What it meant to be a Roman
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how ideas about what it meant to be a Roman changed over time.
Key learning points
- At first to be Roman meant to be from the city of Rome.
- To be a Roman was often associated with power and military strength.
- The idea of how Rome should be ruled changed a lot over time.
- Even when Rome fell, there was still a ‘Roman’ Empire in the East: the Byzantines.
- A good description of how ideas about what it meant to be Roman changed will use knowledge from across this unit.
Keywords
Ideology - an ideology is a set of beliefs and ideas held by one person or shared by a group of people
Disciplined - to be disciplined is to behave in a controlled manner by following particular rules
Common misconception
In ancient times, being Roman meant being from the city of Rome.
Initially, being Roman meant being from the city of Rome but later it included people who followed Roman ideology all over the Roman world.
Teacher tip
Invite children to explore what it meant to be Roman by dressing as a Roman, for example, a Roman emperor, Roman king, a Roman citizen, a Roman senator or Roman legionary.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.According to the myth, __________ was the founder of Rome.
Q2.Place the following events in the correct order, starting with the earliest.
Q3.The Byzantine Empire was also known as the __________ Roman Empire.
Q4.Match the Roman person to their title.
Q5.The capital of the Byzantine Empire was...
Q6.Match the word to its meaning.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is an ideology?
Q2.Match the person to their title.
Q3.In 286 CE, the Roman Empire became too large to manage. What was the consequence of this?
Q4.Match the words about the Roman military to their definitions.
Q5.Place these events in the correct order, starting with the earliest.
Q6.What did it mean to be Roman?
To help you plan your 4 history lesson on: What it meant to be a Roman, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 history lesson on: What it meant to be a Roman, 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 The Romans: what did it mean to be a Roman? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.