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Teaching topic: Ancient Rome: Cross-curricular opportunities

This guide pulls together resources on Ancient Rome for teaching purposes

Suggestion: Eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii in AD79

Geography curriculum

  • Rocks and soils

Also: STEM and ICT (this animation)

Suggested integration of Roman myths across the Irish primary curriculum

English language curriculum

  • experiencing a different genre of literature; a variety of text
  • retelling stories 
  • responding to characters and events in a story (likes, dislikes, empathy) 
  • discussing events in a story

Ethical education (Learn together curriculum)

  • making decisions (What would you do?)
  • ERB (education about religious beliefs / belief systems)
  • human rights; slavery (equality and justice)

SPHE curriculum

  • ideas of citizenship
  • resolving conflict
  • national, European and wider communities
  • Also: Strand unit: media education
    • distinguishing between fact and fiction

Ancient Rome in the Irish primary history curriculum

Strand: Working as an historian (all)

  • Time and chronology
  • Change and continuity
  • Cause and effect
  • Using evidence
  • Synthesis and communication
  • Empathy

Strand: Early peoples and ancient societies

  • Romans

Strand: Story

  • Stories from the lives of people in the past
  • Myths and legends

Suggested integration of Roman artefacts across the Irish primary curriculum

History curriculum

  • using evidence

Visual arts curriculum

  • looking and responding to shape, form, paint and colour etc.
  • making drawings

Science curriculum

  • observing, sorting and classifying (working scientifically)
  • materials (properties and characteristics)
  • designing and making

Suggested integration of other aspects of Ancient Rome across the Irish primary curriculum

Science curriculum

  • science and the environment (see Roman weaponry)

Mathematics curriculum

  • number (see Roman numerals)

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