Athenian Life supports children working towards Level 3 and 4 attainment targets for History. Students can use knowledge and understanding of some of the main events, people and changes studied. They can identify events and changes during this period and how they influenced the wider world. The adventure encourages students to use information and make observations to answer questions about the past.

The following NC objectives are covered by utilising the software as part of a breadth of study based on a European history study; A study of the way of life, beliefs and achievements of the people living in Ancient Greece and the influence of their civilisation on the world today. (National Curriculum)

National Curriculum

Knowledge, skills and understanding

Chronological understanding

1) Pupils should be taught to:

1. place events, people and changes into correct periods of time.
2. use dates and vocabulary relating to the passing of time, including ancient, modern, BC, AD, century and decade.

Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past

2) Pupils should be taught:

1. about characteristic features of the periods and societies studied, including the ideas, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children in the past.
2. about the social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of the societies studied, in Britain and the wider world.
3. to identify and describe reasons for, and results of, historical events, situations, and changes in the periods studied.
4. to describe and make links between the main events, situations and changes within and across the different periods and societies studied.

Historical interpretation

3) Pupils should be taught to recognise that the past is represented and interpreted in different ways, and to give reasons for this.

Historical enquiry

4) Pupils should be taught:

1. how to find out about the events, people and changes studied from an appropriate range of sources of information, including ICT-based sources [for example, documents, printed sources, CD-ROMS, databases, pictures and photographs, music]
2. to ask and answer questions, and to select and record information relevant to the focus of the enquiry.

Organisation and communication

5) Pupils should be taught to:

1. recall, select and organise historical information
2. use dates and historical vocabulary to describe the periods studied
3. communicate their knowledge and understanding of history in a variety of ways [for example, drawing, writing, by using ICT].

Breadth of study

6) During the key stage, pupils should be taught the Knowledge, skills and understanding through a local history study, three British history studies, a European history study and a world history study.

A European history study

12) A study of the way of life, beliefs and achievements of the people living in Ancient Greece and the influence of their civilisation on the world today.

QCA Scheme of work

The software will also provide background knowledge for the following units:

• History at key stages 1 and 2.
• Unit 15: How do we use ancient Greek ideas today? (Years 5 and 6)

Unit 14: Who were the ancient Greeks? (Years 5 and 6)

Athenian Life software links with the unit and will support students to achieve each level of expectation (set as in the scheme). At the end of this unit

1. know that the ancient Greek civilisation was a long time ago; describe some features of life in ancient Greece; know some of the ancient Greek gods, and what they represented; select information from one or two sources.
2. place the ancient Greek civilisation accurately on a time line and demonstrate their understanding of BC and AD; describe important features of life in ancient Greece, and compare life in different city states; explain some of the beliefs of the ancient Greeks and why they held them; understand the reasons for and results of key events; interpret an event from one perspective and in so doing show an appreciation of other possible interpretations; select and combine information from written and archaeological sources
3. compare aspects of ancient Greek civilisation and society today; compare different interpretations of events and give reasons for the differences; understand strengths of and similarities between different sources of information; select and combine information to produce extended descriptions of aspects of life in ancient Greece

Learning objectives from the QCA scheme that are covered by using Athenian Life software:

Section 1: Where and when was ancient Greece?

Children should learn:

• about the location, climate and terrain of Greece
• to place the ancient Greek civilisation in time
• that the ancient Greek civilisation occurred 'Before Christ'
• that ancient Greece consisted of city states

Section 2: What were the similarities and differences between Athens and Sparta

Children should learn:

• what is meant by democracy
• some of the ideas of people living in Athens and Sparta

Section 5: Who did the ancient Greeks worship and why?

Children should learn:

• to deduce information about Greek beliefs and religious practices from pictures of buildings
• about the beliefs of the ancient Greeks
• to compare the beliefs of the ancient Greeks with those of other cultures

Section 6: What happened at the theatre?

Children should learn:

• to deduce information about an aspect of the Greek way of life from pictures of buildings and texts
• to combine information from several sources
• about the role of the theatre in the way of life of the Greeks
• to structure work in the form of a play

Section 7: What do the sources tell us about the importance of the Olympic games to the ancient Greeks?

Children should learn:

• to summarise what they have learnt about the ancient Greeks
• to appreciate the range of different sources of information that can be used to find out about the ancient Greeks
• that different sources can provide different kinds of information