Year 4 Ancient Greek civilisation: why is Alexander called 'The Great'? worksheet

“Why Persia Grew So Powerful” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 4 history unit “Ancient Greek civilisation: why is Alexander called 'The Great'?”, for children aged 8 to 9, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 13 to 18 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Why Persia Grew So Powerful

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 4 · History · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can explain how the Persian Empire grew by taking lands with great rivers.

A Look back3 min

1.
A date 100 years before 500 BC is BC.
2.
Circle the older date.
500 BC300 BC
3.
Join each label to what it means.
BCAD
Years counted back before year 1Years counted on from year 1

B Watch me, then you4 min

Cyrus took Babylon around 539 BC. Cambyses took Egypt around 525 BC. Which came first?

Watch me

Both dates are BC, so the bigger number is further back.

539 BC is further back than 525 BC.

So Cyrus took Babylon first.

Now you

1.
Circle the one that came first: the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) or Cambyses takes Egypt (525 BC).
Battle of MarathonCambyses takes Egypt

C Your turn7 min

Put events in order, sort facts and match lands to rivers. Records tell us Babylon sat on the River Euphrates, Egypt sat on the River Nile, and Cambyses was Cyrus's son.

1.
Circle the later event: Cambyses takes Egypt (525 BC) or Darius becomes king (522 BC).
Cambyses takes EgyptDarius becomes king
2.
Number these from earliest to latest.
1. Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
2. Cyrus takes Babylon (539 BC)
3. Cambyses takes Egypt (525 BC)
3.
Sort these cards into the columns.
Cyrus took Babylon around 539 BC.Babylon sat on the River Euphrates.Cambyses was Cyrus's son.Cyrus liked honey on his lunch.Cyrus's favourite colour was blue.
We know No way to know
4.
Join each land to the great river beside it.
BabylonEgypt
River NileRiver Euphrates

Say it out loud: Babylon sat on the River Euphrates and Egypt sat on the River Nile. Why would Persia want both lands?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Kit says: “Persia is still the name of that country today, so you can find Persia on a modern map.”

1.
Look at the timeline. What do modern maps call that country today?
IranIraqEgyptGreece

E Think deeper4 min

Use the chain. What could a great river give a king to make his empire strong?

1.
Give two reasons why a river was valuable to the Persian kings. Write them in your own words.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Why Persia Grew So Powerful · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 600 If your child writes 400, they took 100 away. For BC dates, going further back makes the number bigger. Ask which year is further back on the line.

2. 500 BC If your child picks 300 BC, they may think the smaller number is older. For BC, the bigger number is further back. Point to both on the line and ask which is further left.

3. BC → Years counted back before year 1; AD → Years counted on from year 1 If your child joins BC to counting on, ask whether the year is before or after year 1. Start at year 1 and point left for BC.

B

1. Cambyses takes Egypt If your child circles Marathon, they may think 490 is earlier because it is smaller. Ask which date is further back on the line.

C

1. Darius becomes king If your child circles Cambyses, they picked the older event. For BC dates the smaller number is later, so 522 BC came after 525 BC.

2. 1 Cyrus takes Babylon (539 BC) · 2 Cambyses takes Egypt (525 BC) · 3 Battle of Marathon (490 BC) If your child puts Marathon first, they are reading the BC numbers as if they were small and recent. Ask which event is furthest back on the line.

3. We know: Cyrus took Babylon around 539 BC., Babylon sat on the River Euphrates., Cambyses was Cyrus's son. · No way to know: Cyrus liked honey on his lunch., Cyrus's favourite colour was blue. If your child puts the lunch or colour card under We know, ask how a book could tell us that. If nothing says it, it goes in No way to know.

4. Babylon → River Euphrates; Egypt → River Nile If your child joins Babylon to the Nile, read the top of this part together. It names the river beside each land.

D

1. Iran If your child circles Iraq, read the timeline labels together. Most of the land of old Persia is the country of Iran today.

E

1. Look for: Any two sensible reasons, such as water for crops, drinking water, fish to eat, or boats carrying trade goods and armies quickly.

Words to use

Say“Which way is further back in time? Show me on the line.”

Instead of“Just tell them the answer, or say BC dates are easy because the numbers are big.”

After the sheet

Line up five household objects by age, such as a newspaper, a tin, a shoe and a book. Ask which is oldest and why, then say how far apart two of them are.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Three battles, three plans(with a plan)
Alexander's Rise to King(with a plan)
Counting Alexander's Years(with a plan)
Alexander's Big Achievements(with a plan)
Who Named Alexander?(with a plan)

Every Year 4 history worksheet

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