Towns in Roman Britain
I can describe how many Roman towns in Britain were designed.
Towns in Roman Britain
I can describe how many Roman towns in Britain were designed.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The largest settlements built by the Celts were small hillforts.
- The Ancient Romans introduced towns, connected by roads across Britain.
- Cirencester (Corinium Dobunnorum) was Roman Britain's second largest town.
- Towns like Cirencester were designed in grids with the forum in the centre and some had aqueducts.
- Some big towns like Cirencester had amphitheatres which were used for public entertainment.
Keywords
Hillfort - a Celtic hillfort was built on top of a hill and surrounded by wooden fences for protection
Amphitheatre - an amphitheatre was a large arena that hosted public entertainment like gladiator fights
Forum - a forum was an important area in the middle of an Ancient Roman town where people would meet
Aqueduct - an aqueduct was a series of bridges used to transport clean drinking water to towns
Common misconception
Pupils may think that all people in Roman Britain lived in Roman towns.
Make it clear to pupils that although many people came to the towns, Britain remained largely rural, with lots of small Celtic settlements.
To help you plan your year 4 history lesson on: Towns in Roman Britain, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 4 history lesson on: Towns in Roman Britain, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the The Romans: what impact did the Romans have on Britain? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
walls
roof
Exit quiz
6 Questions
series of bridges used to transport clean drinking water to towns
large arena for public entertainment
the most important meeting area in a town