Ancient Rome Project Life Size Gladiator Activity Ancient Civilizations Project

A life-size gladiator project that looks amazing on your walls — and gets students genuinely excited about Ancient Rome.

In this hands-on, collaborative project, students research and recreate the world of Ancient Rome’s gladiators — the fighters who battled for their lives in the Roman Colosseum. Working in groups, students trace an outline of a group member and design full gladiator armor, complete with a sword and helmet.

How it works:

• Students trace a life-size outline of a group member
• Using an anatomy-of-a-gladiator reference sheet, they design armor, weapons, and a helmet based on real historical gladiator types and attire
• In the background of their poster, students write a gladiator announcement and a battle poem — both grounded in a class reading on gladiator history

This project includes:
✔ An anticipatory set reading with worksheet
✔ A gladiator class reading covering the lives and training of Roman gladiators
✔ An anatomy-of-a-gladiator reference handout with visuals and an attire chart
✔ A step-by-step example sheet with visuals
✔ A how-to rhyming poem mini-lesson

A class favorite: at the end of the project, vote as a class for the best gladiator design and poem!