Ancient Greece - Pre-Teach: Mastermind

Before starting our first History topic of Ancient Greece, Year 4 learned who the Ancient Greeks were and why they were important. After discovering what we would be learning about in this topic, we were challenged to complete a Mastermind quiz to test our understanding. Not only were we challenged by the forthcoming topic, we also had to remember what we had learned during Year 3!

Ancient Greece - Chronology and Location

Year 4 began their History topic by learning all about the location of the Ancient Greek empire. By identifying key city states on a map of Ancient Greece, we are beginning to understand the importance of each province and their role in history. Additionally, we began adding key dates and events to our timeline of Ancient Greece, which will be updated with each lesson.

Timeline of Ancient Greece

Lower-school timeline 

Ancient Greece - Who were the Ancient Greeks?

To discover who the Ancient Greeks were, Year 4 have become archaeologists! After excavating the artefacts, we discussed what the artefacts could be before learning of their purpose. From this, we were able to understand the daily lives of the Ancient Greeks.

Ancient Greece - Religion and Beliefs 

To better understand the beliefs of the Ancient Greeks, we have learned all about the gods and goddesses they prayed to. Did you know the Ancient Greeks were polytheistic? This means they worshipped many different gods!

Ancient Greece - Childhood and Education  

By learning all about the education in Ancient Greece, we were able to understand how boys and girls had very different childhood experiences. However, we were amazed to discover that not only boys learned to be warriors in Sparta, but girls also had to learn to defend their homes too! We also compared the Ancient Greek childhood to modern day to better understand our similarities and differences.

Ancient Greece -  Politics

To understand the politics of Ancient Greece, Year 4 became Athenians and Spartans! After learning the Greeks invented democracy, we put our debating skills to the test to decide once and for all which province was better – Athens or Sparta?

Ancient Greece - Housing and Architecture 

By annotating a picture of an Ancient Greek home, we were able to understand and describe the features and uses of each room. Did you know men and women lived in separate rooms in Ancient Greece? We also learned some key facts about the Parthenon, the most famous temple in Ancient Greece.

Ancient Greece -  Significant Event 

Through analysis of a passage from Homer’s Iliad, we learned about the Trojan War and the importance of reliability when examining sources.

Ancient Greece - Major Figures 

After learning about the Trojan war, we created fact files about two of the war’s most important players – Achilles and Hector. We used our gained knowledge to decide who was the real hero of the Trojan war; Achilles of Greece or Hector, the Trojan prince?

Ancient Greece – Legacy

As our history topic draws to an end, we reflected on our learning to compare and contrast the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Egyptians, who we learned about in Year 3. By examining their similarities and differences, we were able to analyse two very important and interesting periods of history!

Ancient Rome - Pre-Teach: Mastermind 

In order to prepare for our next history topic, which is Ancient Rome, Year 4 learned who the Ancient Romans were and why they were important. After discovering what we would be learning about in this topic, we tested our understanding by completing a Mastermind quiz. Not only were we challenged by the forthcoming topic, we also had to remember what we had learned about our last topic, the Greeks.

Year 4 completing the mastermind quiz

Chronology and Location - Ancient Rome

Today, Year 4 used their prior knowledge of chronology in order to create a timeline of significant events within Ancient Rome. Additionally, we also explored the location of Rome along with the vast Roman Empire which was pretty impressive to say the least! 

A timeline of Ancient Rome 

A map depicting the Roman Empire 

Ancient Rome - Religion and Beliefs

Just like the Ancient Greeks, we discovered the Romans were polytheistic. In fact, did you know the Romans took a lot of inspiration from the Greeks for their own gods? The Roman gods also had a big impact on modern life, as we took some of their names to name planets and the days of the week.

Ancient Rome - Childhood and Education

Studying the education of children in Ancient Rome allowed us to understand the childhood experiences they had and compare it with our own. We also compared this with the childhood of children of Ancient Greece.

Ancient Rome - Politics

Did you know that Ancient Rome had three significant periods of rule? After learning about the kingdom, the republic and the empire, we are able to understand how Rome was such a powerful empire with formidable rulers.

Ancient Rome - Housing and Architecture

After learning about how the Roman’s lived, we were intrigued to learn what their homes were like! We also explored life in a Roman town and learned all about Rome’s famous Colosseum.

Ancient Rome - Significant Event

As Britain was of such high value to the Romans, they were determined to invade it! To help us understand why Claudius’ invasion was successful, we had to consider why Caesar’s was a failure.

Ancient Rome - Major Figure

Was Julius Caesar a good leader?

To help us answer this question, we first learned all about the life of Julius Caesar, which was very interesting! Using this information, we decided if we were part of the proposition or opposition of Caesar’s leadership.

Year 4 presenting their argument