Topic: Achievements of the ancient Romans

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

5th‑grade students of elementary school

I. Ancient civilizations. Pupil:

5. characterizes the most important achievements of the material and spiritual culture of the ancient world in various fields: philosophy, science, law, architecture, art, literature.

General aim of education

Students learn about the culture, art and achievements of the ancient Romans.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to list what has survived from the heritage of the ancient Romans to our times;

• to characterize what influence the Greek world had on the culture of Rome;

• to describe the examples of ancient art and science;

• to explain why we talk about the Greek and Roman cultural heritage.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks students to recall the merits and achievements of the ancient Greeks.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher begins a brainstorm, asking students what ancient Roman inventions they know and do we use them today. Students should mention latin letters and numbers, civil law, etc. The teacher complements the students' knowledge, by adding, for example, the Roman conjunctive * ad *, which we use today when sending emails in the form of the @ symbol, the Julian calendar, which was still used in the twentieth century in some regions of the world.

Realization

1. The teacher explains that the Romans were not great creators of culture and art, and their achievements and innovativeness were focused rather on social and legal fields, and building the power of the state (law, republican system, citizenship, empire). They drew many inspirations and patterns from other cultures, first Etruscan, and then the Hellenistic world. Its influence is the foundation of the legacy of the Greek‑Roman civilization. The teacher emphasizes that it does not mean that the Romans only imitated and copied the patterns of conquered cultures.

2. The teacher divides the students into groups and each group is given one field: 1 - literature, 2 - art, 3 - philosophy, 4 - law, 5 - construction and architecture. Then he asks that the students prepare a short presentation about their topics, which will include the most important achievements / works / theories / buildings, etc. and their creators. Students should also pay attention to whether the Roman achievements are innovative or have been an improvement / imitation of another culture.

3. Then the students present their work, and the teacher supplements the information, for example, when discussing literature, he can quote a fragment of * Aeneid * or Roman maxims; with art - students carry out ** Task 1 **; in philosophy, the teacher explains what rhetoric was and students perform ** Task 2 **; law – provides students with excerpts from ** the Law of the Twelve Tables **; architecture – students perform ** Exercise 1 **. The teacher explains the development of Roman culture (Romanisation) throughout the Roman Empire.

4. While working on the exercises, students use a set of cards in three colors: green, yellow and red. Using to the cards, they signal to the teacher if they have difficulties in carrying out the orders (green color – I'm doing great, yellow - I have doubts, red - I'm asking for help).

Summary

1. Summing up the lesson, the teacher asks students to list some examples of the presence of Roman culture and science in the world around them. Students should mention: civil law; civic architecture; roads, sewerage and water supply network (aqueducts); Latin alphabet; Roman numerals; literature and sentences; calendar divided into 12 months and 365 days.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: For Romans amber was one of the most valuable and most desirable products. They creating the so‑called amber route. Look for information on what countries it crossed and who participated in it.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Achievements of the ancient Romans

Roman culture developed over many centuries. Initially, it was dominated by the Etruscans, but after the conquest of the Hellenic world, the Greek culture played a leading role. Even today, despite the centuries that separate us from the fall of ancient Rome, it is still present in our daily lives. We use Roman letters and organize our lives according to the calendar that we have taken over from the Romans. Even the emails we send contain an ancient element- the popular at sign (@).

The Latin alphabet, which is used by the majority of the population in Europe, Australia and the Americas, assumed its final form and thanks to conquests had already become widespread in ancient Rome despite its Greek origins. Greek influence can be seen, however, not only in writing. Greek culture fascinated the conquerors already in ancient times, leading to permanent hellenisation, i.e. becoming subject to the influence of Greek culture and language. Roman literature, philosophy and, above all, culture and art took full advantage of the Greek world. However, this was no mere imitation. In many fields the Romans made groundbreaking discoveries and inventions that revolutionised the ancient world. The popularization and improvement of concrete and the dome vault allowed the Roman buildings not only survive to this day, but for centuries made them unrivalled masterpieces. One of the best examples is the Pantheon, a former Roman temple, the monumental 43‑metre dome of which is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world to this day.

Also in the field of law, the Romans had no equals. The first set of laws, the Law of Twelve Tables, dates back to the 5th century B.C. It regulated the most important aspects of life, for more than 1000 years becoming the basis of all Roman legislation. It was not until the 6th century A.D. that the Emperor Justinian organised and updated numerous legal acts that had been created over the centuries, thus creating the „Body of Civil Law”, the legacy of which is still in use even today.