LKS2 Topic: the Romans in Britain Block D: Roman Entertainment
LKS2 Topic: The Romans in Britain Block D: Roman Entertainment
Session 2 Learn about Roman chariot racingNational Curriculum / History: Understand how knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources; Ask historically valid questions and construct responses based on relevant historical information; Learn about entertainment in Roman times.
Teaching Objectives / To investigate Roman entertainment from a range of sources.
National Curriculum / D&T: Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design.
Teaching Objectives / To develop ideas and designs of moving vehicles (chariots) through discussion and prototypes.
Resources
Topic books; Construction equipment; Variety of toy vehicles; Images of chariot racing; Image of Circus Maximus. / Weblinks
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/leisure/ BBC website about Roman leisure
Whole class: We have looked at gladiators and have thought about other forms of Roman entertainment, e.g. plays, music, poetry recitals. Gladiator battles were a popular form of entertainment for the Roman masses which tells us they really enjoyed competitive sports – particularly violent ones! Has anyone seen pictures or read about Chariot racing? What was it? It was men, or boys as they are lighter, racing on stand up chariots pulled by horses. Show chn a picture of a chariot racer (session resource). The most famous racecourse in the Roman Empire was the Circus Maximus in Rome. Like the amphitheatres there were racecourses all over the Empire. Show a picture of the Circus Maximus (session resource) and its position in old Rome. Explain to chn that the races could be violent, it was not uncommon for participants (people/horses) to be injured or even die. A day out at the races was even more popular than the gladiators. The Circus Maximus actually seated up to 250,000 people. Roman families sat together, unlike in the Colosseum where women sat separately. They liked to bet. Watch the BBC clip ‘What was the Roman Chester festival like?’ Watch the clip again. This time, ask chn to roughly sketch (whiteboards/scrap paper) what the chariot looked like – shape, size, where it joined the horses, how many horses there were, etc. Explain that over the next few sessions the class will be designing and making a chariot.
Easy/Medium/Hard You need construction equipment with wheels
Split chn into 3 groups, depending on how much construction equipment is available. Rotate the groups through all these activities:
1) Use construction equipment (Lego®, Meccano®, etc.) to build a moving vehicle.
2) Use non-fiction texts to find out more facts about Roman chariot racing.
3) Play with a wide range of toy vehicles (lorries, cars, buses, prams, caravans, carriages, wheelbarrows)
Teacher to support as needed.
Plenary / Chn show the vehicles they have constructed and explain what they’ve used to build them. Do they work? Share the new information that chn have discovered.
Outcomes / Children will
· Understand that chariot racing was a form of entertainment for the Romans
· Have an image of a Roman chariot and can imagine what a race would have been like
· Make a moving vehicle from construction equipment
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