The Romans Our Roman sessions look at what life was like in the Roman Empire for both the Romans and the local tribes, and how this Great Empire fell apart. As with all of our sessions this is lead by a costumed character from the period who brings with them a collection of replica artefacts, clothing and weapons that the children can both look at and handle to really bring the period alive. All of our interpreters use questions and role-plays to both get the children to think and to show them what life was like in the past.
A typical 1 hour Roman session will begin with an introduction to the Romans to set the scene and find out what the children already know. We then start by telling the story of how Rome went from a small village to one of the Greatest Empires of all time.
The Children are dressed as characters from the Roman Empire, learning who’s who and what life would be like for people of different stations in Roman society. Would the children rather be the Emperor or a Gladiator? We look at the Roman gods and there many feast days and how some of the legends have survived until today. The children then look at Roman numerals and we see if they can solve some Roman maths. Roman legionary training comes next, the children learn about some of the people who made up the famous Roman army and how it was trained. We try out some Roman tactics that were used hear in Britain to defeat the Celtic tribes as well as learning other ways the Romans expanded their empire. Finally we look at the Roman Legacy, what did they really do for us and how much can we still see of Roman Britain today. .................................................................................................................................................................. Romans for A day Build a model road- from sand, gravel, and small stones, in plastic trays ,(at classroom tables or outside). Compare ease of travel over sand and road surface with model cart and walking fingers. Make 'Gladiator stew' Gladiators were nicknamed the 'Barley men' as they had a very healthy, high protein low fat plant based diet and ate Barley every day. Simple meal of mixed veg, sultanas, stock, olive oil, herbs/spices and barley made in classroom as demonstration with tasting at end. Also involves some simple nutrition guidance. Pitch a temporary soldiers camp- using wooden poles, cord and sheets and defend with barricade of wooden tripods. Make costume for action figure/doll civilian toga,dress,tunic ,soldier,gladiator,slave etc. Make a mosaic- from coloured paper squares. Plan, layout and stick down as floors. (Help with repeat patterns and subject matter.) Build a ballista or onager catapult- small scale versions can be made by groups and tested outdoors. (This activity would take some time as experimentation and understanding of materials is required.
...............................................................................................................................................................................MRoman Activity Day Morning Session one - Children will build a model of a Roman forum with a market. Discussion of the various elements of the forum: the basilica (town hall/law courts), temple, shopping arcades, plus the adjacent baths. A small group of children will work with Bob, cutting, folding and pasting, to create the forum from photocopied sheets. The rest of the children will draw and colour market stalls and statues from photocopied basic templates. The completed model will be about 1 metre square. Morning Session two - What was it like in the forum on market day?This session will create a street-level impression of the market in images, words and sounds. With Bob drawing, pupils will build up a visual impression of the market and forum. What kind of people would we see? What would be being sold? What kind of activities might be taking place? The children will identify with different kinds of characters and ultimately role-play them.Year 3 pupils could be proper Romans (administrators, soldiers, businessmen); Year 4 the more well-to-do Celts from old chieftain families; Year 5 the ordinary Celts (peasant farmers, small traders and artisans); Year 6 slaves and animals.In a big drawing, Bob will sketch out the children’s ideas and suggestions. The pupils will then become the various characters depicted, and, working in pairs or small groups, develop snatches of dialogue, which can be translated into Latin (eg. A fishmonger might shout “Pisces novi!” - Fresh fish! A slave clearing a path through the crowd for his [important] master or mistress might shout “De via, Marcus Antonius!”). These, with other sound effects, will then become a ‘conducted’ sound-scape.To introduce the afternoon session another building [ready made] will be added to the model: a theatre Afternoon Play - Pupils work, probably in two groups to produce and stage short plays.
