Stage 1 HSIE Unit 2 – The Ancient Past | Complete Unit | PowerPoint + Worksheets + Planning

Bring the Ancient Past to life in your Stage 1 classroom with this engaging, ready-to-teach HSIE unit aligned to the NSW HSIE Syllabus.

This comprehensive resource explores ancient cultures, myths, structures, symbols, and stories from China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, helping students understand how the ancient past connects to the modern world.

Students investigate fascinating topics such as:

• The Great Wall of China
• The Pyramids of Giza
• The Parthenon
• The Roman Colosseum
• The Ancient Olympic Games
• The Marathon legend
• Greek myths including Nike, Achilles and Pegasus
• Ancient Chinese legends including Chang’e and dragons
• Egyptian myths including Ra the Sun God
• Roman gods and their connection to the planets in our solar system

Through stories, maps, images, myths, and symbols, students discover how ideas from the ancient past continue to influence the modern world today.

This unit is designed to be highly engaging, visual, and easy to teach, with a clear lesson structure and activities that encourage drawing, discussion, investigation and creative thinking.

What’s Included:

• Complete Unit PowerPoint
• A fully prepared teaching PowerPoint for all 16 lessons that:
• introduces key concepts and vocabulary
• includes discussion prompts and visuals
• models historical thinking and comparisons
• supports explicit teaching
• aligns directly with each lesson

Engaging Student Worksheets:

A full set of fun and interactive worksheets designed for Stage 1 learners.

Activities include:

• map work
• drawing and labelling
• sequencing stories
• comparing ancient and modern structures
• creative symbol design
• recount writing
• short paragraph writing
• sorting and investigation activities

Worksheets prioritise drawing, thinking, and explaining, rather than excessive ticking or copying.

Teacher Planning Overview:

Includes a clear planning table for teachers, outlining:

• lesson focus
• learning intention
• key concepts
• assessment opportunities

Perfect for programming and quick lesson preparation.

Scope and Sequence:

A complete unit scope and sequence showing:

• the progression of concepts across all 16 lessons
• key knowledge and skills developed
• links between ancient cultures and modern life

Curriculum Alignment Page:

A professional curriculum alignment page showing how the unit links to the NSW HSIE Syllabus (HS1-HIS-01) and related outcomes.

Perfect for:

• accreditation evidence
• programming documentation
• sharing with supervisors or school leadership.

Report Comments:

Save hours during report writing with a set of ready-to-use report comments for this unit.

Includes comments for:

• high achievement
• sound achievement
• developing understanding
• students requiring support

Unit Structure:

This resource includes 16 complete lessons, covering:

1. Introduction to the Ancient Past
2. The Great Wall of China
3. The Pyramids of Giza
4. The Parthenon
5. The Roman Colosseum
6. Ancient Olympic Games
7. The Marathon Legend
8. Nike – Greek Goddess of Victory
9. Achilles and the meaning of “Achilles heel”
10. Chinese Dragons
11. Pegasus
12. Neptune – Roman God of the Sea
13. Planets named after Roman Gods
14. The Legend of Chang’e
15. The Story of Ra
16. Recounting the story of Ra

Why Teachers Love This Resource:

✔ Ready-to-teach lessons

✔ Highly engaging content students love

✔ Strong links between ancient and modern worlds

✔ Clear structure for each lesson

✔ Minimal preparation required

✔ Supports literacy through recount and sentence writing

✔ Includes planning documents and report comments

Perfect For:

• Stage 1 classrooms
• Year 1 / Year 2 students
• NSW HSIE programming
• History units on ancient cultures
• Cross-curricular literacy connections
• Visual and inquiry-based learning

Curriculum Links:

Aligned with NSW HSIE Syllabus Outcome:

HS1-HIS-01 People learn about the past by engaging with stories, images, objects and sites.

Students will:

• explore stories and myths from ancient cultures
• investigate ancient sites and structures
• locate important places on maps
• identify features of ancient cultures
• compare ancient and modern life

If you liked Unit 1, Unit 2: The Ancient Past continues the learning with even more engaging lessons, fascinating stories, and memorable activities.

Your students will love discovering how the ancient world still shapes our lives today.