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Ancient Greece
History | UKS2 | Unit Overview

Introduction
The Ancient Greece unit will teach your class about who the Ancient Greek people were, when they lived and where and how they
were able to establish their empire. They learn how the political system worked in Ancient Greece, investigate the legacy of Athenian
Democracy and compare it with the political systems we have today. The children also compare and contrast the modern day Olympics
with the Ancient Greek events and use their mathematical skills to present their findings in the form of a Venn diagram. They also learn
about and order events from the Battle of Marathon and write in role to present the events from a specific viewpoint. In addition to this
they learn about Ancient Greek religion, research information about a variety of Greek gods and write their own Greek myth. Finally they
use historical evidence to find out about the Trojan War and use the information to write and re-enact scenes from it.

Assessment Statements
By the end of this unit...
...all children should be able to:
Say when the Ancient Greek people lived
and order some events from the time on a
Home Learning timeline.
Ancient Greece Timeline Activity: Children choose one event from Describe some key facts about the Battle
the Ancient Greek timeline and then conduct their own research to of Marathon and the Trojan War and
find out more about it. answer questions to demonstrate their
understanding.
Modern Greece Vs Modern UK: Children research and record details
Talk about some Ancient Greek gods and
about the modern day countries of Greece and the UK.
know some features of Greek myths.

...most children will be able to:

Explain how and why the Greek Empire was
so successful and be able to confidently
explain how the political system worked.
Describe elements of the Battle of
Marathon and the Trojan War in significant
detail and write their own Greek myth
Wider Learning containing the relevant elements.
This child friendly website provides a wealth of information about a
wide range of Ancient Greek topics. Examine artefacts in order to draw
conclusions about what life was like in
This is a website that provides a lot of information on many aspects Ancient Greece.
of Ancient Greece. Great for research!
...some children will be able to:
This is a website that provides details about a school based
Compare and contrast modern day
workshop on Ancient Greece.
political systems with those from Ancient
Greece showing a full understanding of
the concepts and appreciation of how the
Athenian system shaped modern politics.
Write detailed accounts of key events from
the Ancient Greek time and ask and answer
questions which extend and deepen their
understanding.
Analyse a variety of evidence and artefacts
and use these to support their conclusions
about what life in Ancient Greece was like.

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Lesson Breakdown Resources

1. Who Were the Ancient Greeks?

Know and understand significant aspects of history: nature
of ancient civilisations, expansion and dissolution empires
in the context of learning about the Ancient Greek Empire:
How did it grow and why? Develop a chronologically secure
knowledge and understanding of the Greek timeline.
I can explain how and why empires grow.
I can explain the chronology of a timeline.

2. Ancient Greek Democracy

Note connections, contrasts and trends over time. Ask
questions about change, cause, similarity and difference in
the context of learning how the ruling systems in Ancient
Greece changed, before the democratic system, after and
in the modern day.
I can explain how the political system worked in
Ancient Greece.
I can compare this system with other political
systems.

3. Ancient Greek Olympics

Understand our knowledge of the past is constructed from
a range of sources e.g. Greek vases. Note connections,
contrasts and trends over e.g. How the Olympics have
changed over time but how some features have remained
the same.
I can learn about the past from sources including art.

4. The Battle of Marathon

Make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame
historically-valid questions and create their own structured
accounts, including written narratives and analyses of the
Battle of Marathon.
I can compare different city-states and recall facts
about the Battle of Marathon.

5. Greek Gods and Goddesses

Understand the methods of historical enquiry, how
evidence is used to make historical claims when learning
about the gods and goddesses.
I can find out about Ancient Greek gods and
goddesses and am able to use this knowledge to
plan my own Greek myth.

6. The Trojan War Camera

Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed
from a range of sources. Make connections, draw contrasts,
analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and
create their own structured accounts, including written
narratives and analyses in the context of finding out about
the Trojan War.
I can use a range of sources to find out about the
past and then present my findings.

National Curriculum Aim Lesson Context Child Friendly

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