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 :)

The lesson starts with an embedded TEDed video recounting the 12 Labours of Hercules so the students are reminded of why he was so famous in the ancient world. This is followed by discussion on why Hercules ‘ended up’ as part of Roman religion (Hercules’ journey through Italy and Aeneas’ subsequent discovery of the cult after escaping from Troy is given as the backdrop for this). Students are then introduced to the reasons why the Temple of Hercules Victor is located where it is in Rome, and passages from Virgil and Livy are included (as hidden slides for printing to be handed out) where students are encouraged to pick out various aspects of the Cult of Hercules and describe its key features for themselves. The lesson ends by looking at how the Cult of Hercules established itself over time in Ancient Rome and students discuss what Rome’s obsession with Hercules says about themselves and their own identity. This lesson was designed for my students who are studying the OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation Myth and Religion Unit. All the knowledge pupils need for their exam is contained within the lesson, which itself is fully dual-coded which we have found really helps to reduce cognitive load, allowing students to focus on what they need to, aiding knowledge retention. There is also a coloured overlay on each slide to help students with Dyslexia / Irlen’s (which can easily be deleted if you don’t need it). Thanks for taking a look :)

This lesson is designed with the new OCR Classical Civilisation GCSE 9-1 Spec in mind. As part of the Myth and Religion unit students need to know about a number of ancient religious festivals. This lesson is designed to give students a deep understanding of the details of the Lupercalia and why it was important to the Romans. After a couple of starter activities, students are given a brief overview of the festival with key words missing and they must select the appropriate words from the list attached. The main part of the lesson is given over to the completion of a leaflet to be handed out in ancient Rome advertising the festival. A template is included within the .ppt file attached at the appropriate point in the lesson. All the information for each heading is also included so students have plenty of information to work with without feeling swamped. There are explanation questions at the end of the lesson which are designed so students can exhibit the extent of their learning, just before a short plenary activity.

The lesson starts by asking students what the lesson might be about based on a set of abstract images. It assumes some prior knowledge about the basics of Theseus’s life e.g. How he was born and who he was. Included in the powerpoint which can be printed A3 or A4 is a worksheet which students can fill in with information about each of Theseus’ labours as you go through them on the board. Students are introduced to the kylix depicting the labours of Theseus housed in the British Museum. As a prescribed source for the GCSE, it is crucial that students know which labour is depicted where on the kylix itself. This powerpoint provides rotated and enlarged versions of each depiction at the appropriate points in the lesson. This ensures that students are constantly thinking not only about Theseus’ labours, but also how they are depicted on the kylix at all times. All the information students need to know about each of Theseus’ labours for the new Classical Civilisation OCR 9-1 GCSE is included. Having already studied Heracles earlier on in the course. There are questions to prompt comparisons with Theseus’ contemporary hero – in particular in the labours that they undertake and the way in which they go about doing them. This comparative thinking will help with the exam question at the end of the lesson. There is a link to a short animation (appropriate for all ages) included to his final labour: the defeat of the Minotaur which students can use to enhance their understanding of this story. The kylix is then referred back to as students are asked to contemplate how appropriate each depiction on the kylix is based on what they know about their labour, followed by a ranking and justification task. Finally, an 8 mark comparison question is included. It is designed to take them 8 minutes as per the timings on the paper at GSCE, and as a support there are sentence starters and helpful tips available to those that might need it. An extension task is also included which encourages the comparison with Heracles.

This lesson is designed with the new OCR Classical Civilisation 9-1 GCSE in mind. Specifically, Paper 1 (Myth and Religion) topic 1.7 Death and Burial. 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 does have a lot of information for students to get their head around and therefore students are asked to condense the information into note form at various points. There’s nothing to stop you printing out the info and highlighting it instead and annotating it - either works in my experience depending on the students in your class. Information students are introduced to goes from the preparation of the body after death up until burial of the ashes. In addition there is information on both the Anthesteria and Genesia which were festivals which honoured the dead in Ancient Greece. Stele are looked out and compared to modern gravestones followed by a final plenary of questions based on the learning. There are 3 different exam questions included too ( two 2 mark questions and an 8 mark question) plus there are handouts (pictured on the Iliad and Odyssey which challenge pupils at the top end to think about how the Greeks themselves perceived the importance of death and burial. Video links are included throughout to help students visualise what went on.

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.

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.

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 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 :)

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 is designed with the new 9-1 GCSE Ancient History Spec in mind. It seeks to give students a clear understanding of the chronology of how Tarquinius Superbus tried to reconquer Rome after his family’s expulsion in 509 BC. The lesson focuses on three battles: The Battle of Silvia Arsia Lars Porsena’s invasion of Rome The Battle of Lake Regilius The lesson is also designed to make it clear who is fighting on which side in which battle (as this can be a little unclear) and key individuals have their own dedicated part of the lesson. maps of the area are also included so students can get a visual understanding of what happened and where. Storyboard tasks are mixed with exam questions to ensure students can prove their understanding of each battle. Students then finish with a discussion of which battle was the most significant and why. This powerpoint will probably span approximately 2+ hours depending upon the speed you work through it.

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.

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 presentation and the worksheets included in the .ppt file are designed to span a number of lessons. The lesson starts with a discussion of Dionysus’ traits and depictions in art. A comprehension worksheet that can be printed in A5 size is then designed to get students familiar with some key terms they will need to know. A brief look at Pausanias’ account of the origin of the festival gives students the opportunity to interact with a primary source and then the attention of the lesson turns towards the sanctuary of Dionysus in Athens - with a brief comparison with other sanctuaries on the specification (The Acropolis dedicated to Athena in Athens and the Altis dedicated to Zeus at Olympia) Labelled diagrams of the sanctuary are included which can be printed off for students with the accompanying questions designed to help students enquire as to how Dionysus’ sanctuary differs from the others and where the focus really lies. Given that the sanctuary is at the heart of the festival, this is an important starting point. Students are also encouraged through discussion to realise the theatre’s significance as a religious building, not just a building designed for entertainment. I have then broken down the festival into ten main aspects. A worksheet for students to take notes on is then printable (recommended A3 size) and information on the ten aspects are included on separate slides which can be shown on the board and discussed, or printed and used as an information hunt/ carousel activity. The information includes all key words, what happened and when, and why, in addition to who took part in each activity. Study questions are also included along with two 8 mark comparison GCSE style questions (and a help box for each indicating how students should structure their answer). Through answering these effectively students can demonstrate their learning over the lessons you have taken with them on the City Dionysia. A homework activity is also included along with links to various helpful videos online.

This lesson is designed with the new OCR Classical Civilisations 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. The lesson then moves onto the Prima Porta statue (a prescribed source for the new course) with an analysis of each aspect of it that students can record on a worksheet (pictured). There is another summary video followed by study questions surrounding Augustus’ supposed divine status. The lesson finishes with a plenary where students get commissioned by Augustus to design a new statue.

There are two lessons included within this bundle. The first is a lesson examining the story of the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the Patronage of the city of Athens. This includes, among other activities, a storyboard activity which allows students to be creative in exhibiting what they have learnt. The second is a detailed look at how the story is represented in art; on the Eastern pediment of the Parthenon and in a Roman visual interpretation of the story. Students can be very much encouraged to compare and contrast the two interpretations of the story in art as a challenge task, with a view to looking at which is the more accurate according to the myth. There are a number of worksheets contained within the .ppt file which are located as slides in the appropriate place that they be used in the lesson. These can be printed straight from Power Point itself. Links to videos which help to consolidate students learning are also included.

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.