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The class-teacher's account:
Richard Ousley from Learning through Action visited Year Five of St Francis Primary School in South Ascot and took the pupils to the ruins of Ancient Greek buildings where they handled pottery, jewellery and coins that had been retrieved in an archaeological dig. Richard told his spellbound audience about the mythological gods and how they influenced the way of life in Ancient Greece.
The children were transported back in time to a market place in Ancient Greece Fifth century BC where they met a trader, looked at his goods of foods, pottery and metal, and tried on the clothes of the time. They were much lighter and less constrictive than school uniform!
Family life was also very different to today. Men and women rarely entertained together. Greek women had very little freedom outside the home but in the home they were in charge (some things don’t change). However the women were not expected to do the housework themselves, as they had slaves.
The children learned about Athens which was the strongest city in Greece but with the rival city of Sparta getting stronger and stronger because the boys there trained from the age of seven to be soldiers. The St Francis’ children were able to try on the helmets and carried the shields of the armies of Ancient Greece.
Finally the children learned about the rise of democracy and went to the assembly to see how the city was ruled. Any citizen could propose a new law and all citizens were allowed to vote for or against. However as women and slaves were not classified as citizens they were denied a vote. Class five proposed that woman should become citizens and their new Greek trader friend was shocked that the vote went in favour of their proposal. He said that it certainly would never have happened in his day and as for woman rulers…. It didn’t bear thinking about!
The day in Ancient Greece ended with time for play. They had to chose between ‘knucklebones’ to games like marbles or jacks or the hoop and stick, but instead they opted for the great tug of war.
More details and photographs available on the St. Francis Primary School website:
Ancient Greece,
Ancient Britain/Romans
Read more about LTA's Living History programme and Lesson Support Projects, and see them in action in our Media Gallery.
