Objective:
Students will compare and contrast the roles and privileges afforded to patricians and plebeians in Ancient Rome.

Materials:
- Print-out copies of a Venn diagram outlining the differences between patricians and plebeians
- Writing materials

Procedure:
1. Ask students to recall some of the general characteristics of the Roman Republic, stressing the class divisions between the patrician and plebian classes.

2.Distribute a print-out of a Venn diagram to each student.

3. Ask students to take out their writing materials.

4. Explain to students that they will be comparing and contrasting the privileges of the patrician and plebian classes in Ancient Rome.

5. Ask the students to fill out the Venn diagram with characteristics that made patricians and plebeians noticeably different from one another.

6. Call on students to share their work and explain what they have learned about the differences and similarities between patricians and plebeians.

7. Ask comprehension questions to assess students’ learning.

8. As a closing activity, have students come up with examples of how the class system persists in society today.

Closure:
Ask students to summarize the key differences between patricians and plebeians in Ancient Rome.