Ancient Greece — Year 5 Lesson Plan
National Curriculum: History KS2 — Ancient Greece — a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world
Overview
Pupils explore Ancient Greek civilisation — its city-states, democracy, mythology, the Olympic Games, philosophy, and its lasting influence on the modern world. They examine primary and secondary sources to understand how Greek ideas in politics, science, and the arts continue to shape our lives.
Learning Objectives
- Describe key features of life in Ancient Greece, including city-states and democracy.
- Understand the significance of Greek mythology, philosophy, and the Olympic Games.
- Explain the Greek contribution to modern democracy, science, and the arts.
- Use a range of sources to investigate Ancient Greek civilisation.
Key Vocabulary
Suggested Lesson Structure
Ask pupils to think of five words connected to Ancient Greece. Collect responses on the board. Likely answers: Zeus, Olympics, columns, myths. Discuss: how many of these things still exist in some form today?
Organise teaching around four themes. City-states: Athens vs Sparta — contrast democratic Athens (citizens could vote) with militaristic Sparta (focus on warrior training). Democracy: Athens in the 5th century BC — who could vote? (free male citizens only — not women, slaves, or foreigners). How is modern democracy different? Mythology: Zeus, Athena, Poseidon — stories explaining the world. Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle — asking big questions. Olympic Games: began 776 BC; only Greek men; athletes competed naked; truce between warring city-states. Legacy: architecture (columns), medicine (Hippocratic oath), theatre, democracy, the Olympic Games, mathematics (Pythagoras), astronomy.
Source analysis: pupils examine an image of the Parthenon, an Athenian pot showing an Olympic athlete, and an extract from Pericles' Funeral Oration. For each: what does this source tell us about Greek values? What can't it tell us?
Pupils choose one aspect of Ancient Greece and create an 'Impact Card': what was it? When did it develop? How has it shaped the modern world? Give one specific example. (Options: democracy, the Olympics, philosophy, theatre, architecture, medicine.)
Gallery walk of Impact Cards. Discuss: which Greek contribution do you think has had the most lasting effect? Why? Is it always easy to tell how much of 'our' culture came from the Greeks, and how much came from other civilisations?
Common Misconceptions
- Ancient Greece was one unified country — it was a collection of independent city-states that were often at war with each other.
- Greek democracy was like modern democracy — only a small minority (free adult male citizens) could participate; women, slaves, and foreigners were excluded.
Prior Knowledge
Pupils should already be able to:
- Understanding of chronology — awareness that Ancient Greece predates Roman Britain.
- Experience analysing sources including images and written texts.
- Familiarity with the concept of legacy from other historical studies.
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