History and culture
Ancient Rome Council
A role-playing game to found a city
Decisions, real problems and the birth of a community.
Rome wasn't born great. It was born from a group of people who had to choose where to live, how to get water, how to defend themselves, how to decide together.
In this module, kids don't study Ancient Rome: they become the community that has to found it. Historical knowledge only arrives when it's actually needed to solve a problem they've just encountered.
Hands-on activities
What we actually do.
- 01
Found a city: territory, resources, first rules
- 02
Decide like a Consul, with little information and real consequences
- 03
Build and test an aqueduct with real materials
- 04
Negotiate resources and viewpoints like in the Senate
- 05
Reach a decision shared by the group
- 06
Create a banner that tells the story of your civilization
Skills developed
What stays after.
By the end of the module, students take away concrete skills and experiences connected to ancient rome council.
Deciding with incomplete information
Collaborating with different roles and responsibilities
Learning from mistakes and adapting decisions
Communicating a journey, not just a result
Final output
- The Senate Diary: the group's decisions, mistakes and changes of mind
- A working hydraulic system, designed and tested as a team
- A collective banner telling the story of the civilization built
Curriculum areas involved
Want to understand how Ancient Rome Council fits into the Nova path?
Nova isn't a collection of separate courses: each module is part of an integrated yearly path.