in the proceeding slides (designed to be printed out - but you can go through the info on the board, or alternatively read the information for each house aloud and ask students to make notes as you read - I did it slightly differently with my two groups). Finally, the PowerPoint ends with OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation exam questions so pupils’ learning and understanding can be assessed. Thanks for taking a look :-)

This lesson is designed to be the first lesson for students who have no prior knowledge of Classics/Classical Civilisation/ The Classical world. It will work well as the first lesson for students who are studying Classical Civilisation at GCSE. it is designed to give students a real sense of period so that they can contextualise their learning in subsequent lessons. All worksheets referred to below are included as whole slides in the .pptx file and are located at the specific point in the lesson when they are designed to be used. The lesson begins with a discussion surrounding what ‘civilisation’ means. This is followed by a worksheet to be printed A5 size (pictured) which introduces students to the Geography of the area. It is deliberately more visual than ‘wordy’ in nature as students can stick it in and refer back to it when they need to know where Italy/Greece are in relation to the UK. A discussion surrounding BC/BCE and AD/CE then follows in terms of interpreting dates. A timeline with empty boxes is then included for students to fill in in their books. On this timeline is already printed some famous events in history that students will probably have some prior knowledge of. The point of this excercise is to see how BC/BCE dates work (backwards) and to show the Greeks and Romans existed a long time before anything else they will have studied in History lessons. It also allows students to see that the Greeks preceded the Romans at their peak. Another gap-fill exercise follows (with answers) which introduces students to basic information about Ancient Greece (There is no further information on Rome in this lesson as it is assumed students will progress onto a thematic study of Ancient Greece following this lesson). A video link explaining democracy is also included as a final thought for the lesson with student coming up with their own definition of democracy at the end. This will help them analyse Athens’ democracy in later lessons.

Designed for the new OCR Classical Civilisation GCSE unit: 1.4 Myth and the City Ideally spread over 2 teaching hours, this lesson is designed to give students an understanding of how important both Aeneas and Romulus are in the story of Rome’s foundation. It begins with a slide that can be printed off as a worksheet studying the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite to determine the significance of Aeneas’ birth. It then moves on to the fall of Troy and students are invited to evaluate how heroic Aeneas was in the episode of his life. This is followed by a brief look at his wanderings and arrival in Lavinium through a summary of Book 2 of Virgil’s Aeneid (included) with some analysis. These two can be printed off and there are accompanying think/written response questions that students can complete. Finally, the lesson looks at Livy’s account of how Aeneas’ son, Ascanius, founds Alba Longa and spawns the line of kings leading to Romulus. Throughout the lesson are links to videos (all freely available on Youtube) which consolidate the learning going on at that point in the lesson.

This lesson is designed with OCR’s GCSE Classical Civilisation unit: Myth and Religion The lesson is comprehensive in its inclusion of everything the GCSE specification requires: How wealth and status affected burial in Ancient Rome Preparation of the body Funerary procession Burial of the body Festivals for the dead and ancestors Also, primary sources such as Pliny and Ovid are included and clearly signposted for students. Thinking questions (to be answered verbally or in written form are included) as are exam questions at the end, in addition to a short video where Mary Beard looks at Roman tombs lining the road into Rome. Everything my students needed to know is included and they seemed to really enjoy it and engage with it. It’s presented using the principles of dual coding to reduce cognitive load - ensuring that excess ‘noise’ on the PowerPoint does not prove a barrier to knowledge acquisition and retention. Thanks for taking a look :)

This lesson is designed to fit into an hour and guides students, in a very straightforward but detailed way, through the key features of a Roman insula (apartment building) that was the cornerstone of Roman City Life for the average city-dwelling Plebeian. Roman insulae were subject to collapse, fire damage and unscrupulous landlords and there is a handout included as a slide within the powerpoint file taking students through what different Roman authors had to say about these high-rise apartment blocks. The final task before the plenary is a more creative one encouraging students to write about insulae in the style of the satirist Juvenal, who famously moaned a lot about them! Ideal for anyone teaching Classical Civilisation GCSE, the powerpoint is graphically designed in a way that students experience as little cognitive load as possible which my students definitely appreciate - allowing them to more readily access the information they need to embed. Two video clips are included too (hence the large file size) ensuring students have access to learning about the topic through a a few different kinds of media. Thanks for taking a look :-)

This lesson focuses on two key aspects of Roman Society: The paterfamilias and the patron-client system. The first half of the powerpoint focuses on the paterfamilias and the second half focuses on the patron-client system. All the information pupils need for GCSE Classical Civilisation: Roman City Life is contained in here, although anyone not studying the GCSE will get all the information they need from this lesson too. The final part of the powerpoint focuses on which of the two things played a greater role in the functioning on Roman society and why. The powerpoint would ideally b delivered over two hours, although could be delivered in a single hour if you cut out some of the written tasks which are included so students can synthesise their learning and demonstrate their levels of understanding. The resource is fully dual coded which we have found helps reduce the cognitive load for our students, allowing them to focus and retain knowledge more easily. There is also a coloured overlay on each slide (which can easily be deleted if you don’t need it) to aid learners with dyslexia / Irlen’s. Video clips are also embedded within the resource to help elucidate the two pertinent roles in Roman Society that the lesson focuses on. Thanks for taking a look :)

