English National Curriculum - History

2. Why was the Roman army so successful?

Mission Objectives

Identify and describe the components of a Roman soldier’s armour and weaponry

Explain some of the Roman army’s strategies

Analyse why the Roman Army were successful by comparing Roman soldiers to Celtic warriors

Sign up to access this content
Rocket Words Quiz

Rocket Words Quiz

See if you know all the meanings of the rocket words

Assessment Quiz

Assessment Quiz

Test your knowledge of this lesson

Word Search Game

Word Search Game

Find all the rocket words in the grid

Lesson Resources

Lesson Plan

View and print the lesson plan

View

Downloads

Save files related to this lesson

Keywords

Words and meanings to learn

Celts

people who lived in Britain during the Iron Age

legionary

a soldier in the Roman army who was a Roman citizen

formation

a specific, organised arrangement that a group of soldiers uses to move or fight together

invade

to enter a country by force, usually with an army, to take control

auxiliary

a soldier in the Roman army who wasn’t a Roman citizen

This lesson has been written by

Sarah Mintey

Victoria White

Victoria is an experienced teacher who has taught in a number of diverse settings. She taught in primary schools, mainly Year 6, for many years before moving into SEN provision. Here, she lead the Sixth Form and designed multiple curriculums that promoted life and work skills to best prepare young people for adulthood. SEN, and particularly autism, is where her passion lies and she is dedicated to making curriculums and careers accessible and inclusive to all.

Victoria has lead on different subjects over her years in education including science, DT, art and phonics.

In her spare time, Victoria loves reading, writing and performing on stage in musicals in and around Manchester!

Clare Faulkner

Clare is an experienced primary teacher with extensive experience across the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. She has a strong background in curriculum design and development, contributing to programmes across EYFS, Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2, ensuring they are engaging, inclusive, and pedagogically effective.

Before joining Developing Experts, Clare served as a QA Inspector for a childcare agency, rigorously applying the Ofsted inspection framework to evaluate and enhance educational provision. She also brings insight into school governance, supporting strategic decision-making and understanding the operational and pedagogical challenges faced by schools.

Clare is committed to delivering high-quality, evidence-informed learning experiences that inspire curiosity and foster academic and personal growth. She maintains a deep knowledge of current educational research, teaching strategies, and best practices to continually enhance teaching and learning outcomes.

Emma Wilding

Emma is an experienced primary teacher with over twelve years of classroom experience and a strong background in curriculum leadership. She has led history within schools and contributed to curriculum development across academy trusts, supporting the design of coherent, knowledge-rich programmes that enable pupils to build understanding over time.

Emma has a particular passion for writing high-quality curricula that are carefully sequenced, engaging, and rooted in strong subject knowledge. She is committed to creating lessons that are lively, meaningful, and accessible, helping children to grasp complex ideas through clear explanations and purposeful activities that support long-term learning.

Through her curriculum leadership, Emma has supported schools in preparing for successful Ofsted inspections, ensuring that subjects are well structured and effectively implemented. She is dedicated to designing learning experiences that spark curiosity and help pupils make meaningful connections between the past, the present, and the wider world.

Required Resources

Resources: Pens and pencils. Optional: construction materials to make shields or pieces of card or tennis racquets, for instance, to mimic shields

Support Handout (1): The handout provides an image of a Roman soldier for the children to label and define each part of their equipment. A word bank is provided as support.

Core Handout (2): The handout provides an image of a Roman soldier for the children to label and define each part of their equipment.

Stretch Handout (3): An additional handout is provided to use alongside the core handout. Children are asked to explain Roman army formations and organisation.

Challenge Handout (4): An image of a Celtic warrior and a Roman soldier is provided, with space to explain the differences and reasons why the Romans were so successful.

These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval from Developing Experts of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organisation or individual.

Developing Experts bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

You will be redirected to:

Expert film

Sign up to access this content

This lesson is only available to users with an active subscription.

Mission assignment film

Sign up to access this content

This lesson is only available to users with an active subscription.

Careers related to this lesson

Science & Research

Archaeologist

An archaeologist studies the past by finding and examining objects left by people long ago. They ...

Armed Forces

Military Historian

Imagine being a detective for the past, especially when it comes to soldiers, battles, and brave ...

Armed Forces

Infantry Soldier

An Infantry Soldier serves in the British Army as a front-line combatant, specialising in a range...

Stay connected

Join our newsletter to stay up to date on features and releases

Address
Developing Experts Limited
Exchange Street Buildings
35-37 Exchange Street
Norwich
NR2 1DP
UK

Phone
01603 273515

Email
[email protected]

Copyright 2026 Developing Experts, All rights reserved.