Romans in Britain Year 3/4 Unit: 8 Lessons

A complete, enquiry-led Romans in Britain unit for Lower Key Stage 2. Eight
lessons built around real primary sources, one pupil journal for the whole unit,
and everything you need to plan, teach and assess.

Unit enquiry: How did the Romans change Britain, and for whom?

Every lesson follows the same Little Historians six-stage framework: Time
Travellers, Big Question, Evidence Detectives, Discover, Prove It! and History
Check. In Evidence Detectives the class investigates one source together on the
slides in three steps: what can you see, what might it tell us, and what can it
not tell us. Pupils then take the same three steps on their own in the journal,
on a second source. By Lesson 8 they have handled coins, gold, carved stone, a
Roman history, a soldier’s letter, a mosaic, a road, a curse tablet, an altar
and a milestone.

A one-minute Meet the Source video in every lesson. Each video is built into the
PowerPoint and plays just before pupils open their journals. It introduces the
source they are about to investigate on their own: how it was found, two “look
closer” moments that zoom in on the details, and a question to take straight
into the task. It models the questioning pupils then do independently, and helps
non-specialist teachers launch the journal work with confidence. No internet
connection or video links needed.

THE EIGHT LESSONS

Lesson 1: Before the Romans
Who were the Britons, and why did the Romans want Britain?
Slides: a gold coin of Emperor Claudius. Journal: the Snettisham Great Torc.

Lesson 2: The Roman Army Arrives
How did the Romans take over Britain?
Slides: Roman soldiers on Trajan’s Column. Journal: the gravestone of the
centurion Facilis.

Lesson 3: Boudica Fights Back
Why did Boudica fight the Romans?
Slides: Tacitus’s story of Boudica. Journal: a bronze head of Claudius pulled
from a river.

Lesson 4: Hadrian’s Wall
Why did the Romans build Hadrian’s Wall?
Slides: Hadrian’s Wall today. Journal: a soldier’s letter from Vindolanda.

Lesson 5: Roads, Towns and Villas
What did the Romans build in Britain?
Slides: the cupid on a dolphin mosaic at Fishbourne. Journal: Stane Street, a
Roman road.

Lesson 6: Baths and Curses
What was daily life like in Roman Britain?
Slides: the Great Bath at Bath. Journal: a curse tablet about a stolen cloak.