LKS2 Topic Title: the Romans in Britain Block I: Roman Legacy

LKS2 Topic Title: The Romans in Britain Block I: Roman Legacy

Session 1What have the Romans ever done for us?
National Curriculum / English:Check that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of the words in context; Speak audibly and fluently when reading a poem aloud; Understand the etymology of words to understand the relationships between meaning and spelling; Use dictionaries to check the meaning of words they have read; Use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary;Spell words correctly from the statutory list.
Teaching Objectives / To develop an understanding of the Roman legacy
National Curriculum / History:Note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms; Ask and address historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference and significance; Begin to understand the legacy left by the Romans on Britain and its impact on our subsequent history.
Teaching Objectives / To understand how Roman ideas still impact our lives today.
Resources
Dictionaries; Copy of the poem; Root word worksheet, Roman legacies sheet. / Weblinks
Judith Kerr reading her poem aloud.
Whole class: Listen to the poem about Romans in Britain written and read by Judith Nicholls (session resource). Discuss her choice of words ‘gave us’. What does this mean? Gave who? Was it just at that time that Britain ‘got’ something, or have we still ‘got’ something today from the Romans? What have the Romans ever done for us? Discuss the word legacy, does anyone know what it means? Write the word on the board and ask the chn to find the definition in a dictionary (1 between 2). Remind them how to use a dictionary efficiently, look at the first letter, L is in the middle of the alphabet so you can turn straight to the middle and go from there. Look at the second letter, etc. What is the legacy of the Roman Empire? The legacy of the Romans is extremely important. Many things that form part of everyday life were introduced or improved by the Romans. Over the centuries since the collapse of the Roman Empire, Romans ideas, literature, art and architecture have influenced many people around the world. With a partner,chn read the poem. Use a dictionary to find the definition of any unknown words. What things have remained today?Show chn the set of things that could be said to have been given to us by the Romans. Discuss these – do chn agree? Can they think of other things? Begin a class list named ‘Roman Legacy’. Look at the words “aqueduct” and centuries in the poem. Chn should all know what the words mean, either from previous lessons, or by checking in their dictionaries. Explain about root words. A ROOT WORD is the most basic form of a word. It is the base from which another word is made and it is the part of a word that holds the most meaning. Every word either is a root or has a root. Roots combine with prefixes and suffixes to make words.
All children
Chn use a dictionary to find the definition of the root words from the list (session resource). If necessary have an alphabet clearly visible to aid chn in finding the words efficiently. Chn write the definition on their sheet. Can they think of any other words that have the same root word, e.g. /cycle/ - bicycle, tricycle, motorcycle?
Support chn who need it by modelling dictionary use.If possible, identify a group to work with a TA.
Plenary / Look back at the list of Roman legacies made so far. What impact do some of these Roman legacies have on our lives today? Discuss some other legacies not mentioned in the poem (session resource). Can we live comfortably without some of them?
Outcomes / Children will

Understand that there are some things we depend on today which are available because of the Romans
Understand the meaning of words and use this to help improve their spelling

We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.