Roman Republic · 494-287 BC

Patricians and plebeians: the Struggle of the Orders

Rome's ordinary citizens, the plebeians, went on strike: they walked out of the city and refused to fight. Students follow how they won tribunes, written laws and a share of power.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, 494 BC to 300 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Rome's ordinary citizens, the plebeians, went on strike: they walked out of the city and refused to fight. Students follow how they won tribunes, written laws and a share of power.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain the difference between patricians and plebeians in early Rome.
  • Describe how the plebeians used the secession (a mass walkout) to win rights.
  • Put three milestones in order: the first tribunes, the Twelve Tables and the Lex Hortensia.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

494 BC

A small city at war

Open the map in 494 BC and zoom in on Rome. Rome fought its neighbors almost every year, and plebeians made up most of the army. Why did that give them power?

Open this view on the map
b

450 BC

Laws for all to see

Turn on Historical Events and move to 450 BC. Find the Political Events marker for the Twelve Tables in Rome. Why does it matter that laws are written down in public?

Open this view on the map
c

300 BC

Rome grows

Drag the time slider from 400 BC to 300 BC. Rome's territory grows while the plebeians win their rights. Do you think the two are connected?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Patricians were born into a small group of old families. Why might birth decide who has power in early societies?
  2. In 494 BC the plebeians simply left the city. Why was a walkout such a strong weapon?
  3. A tribune could stop an action by saying "veto" (I forbid). Why is the power to say no so important?
  4. The Twelve Tables were written down around 450 BC. How does writing laws down protect ordinary people?
  5. By 287 BC rich plebeians could become consuls, but poor Romans stayed poor. Who really won the Struggle of the Orders?
4

Game round

10 min

No ruler in Rule History fits this story of ordinary citizens. Play one round as Julius Caesar, a patrician who won fame as a champion of the common people. Discuss: does Caesar continue the plebeians' long struggle, or did he use it for himself?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.