Assessing pupils’ understanding of the legacy of the Roman Empire on life in Britain

This task is designed to elicit not just pupils’ knowledge of a range of different aspects of life today which have been influenced by Roman occupation but also their grasp of significance. Can they select the more important aspects and not just remember random ideas from a list, just the ones they can recall. So its not about the number of things they know but what they have truly understood. Do they show an ability to select things of enduring influence which have a major impact today?

By offering three images to get them started, even lower-attaining pupils are prompted to say something relevant. The question is: can they comment on their impact and can they then add and explain other ideas not shown? In this way pupils can demonstrate the depth of their understanding less by the amount they write and detail they include and more by realising that some aspects of the Romans’ legacy are deemed to be of greater importance.

Whilst just completing the six boxes with relevant ideas is a real achievement for some pupils the higher-attaining can go beyond, within the

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