I created this lesson for my OCR GCSE 9-1 Classical Civilisation class. It’s dual coded throughout to reduce excess ‘noise’ to ensure students know what to focus on and when, in order to aid high quality knowledge retention. The lesson is meant to complement the counterpart ‘Journeying to the Underworld’ GCSE lesson for the ancient Greeks: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/homeric-hymn-to-demeter-journeying-to-the-underworld-in-ancient-greece-12655537 The lesson starts by introducing Ovid and Roman beliefs about the Underworld. Background is then given to students on who Orpheus is and why he is so famous in classical myth. Students are encouraged to summarise his importance themselves before moving on to a reading task. The exam-specified version of Metamorphoses by Ovid is included as a hidden slide to be printed out for pupils, who will go through it as a class and pick out words they might struggle with to aid literacy-building and to ensure the text is accessible to all. Students are then instructed to read through it again themselves and pick out key parts and summarise each part themselves (can be verbal, written or drawn). before attempting some exam questions so you can gain some clarity on where they are in terms of how much they have retained from the lesson. The lesson finishes with a really good 5 minute video that summarises the story for pupils. A final storyboard task is included should you want to extend the lesson beyond the one hour mark, or to be set as an engaging homework that helps make their learning stick. Each slide has a pale yellow overlay to aid students with dyslexia / Irlen’s but this can be removed easily by deleting it, or its colour can be easily changed to suit your pupils’ needs. Thanks for looking :)

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 :)

I created this lesson out of a feeling that often, in teaching Romulus and Remus, there is a distinct lack of proper history skills involved. This lesson is my attempt to create a lesson which imparts knowledge of the (genuinely intriguing) story of the twin founders of Rome, but also hints at the historical inaccuracies, the story’s mythical nature and cultural significance to the Romans themselves. This lesson is aimed at students 13-16 (although more able students who are younger can access it) in order to introduce them to: The story of Romulus and Remus (which they would need to know for their OCR Class Civ or Ancient History GCSE (9-1) Ancient Historians (specifically Livy who is mentioned throughout and a required for GCSE Ancient History - yet often difficult to access). Modern Historians (specifically Mary Beard) through her retelling of the story in SPQR which is quoted and attributed appropriately throughout (and sometimes adapted slightly for easier understanding). The Lesson starts with a series of images to see if students can guess what the lesson might be about. Some students might have more knowledge of the ancient world than others but whatever answers they come up with can become talking points. Attention moves to the geography/setting of the story and the story itself is then split up into 3 parts; beginning, middle and end. Each part includes an appropriate work sheet which are contained as slides within the .ppt file (in the right places within the presentation) which can be printed, photocopied and worked through. This can be done together as a class or individually. There is a challenge task (focusing on provenance/other versions) on each worksheet for the more able students. Worksheets involve summarising Mary Beard’s account of the Romulus and Remus story in images and words. There is a strong literacy focus throughout with students encouraged primarily to highlight words they don’t understand and annotate their sheet with definitions. There is also additional guidance in the ‘notes’ section of each slide to help you as you teach. The lesson finishes with students attempting to answer the question that is the lesson title using a quote from Romulus (via Livy) to help them to show how much progress they’ve made. Students are then given the same set of images they were given at the start of the lesson and invited to explain each one to show how much they have learnt.

This lesson has been designed with the new OCR Classical Civilisation 9-1 GCSE in mind. The lesson begins by asking students what they can infer about the Great Panathenaia from a set of images. A table is then included which can be printed off and completed by students as they are presented with the relevant information about each aspect of the festival itself. Students are then encouraged to rank the importance of each day of the 8 day festival in order to make the learning stick and to promote higher order thinking. The next part of the lesson focuses on a range of study questions that are designed to get students to explain what they have learnt. An 8 mark GCSE style question is included as the final study question. The plenary involves designing your own temple metopes/relief sculpture and this is a sheet that is again best to be printed out, completed and then explained by their students to see how far they have met the success criteria/learning aims. Plenty of visual sources are included and each part of the festival is explained in a way that is accessible to all. Students should leave with a comprehensive understanding of not just what the Great Panathenaia was, but also why it was so significant in religious and community terms for the Athenians themselves.

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.

I used this lesson with my students for their OCR Classical Civilisation 9-1 GCSE unit ‘Myth and Religion’. It covers what they need to know about Heracles apart from his twelve labours (which are covered in this lesson: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12658219 ) The lesson begins with a look at what Olympia was and why it was important to the Greeks. There is a video embedded and pupils are asked to describe what they can see in the reconstruction of Olympia on screen. Heracles’ link to Olympia is then emphasised through a quick recap of his fifth labour, the Augean Stables, and the concept of metopes is introduced and where they are located on the Olympian Zeus temple. Pupils are then presented with a discussion of the three aims of the sculptor in representing each of Heracles’ labours and are invited to make a reasoned judgement as to what they believe the sculptor’s primary aim was and explain why. There is then a brief digression into the ‘other’ story of how the Olympic games were founded (Pelops, Hippodamia and Oinomaos) and pupils are shown where and how these events were depicted on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. The final task in this lesson that is designed to fit into an hour is one where pupils conclude which story of the origin of the Olympic Games is more likely to their mind, based on the literary and archaeological evidence. Short exam practice questions are used as a plenary so that you as the teacher can assess what knowledge they’ve retained from the lesson. The whole lesson is dual coded - something my students really enjoy as it facilitates a reduction in cognitive load and allows them to focus on exactly what needs to be focused on, by eliminating excess ‘noise’ from what is being presented. This in turn we have found aids knowledge retention and allows them to link back to prior learning more readily, meaning they are making bigger learning gains from lesson to lesson. A coloured overaly is included on each slide which can be easily deleted if you do not want or need it, but we have found these help our pupils with dyslexia / Irlen’s to engage more easily. Thanks for taking a look :)