Archimedes and the Syracusan War

This was the second lesson with a mixed Year 3/4 class in a small rural primary school. The head, Laura, and I had worked together for years. Laura's brief to me was to teach the literacy hour using the context of history. Laura told me that the children had already had all the standard stories about ancient Greece and the Greeks, so I thought Archimedes might be a good addition. Indeed, Archimedes is an excellent subject, as he covers science, mathematics and a range of other areas, including cunning plans to defeat enemy armies and navies.

The previous week we had taught a lesson about how Archimedes had solved the problem of the king's crown: was it solid gold or did it contain a base metal as well? We now moved on to a second case of problem-solving: how Archimedes had managed to beat off the attacks of the Roman navy upon his city of Syracuse.

For ideas and information about Archimedes and the Syracusan war, consult this wonderful website: Archimedes

by Jon Nichol