History · Year 4

Active learning ideas

From Republic to Empire: Augustus

Active learning builds empathy and historical perspective by letting students embody roles and examine evidence directly. For this topic, moving beyond lectures to experiences like role play or collaborative investigation helps Year 4 students grasp complex social hierarchies and fairness issues in ancient Rome.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: History - The Roman Empire and its Impact on Britain

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 45 min · Whole Class

Role Play: The Senate Debate

Assign students roles as senators and key figures during Augustus's rise. Have them debate the merits of a single ruler versus the Senate, culminating in a vote on Augustus's proposed powers.

Differentiate between a Republic and an Empire in terms of leadership.

Facilitation Tip

During the Role Play: A Day in the Forum activity, assign clear roles with props so students physically experience the boundaries between Patricians, Plebeians, and enslaved people.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 40 min · Small Groups

Timeline Creation: Augustus's Reign

In small groups, students research and create a visual timeline of Augustus's major achievements and reforms, such as building projects, military victories, and administrative changes.

Explain how Augustus consolidated power after Caesar's death.

Facilitation Tip

During the Think-Pair-Share: Rights and Responsibilities activity, provide sentence stems to scaffold academic language about fairness and status.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Jigsaw
• 30 min · Pairs

Compare and Contrast: Republic vs. Empire

Students work in pairs to create a Venn diagram or chart comparing the key features of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, focusing on leadership, decision-making, and citizen rights.

Assess the methods Augustus used to bring peace and stability to Rome.

Facilitation Tip

During the Collaborative Investigation: The Roman House activity, assign small groups specific areas of the domus to research so each student contributes to the class model.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by balancing narrative with inquiry. Use primary sources like coins or slave sale notices to make abstract social structures tangible. Avoid oversimplifying by separating wealth from status, and give students time to process the moral complexity of slavery without rushing to judgment. Research shows that concrete activities like role play help young learners retain hierarchical concepts better than abstract explanations alone.

Students will demonstrate understanding by comparing social classes, questioning power structures, and explaining how Augustus transformed Rome. Look for thoughtful discussions, accurate use of vocabulary, and respectful debate about historical fairness.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role Play: A Day in the Forum, watch for students assuming all enslaved people looked alike or came from one place.

  During the same activity, display diverse primary source images of enslaved people from different regions on the classroom walls so students notice varied clothing, tools, or languages that reflect diverse origins.

• During Think-Pair-Share: Rights and Responsibilities, watch for students equating wealth with status.

  During the Think-Pair-Share, provide a list of wealthy Plebeians from history (e.g., merchants or freedmen) and ask students to compare their rights and social recognition to Patricians in a shared table.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Jigsaw