Summary
This ESL lesson for B2 English students takes them on an engaging journey through Ancient Rome. Using a captivating video quiz, students will expand their historical vocabulary and practice essential grammar structures. Activities include lively discussions, listening comprehension tasks, vocabulary matching, and guided grammar exercises. The lesson culminates in a speaking activity, encouraging students to share their thoughts on Rome's enduring legacy.
This material is designed to generate meaningful conversation about history and provide practical communication tools for discussing facts and past events.
Activities
- A warm-up discussion to activate prior knowledge about Ancient Rome and encourage personal connections to history.
- Listening comprehension based on an "Ancient Rome Quiz" video, where students fill in blanks to grasp key facts and vocabulary.
- A vocabulary matching exercise to familiarize students with core Roman terms like Gladiator, Aqueduct, and Empire.
- A grammar focus section introducing and practicing the Past Simple Passive through multiple-choice questions.
- Vocabulary in context exercises, applying learned Roman terms to complete sentences.
- Advanced reading comprehension with true or false statements, reinforcing details from the video.
- Grammar practice: transforming active voice sentences into the Past Simple Passive.
- Speaking practice with discussion questions, prompting students to articulate their views on Ancient Rome's influence and fascinating aspects.
Are you not entertained?
And this is what you think of us.
O tempora! O mores!
Salvete! Minerva here—
esteemed Roman goddess of reason, wisdom, handicrafts, and war.
It’s come to my attention that many of you have been thinking about Ancient Rome...
a lot.
But how much do you really know?
I’ll be the judge.
Let’s play a little game I like to call duo vera et mendacium!
Or, to the rest of you: two truths and a lie.
Let's meet our three brave contestants.
And let’s show them what they’re playing for!
An all-expense paid cruise aboard one of Caligula’s pleasure barges!
Prepare to be wined and dined on a trip you’ll never forget—
well, you’ll probably forget.
As for the losers...
The die is cast! Prepare to spot the lie!
A. Gladiators had their own guilds.
B. Most gladiatorial fights ended before anyone died.
C. Gladiators were from an enslaved class.
And I thought this was an easy one.
It’s true that from their introduction around the 3rd century BCE,
Roman gladiators were often enslaved or convicted criminals,
but this changed by the 1st century CE.
After the opening of the Colosseum in 80 CE,
freemen and former soldiers began signing up for a life in the arena,
lured by the potential for fame and regular employment.
They even formed their own guilds,
which organized funerals and provided pensions
for gladiators’ families if they were to die.
But it took a lot of time and money to train a gladiator,
so it wouldn’t make any sense to have them fighting to the death—
at least not all the time.
Moving on to fashion:
A. The toga was the cornerstone of daily Roman dress.
B. Many Roman women wore dresses made with Chinese silk.
C. Urine was the primary laundry detergent for Roman clothes.
While male Roman citizens did wear togas,
they were strictly for ceremonial and official events.
And they were worn over clothing, like tunics, never on their own.
That would be indecent.
As indecent as some writers called the flimsy Chinese silk dresses
that became fashionable amongst upper class Roman women
in the 1st century CE.
And finally, the ammonia in urine
does indeed make for an excellent stain-fighting solution,
which is why Roman launderers often placed buckets on street corners
to collect the urine of passersby.
That reminds me, next question!
A. Many Roman homes featured a vomitorium,
a room where people could vomit after overindulging.
B. The Pythagoreans,
who followed the teachings of the Greek mathematician Pythagoras,
embraced a vegetarian diet.
C. A favorite Roman condiment was sauce made from fermented fish guts.
While vomit and vomitoria come from the same root,
meaning “to spew forth,”
a vomitorium is simply a passage through which spectators spewed
from amphitheaters or arenas into the street.
Purging was a common medical treatment,
but it certainly wasn't prescribed to make room for more fish gut sauce.
As for Pythagoras, there were more than three sides to the man,
I’ll have you know.
He was a philosopher, and his followers embraced his belief
that eating animal flesh increased aggressive behavior.
We’re all tied up.
But this last question is sure to separate the true Romano-files
from the Romano-flakes.
A. The city of Rome was sacked twice during the 5th century CE.
B. The last western Roman emperor was Romulus Augustulus.
C. The Roman Empire fell in 476 CE.
Just as I thought!
The very idea that Rome fell is... complicated.
It’s true that by 476 the empire looked very different.
By the 4th century,
it had permanently split into eastern and western halves,
each with its own emperor.
The last emperor in the west, Romulus Augustulus,
was overthrown in 476 CE in a military coup.
But the Germanic general who replaced him didn’t make sweeping changes.
Roman political and cultural life endured, and military conquests continued—
at least until the eastern Emperor Justinian
led a devastating invasion of Italy in the 530s.
In the east, the Roman Empire survived for a thousand years,
becoming what you now call the Byzantine Empire.
That makes contestant number 3 our big winner!
Enjoy the spoils!
As for our losers, better luck next time.
Here's hoping there is one.
Vocabulary focus
The vocabulary section introduces essential terms related to Ancient Rome, such as Gladiator, Aqueduct, Empire, Ceremonial, Senate, and Legion. Students will learn to recognize and use these words in context, enriching their ability to discuss historical topics.
Grammar focus
This lesson concentrates on the Past Simple Passive. This grammatical structure is crucial for discussing historical events where the action is more significant than the agent, or when the agent is unknown. The structure is was/were + past participle. For example: "The Roman roads were built to connect all parts of the vast empire."
