LKS2 Topic Title: The Romans in Britain Block I: Roman Legacy
Session 4 Law and Order
National
PSHE: To begin to understand the role of law and the justice system in our society.
Curriculum
Teaching
To begin to understand the role of law and the justice system in our society.
Objectives
National
History: To note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of
Curriculum historical terms; To ask and address historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and
difference and significance.
Teaching
Objectives
Resources
To understand that our system of law and order is based on that created by the Romans.
Weblinks
A copy of the school rules; Images of the 12
http://ancientromanlegalsystem.weebly.com/the-twelve-tables.html Tables; Image of a Roman courthouse.
The twelve tables of the Roman legal system.
Whole class: You will need a list of the School Rules for this lesson. If there isn’t one, create a list of expectations.
The laws and the ways in which we determine what to do with someone who is accused of breaking a law came originally
from the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar ruled as a dictator in 100 BC and during this time created a set of new laws although
there is no set date to when Roman law was exactly formed. What does a legal system do? Jot down responses from the
class. The basics of a legal system are to prevent criminal activity and to provide justice and stability throughout a
community. Without a legal system, many people believe that chaos would be inevitable. In the course of the Roman Empire,
there was much discussion about the need for laws. In particular, the ordinary working folk (plebians) wanted their rights
upheld by law, so that if someone harmed them or stole something from them, this would be against the law. They also felt
that the laws should be the same across the whole Roman empire. So in 449 BCE the Twelve Tables were completed - these
were lists of the laws which would apply right across the Roman empire and to which all Roman citizens were subject.
Display an image of the 12 Tables being erected. The original Twelve Tables were destroyed in 387 BCE, but there were many
versions and Cicero (a famous speech-maker) tells us that all Roman citizens had to learn the Twelve Tables. Some of the
unofficial copies of the Twelve Tables found by archaeologists were written in early Latin. Display an image of one of the
fragments found by archaeologists. Display a copy of the school/class rules. Choose some to focus on, e.g. walking not
running in the school corridors, tucking your chair under when you leave the table, hanging up your coat, staying on the left
on the stairs. Discuss the first one. What could happen if we did not know about this rule? Chn discuss possible scenarios
and feedback to the class.
Activity Split chn into groups of 4 or 5.
Hand each group one of the remaining school rules. They discuss possible ramifications of not knowing this rule. They create
a short (1 minute) role-play demonstration of what could happen if no one in the school knew this rule.
Plenary
Outcomes
Each group performs their demonstration without telling the class which rule they are focussing on. The rest
of the class must guess which rule they were representing. Does everyone know where our school rules are
displayed? What could we do to help someone new who isn’t sure about where to go or what is expected in
this school?
Children will
 Begin to be aware of the role of the law and justice system in our society
 Understand that our knowledge of the Roman justice system comes from a range of sources
 Know of the Twelve Tables and understand why they came into being
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We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.