The Layout of a Roman Town

Active learning works because students grasp the Roman approach to urban planning only when they physically engage with its geometry. Moving around, building models, and comparing town and country places abstract ideas like the cardo and decumanus into lived experience.

• Year 4
• History
• 3 activities
• 20 min–60 min

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the key components of a Roman town layout, including the grid system, forum, basilica, temples, and baths.
2. Explain the function of the forum as the central hub for Roman civic, religious, and commercial life.
3. Compare the planned urban structure of a Roman town with the less organized settlements of Iron Age Britain.
4. Design a basic map of a Roman town, incorporating essential features in their correct relative positions.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 60 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: Design a Roman Town

In small groups, students use a large grid to place essential Roman buildings (Forum, Baths, Amphitheatre, Temple). They must justify why they placed certain buildings in the centre and others near the walls.

Prepare & details

Identify the essential features of every Roman town and their functions.

Facilitation Tip: During Collaborative Investigation, move between groups to ask students to point out where the cardo and decumanus would intersect on their draft map.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Gallery Walk

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Gallery Walk: Town vs. Country

Display images of an Iron Age hillfort and a Roman town. Students move in pairs to find five major differences in how people lived, focusing on materials, layout, and public services.

Prepare & details

Explain how the Forum served as the heart of the community in Roman Britain.

Facilitation Tip: In the Gallery Walk, stand at the midpoint between town and country images and ask pairs to describe what they notice about the density of buildings and roads.

Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter

Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 20 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Forum

Show an image of a busy Roman Forum. Students pair up to list all the different activities happening (trading, voting, praying) and discuss why it was the most important place in the town.

Prepare & details

Compare how town life differed from village life in Iron Age Britain.

Facilitation Tip: During Think-Pair-Share, listen for students to link the forum’s central position with its functions: market, justice, politics and religion.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Start with a quick aerial photo of a modern grid town so students feel the shock of the Roman departure from winding Iron Age lanes. Use peer-teaching moments when one student helps another label the cardo on their own grid. Avoid overwhelming them with every building name up front; introduce amphitheatre, bathhouse, and basilica as the town evolves in the design activity.

What to Expect

Students should leave able to trace the grid on a map, name at least three public buildings, and explain why the forum was the town’s heart. They should also distinguish between urban order and rural scatter, using vocabulary such as cardo, insula, and forum with confidence.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Collaborative Investigation: Watch for students who place buildings without aligning them to the cardo and decumanus.

What to Teach Instead

Prompt them to re-measure the perpendicular lines and tape new strings on the floor so the grid matches the Roman standard.

Common Misconception

During Gallery Walk: Watch for students who say both town and country look similar.

What to Teach Instead

Ask them to count the number of buildings and straight roads in each image and explain how these features differ.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Collaborative Investigation, hand out a blank outline and ask students to label at least three key features and write one sentence explaining the forum’s purpose.

Discussion Prompt

During Think-Pair-Share, pose the question: ‘If you were a Roman mayor, what would be the most important building to place in the center and why?’ Listen for students to justify choices using functions of Roman public spaces.

Quick Check

After Gallery Walk, show images of different town features and ask students to hold up a card with the correct term or write the term and its primary function for each image.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge early finishers to add a temple and a theatre to their town using the same grid rules.
• Scaffolding for strugglers: provide a partially completed grid with the cardo and decumanus already drawn and key buildings pre-positioned.
• Deeper exploration: invite students to research how Roman surveyors laid out the original streets and report back in a mini-timeline.

Key Vocabulary

Grid System (Centuriation)	A method of dividing land into regular rectangular plots, used by the Romans for town planning and agriculture, creating straight streets.
Forum	The central public square in a Roman town, serving as the marketplace, meeting place, and the site of important civic and religious buildings.
Amphitheatre	A large oval or circular structure with tiered seating, used for public spectacles such as gladiatorial contests and animal hunts.
Basilica	A large public building in a Roman town, typically used for law courts and business transactions, often located on the forum.
Thermae	Public baths, which were important social and recreational centers in Roman towns, offering bathing, exercise, and relaxation.