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Year 4 The Romans: what did it mean to be a Roman? worksheet

“Counting back in BCE” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 4 history unit “The Romans: what did it mean to be a Roman?”, for children aged 8 to 9, and takes about 24 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 19 to 24 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Counting back in BCE

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 4 · History · about 24 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can tell which of two dates is further back, using BCE and CE.

A Look back3 min

  1. 1.

    In which year was the Battle of Hastings? Write the year.

    100010501100Battle of Hastings
  2. 2.

    Which age goes in the empty box in the chain? Circle one.

    Stone AgeIron Age
    Bronze AgeRoman AgeViking Age
  3. 3.

    1066 1100. Write < or >.

    10661100

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ben has two dates: 600 BCE and 300 BCE. Which one is further back in time?

Watch me
600 BC500 BC400 BC300 BCBen's first dateBen's second date

BCE years count backwards towards year 1.

600 is bigger than 300, so 600 BCE is further back.

Answer: 600 BCE

Now you
  1. 1.

    Circle the date that is further back: 500 BCE or 200 BCE?

    500 BC400 BC300 BC200 BC
    500 BCE200 BCE

C Your turn8 min

Look at each timeline, then answer. Think about how far back each date is.

  1. 1.

    Which is further back: 300 BCE or 100 BCE? Circle one.

    300 BC200 BC100 BC
    300 BCE100 BCE
  2. 2.

    Which is further back: 250 BCE or 400 BCE? Circle one.

    400 BC300 BC200 BC
    250 BCE400 BCE
  3. 3.

    Put these dates in order, earliest first. Write 1, 2 or 3 in the boxes.

    500 BC400 BC300 BC200 BC100 BC
    1. 100 BCE
    2. 500 BCE
    3. 250 BCE
  4. 4.

    Sort these dates into the right column. Write each date in the table.

    BCE years1 BCE1 CECE years
    753 BCE1066 CE44 BCE1837 CE
    BCE datesCE dates

Say it out loud: What happens to the date as the BCE number gets bigger? Does it move closer to year 1 or further away?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Mia says: “500 BCE is more recent than 300 BCE, because 500 is the bigger number.”
550 BC500 BC450 BC400 BC350 BC300 BC250 BCMia's first dateMia's second date
  1. 1.

    Is Mia right? Circle one.

    Mia is rightMia is wrong

E Think deeper4 min

A grassy hill above a river with a few trees, no people
  1. 1.

    The story says Romulus founded Rome in 753 BCE. Write the year 50 years before that. Then tell your grown-up how you know it is further back.

    850 BC800 BC750 BC700 BCRome founded

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet
StudyDen · Year 4 · History · The Romans: what did it mean to be a Roman?Answers are on the grown-up page

For the grown-up

Counting back in BCE · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 1066

2. Bronze Age

3. <

B

1. 500 BCE

C

1. 300 BCE your child may think the smaller BCE number is further back. Ask which date is closer to year 1.

2. 400 BCE

3. 1 500 BCE · 2 250 BCE · 3 100 BCE

4. CE dates: 1066 CE, 1837 CE · BCE dates: 753 BCE, 44 BCE your child may have sorted by the size of the number. Ask them to read the letters after each date: BCE or CE.

D

1. Mia is wrong your child may think the bigger BCE number is later. Ask which dot is nearer the right-hand end of the line, where time moves on towards year 1.

E

1. Look for: 803 BCE, with a reason that a bigger BCE number is further back in time.

Words to use

Say“Which date is further back, and how do you know? Show me on the timeline.”
Instead of“Tell them the bigger number is always the later date.”

After the sheet

Write four dates on cards: two from Roman times in BCE and two family birthdays in CE. Lay them out from oldest to newest, then check each card together.

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:

  1. Rome becomes a republic(with a plan)
  2. Who ruled Rome, and when?(with a plan)
  3. Splitting the Roman Empire(with a plan)
  4. How Rome Slowly Fell(with a plan)
  5. What It Meant to Be Roman(with a plan)

Every Year 4 history worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

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