Ancient Greece Lessons and Resources
Explore Ancient Greece at KS2
Explore the achievements and legacy of the ancient Greeks, from life in Athens and Sparta to democracy, myth, warfare, the Olympic Games and their influence on the modern world.
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Everything for this history topic in one place
The enquiry sequence
Enquiry-based lessons and resources
18 activities
Ancient Greece – end of unit quiz
You’ve learned about the amazing people, places, and ideas from thousands of years ago — now it’s time to see what you remember! In this quiz, you’ll answer questions about…
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Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – Ancient Greece
A study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world With its emphasis squarely on the achievements and legacy of the Greeks, this topic is much…
Read MoreAncient Greece – assessment task – Life for women in Ancient Greece
This is a Year 6 task which focuses on Key Element 2a : characteristic features of life for men women and children and has a challenging supplementary question on interpretations which allows…
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Ancient Greece knowledge organiser – KS2
In your study of Ancient Greece you will learn how a civilization that flourished over 2500 years ago still influences our lives today. Even the Olympic games come from this…
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Planning for teaching Ancient Greece KS2
The main foci throughout this planner are: Ideas, Beliefs, Attitudes (especially the role of women); Way of life (contrasting Athens with Sparta and grasping that ideas flourished in a society…
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Ancient Greece – KQ1 Part 1 – How can we possibly know so much about the Ancient Greeks who lived over 2,500 years ago?
Any study of ancient Greek society must begin with an appreciation of the physical features of Greece. Landform and climate do not explain the vast and varied achievements of the…
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Ancient Greece – KQ1 Part 2 – Theseus and the Minotaur: Is there any evidence for the legend?
This KS2 smart task places pupils in the role of detectives trying to prove that the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur may actually have been been a fact. First…
Read MoreAncient Greece – KQ1 Part 2 – Background information
This short article provides some background information to support your teaching of Key Question 1 Part 2. Set the lesson in a chronological framework. It is probably worth chunking up…
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Ancient Greece – KQ2 Part 1 – What can we work out about everyday life in Ancient Athens?
There are three distinct parts to Key Question 2 but each centrally based around the need for pupils to use evidence of different forms. The introductory PowerPoint shows 4 contrasting…
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Ancient Greece – KQ2 Part 2 – Ancient Greek vases: the answer lies on the pot
This KS2 history lesson, in which the decoration of a Greek pot is slowly revealed, features two cracking activities designed to set pupils thinking deeply, laterally and creatively. It is…
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Ancient Greece – KQ2 Part 3 – What was life like for women in Ancient Greece?
This simple lesson on life for women in Ancient Greece, based around a PowerPoint presentation, makes an excellent contribution to literacy and also makes pupils aware of the nature of…
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Ancient Greece – KQ3 Part 1 – Why was Athens able to be so strong in the 5th and 6th century BC?
As well as recapping Athens’ natural advantages (coastline to trade by sea, expand into colonies and capture slaves) and their natural resources (silver mines) pupils focus on the significance of…
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Ancient Greece – KQ3 Part 2 – The Battle of Marathon. A history mystery
This lesson on the Battle of Marathon makes a major contribution to pupils’ thinking skills. They are presented with a paradox. How could the David of Athens beat the Goliath…
Read MoreAncient Greece – KQ3 Part 3 – comparing six contrasting interpretations of the original Marathon run
Interesting session comparing six contrasting interpretations of the original Marathon run, followed by analysis of which to believe and understanding of why we have so many versions. Introduce with slide…
Read MoreAncient Greece – KQ3 Part 3 – Additional Information – 10 Things Your Pupils Need To Know About Pheidippides ’Marathon’ Run
1. Herodotus makes no mention of the run from Marathon to Athens The principal source for the battle of Marathon is the Greek historian Herodotus. He makes no mention of…
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Ancient Greece – KQ3 Part 4 – Consequences of the battle of Marathon: Bells and whistles – Smart task
Really fun lesson called bells and whistles in which team have to make the appropriate sound depending on whether the consequence mentioned on the PowerPoint referred to Athens or Persia….
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Ancient Greece – KQ4 Part 1 – role play on building the Parthenon
This full lesson is a role-play activity looking at Greek democracy in the context of the rebuilding of the Parthenon. It starts with a link to the building of the…
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Ancient Greece – KQ4 Part 2 – Making Greek democracy come to life – a ‘smashing’ lesson
This is a really fun, practical lesson involving smashed pottery, writing in Ancient Greek through black wax and deciphering each other’s writing . Pupils actually decipher the names of people…
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Ancient Greece – KQ4 Part 3 – Would you have preferred to live in Athens or Sparta? Comparing life in Athens and Sparta: a short smart task
One way of bringing home to pupils what was so special about life in Ancient Athens is to compare it with life in Sparta. Also one of the strongest city-states,…
Read MoreAncient Greece – KQ4 Part 2 Additional information – Ancient Greek democracy. Or what links Red painted rope, an idiot ,and piloting the ship.
This article supports the fully resourced outstanding lesson on democracy that can be found here Democracy is made from two words: Demos means people, Kratos mean power Interesting fact The…
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Ancient Greece – KQ5 Part 1 – What can we tell about the Ancient Greeks from a study of their Olympics?
We thought we would offer you a range of different cameos showing how the history of the Olympics could be imaginatively integrated into your current teaching. The teaching activities below…
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Ancient Greece – KQ5 Part 2 – What can we tell about the Ancient Greeks from their interest in the theatre?
This key question is divided into two distinct parts, starting with Part 1 – the Olympics. This has its own outstanding fully-resourced series of tasks which can be found on…
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Ancient Greece – KQ6 Part 1 – Under the Cloth: sorting the muddled collection. Is it all Greek to you?
Step 1 To introduce the notion of the Greeks having a major influence on our lives today use the activity called Under the cloth. Simply place copies of the pictures…
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Ancient Greece – KQ6 Part 2 – Short KS2 task on the Ancient Greek legacy: language
This is a fun activity looking at the contribution the Ancient Greeks have made to our language. Great for literacy. Pupils are given two different stories of 10 year-old children…
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Ancient Greece – KQ6 Part 3 – How Great is your Greek?
Pupils have to select a team of 11 Great Greeks. They do this by preparing and then evaluating 14 different presentations about 14 Ancient Greeks as explained on slide 2…
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Ancient Greece – KQ6 Part 4 – What did the Greeks do for us? Evaluating the video
This task puts pupils in the position as evaluators of a BBC film: BBC Bitesize – Watch: What did the ancient Greeks do for us? Instead of taking everything the…
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Ancient Greece: Short task on using Greek pots
What can I do with just one Greek pot in the resource cupboard? Collaborative and creative storyboarding At the core of this activity is the development of pupils’ creative imagination…
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How to teach Ancient Greece to Key Stage 2
To all intents and purposes, the ancient Greek planning and all the outstanding lessons fit just as perfectly with the current curriculum as well as the existing one. The only…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.