Place value - Roman numerals - Planning

As part of the Year 5 Autumn curriculum on Number: Place Value, a lesson plan has been developed to deepen students' understanding of Roman numerals, particularly focusing on numerals up to 1000. The lesson begins with a recap of previously learned content, where students are encouraged to use Roman numerals in practical contexts, such as writing the date. The initial activity involves a lively session where children use lollipop sticks to represent various numbers within the 0 to 100 range, with a visual display of the key Roman numerals I, V, X, L, and C to aid them. The teaching input includes discussing the nuances of the Roman numeral system, such as the rule against repeating a numeral more than three times in a row and the concept of subtractive notation, exemplified by the numeral XL for 40.

Further activities challenge the students to translate numbers into digits, words, and Roman numerals with the support of visual aids. They are encouraged to remember and apply the rules of the Roman numeral system during these exercises. In group work, the children engage in reasoning tasks, creating and solving calculations represented in Roman numerals, with an added challenge to devise their own calculations that result in the same number using different operations. The lesson concludes with a plenary that addresses common misconceptions, such as the absence of zero in the Roman system and the correct representation of numerals like IX for 9. The lesson is structured to cater to different levels of understanding, with activities ranging from simple number familiarity and sequences to more complex tasks involving multiplication and problem-solving in Roman numerals up to 1000.