The city-states of Ancient Greece
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can name some of the city-states of Ancient Greece and describe some of the similarities and differences between them.
Key learning points
- Ancient Greece was made up of many city-states (polises) like Athens, Sparta and Corinth.
- All the Greek polises spoke the same language and worshipped the same gods; they had a shared culture.
- Although all polises were different, they had some similarities such as the agora, a big marketplace.
- In each polis, a temple was built at the highest point of the city (the acropolis).
- Each polis also had a gymnasium for men to exercise in, and a theatre where plays were performed.
Keywords
City-state - a city-state is a city that rules itself and the land around it
Polis - a polis is the Ancient Greek word for a city-state
Culture - culture is the language, customs, ideas, and art of a particular group of people
Temple - a temple is a building where a god or gods are worshipped
Common misconception
The city-states had only differences; they had nothing common with each other.
The biggest link between the city-states is that they were all part of Ancient Greece. They must have had similarities as well as differences because they were all part of the same ancient civilisation.
Teacher tip
Ask pupils to think about cities in the UK. What type of buildings can be found in most cities today? What do people do in them? Pupils could compare two UK cities and consider how they are similar and how they are different.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each city-state to the type of society it is known for.
seafaring
militaristic
Q2.What are Greek myths?
Q3.Match the Ancient Greek gods and goddesses to the correct facts.
king of the gods
queen of the gods
son of Zeus and Hera
king of the underworld
goddess of the harvest
daughter of Demeter
Q4.In Ancient Greek culture, where were the 12 most important gods and goddesses believed to live?
Q5.In Ancient Greek culture, who made sure that destiny was fulfilled? The
Q6.True or false? The underworld was an Ancient Greek city-state.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Ancient Greece, what was a polis?
Q2.Which of these was a marketplace in Ancient Greece?
Q3.In Ancient Greece, people were entertained by watching .
Q4.Match the places to the descriptions.
a temple built high on a hill in Athens
an area built high up overlooking the city
a place where goods were bought and sold
a place where men were allowed but women were not
what people did in temples in Ancient Greece
Q5.Which of these was the same in all the city-states of Ancient Greece?
Q6.Complete the name of this Ancient Greek polis: C .
To help you plan your 4 history lesson on: The city-states of Ancient Greece, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 history lesson on: The city-states of Ancient Greece, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the Ancient Greek civilisation: what do we know about ancient Greece? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.