Download World History Unit 3 Classical Empires

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The following instructional plan is part of a GaDOE collection of Unit Frameworks, Performance Tasks, examples of
Student Work, and Teacher Commentary for the World History Course.
World History Unit 3 – “Classical Empires”
Elaborated Unit Focus
This unit is designed to examine the origin, rise and fall of the classical civilizations of
India, China, Greece and Rome. Students will examine the various cultural mechanisms
that these societies used to reach their golden ages. Activities will focus on political,
economic and cultural achievements of these civilizations. Students will consider how
conflict and change helped create and destroy the classical civilizations. At times that
conflict was between societies; at times the conflict was within the society. Students will
learn how these civilizations created the rich cultures whose legacies continue to affect
the world. The study of governance will enable students to examine how more and more
complex governments were needed to meet the needs of more advanced civilizations.
Students will understand how individuals, groups and institutions affected societies in
both positive and negative ways. Students will examine how movement and migration
of various peoples influenced societal change.
Standards/Elements
SSWH2 The student will identify the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100
BCE to 500 CE.
a. Describe the development of Indian civilization; include the rise and fall of the Maurya Empire,
the “Golden Age” under Gupta, and the emperor Ashoka.
b. Explain the development and impact of Hinduism and Buddhism on India and subsequent
diffusion of Buddhism.
c. Describe the development of Chinese civilization under the Zhou and Qin.
d. Explain the impact of Confucianism on Chinese culture; include the examination system, the
Mandate of Heaven, the status of peasants, the status of merchants, and the patriarchal family, and
explain diffusion to Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea.
SSWH3 The student will examine the political, philosophical, and cultural interaction of Classical
Mediterranean societies from 700 BCE to 400 CE.
a. Compare the origins and structure of the Greek polis, the Roman Republic, and the Roman
Empire.
b. Identify the ideas and impact of important individuals; include Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and
describe the diffusion of Greek culture by Aristotle’s pupil Alexander the Great and the impact of
Julius and Augustus Caesar.
c. Analyze the contributions of Hellenistic and Roman culture; include law, gender, and science.
d. Describe polytheism in the Greek and Roman world and the origins and diffusion of Christianity
in the Roman world.
e. Analyze the factors that led to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
WORLD HISTORY FRAMEWORK UNIT 3: Classical Empires
UPDATED 12/01/2008  Page 1 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Enduring Understandings/Essential Questions
The student will understand that when there is conflict between or within societies, change is the
result.
What factors led to the rise and fall of the Maurya Empire?
What factors led to the rise and fall of the Zhou and Qin Empires?
How was the culture of the Middle East transformed by the invasion of Alexander the Great?
How did conflict between patricians and plebeians change the culture of classical Rome?
What factors led to the collapse of the Roman Empire?
The student will understand that the culture of a society is the product of the religion, beliefs,
customs, traditions, and government of that society.
What are similarities and differences between Buddhism and Hinduism?
How did trade facilitate the diffusion of Buddhism throughout China?
How did Confucianism influence the cultural development of China?
Why did Greek civilization develop many forms of government while Roman civilization
tended to develop fewer?
The student will understand that as a society increases in complexity and interacts with other
societies, the complexity of the government also increases.
What would qualify a civilization as experiencing a “Golden Age”?
To what extent were classical civilizations built on the remains of earlier societies?
Why did the level of governmental bureaucracy in China increase as the country grew?
What are legacies in terms of Greek, Roman, Chinese and Indian cultures?
In what ways did the Roman Empire affect the origins and spread of Christianity?
The student will understand that the actions of individuals, groups and/or institutions affect society
through intended and unintended consequences.
How did rulers like Ashoka, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar change their
respective societies?
How did the teachings of Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Christianity affect the world?
How did the philosophical ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle impact their society?
The student will understand that the movement or migration of peoples and ideas affects all societies
involved.
What factors helped the diffusion of Confucianism to Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea?
Why did Christianity diffuse throughout the Roman Empire?
*NOTE: The balanced assessment plan included in this unit is presented as a series of suggested activities.
It is not expected that the teacher complete all assessments for a successful unit.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
WORLD HISTORY FRAMEWORK UNIT 3: Classical Empires
UPDATED 12/01/2008  Page 2 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Balanced Assessment Plan
Description of Assessment
Standard/ Type of Assessment
Element
Have student teams choose a historical leader or group. The teams should
2a, 3b
*Constructed
explain the impact of the historical leader or group on the region. As a class,
Response, *Dialogue
have students debate the merits of the leaders/groups and their legacy in the
and discussion
modern world. Ask students to write a rationale to explain the legacy left
*Observation
by a certain leader or group. Ask students to choose an influential person or
group who they feel has impacted our modern world in similar ways.
Students review the traits of civilization. Students should then write 1-2
2a
*Constructed
paragraphs explaining whether one of the classical civilizations studied met
Response
the criteria for an advanced civilization.
*Observation
Have students work individually to create a Venn Diagram that examines
2b
*Constructed
the similarities and differences between Hinduism and Buddhism.
Response
Students write a 1-2 paragraph response in which they debate which
2c
*Constructed
Chinese dynasty was least successful and support the opinion with facts.
Response
Have students break into groups representing Confucianism and Buddhism. 2d
*Constructed
Ask each group to write or present a rationale to have the teacher (Emperor
Response
or Empress) convert China to that belief system. Students need to compare
the beliefs and explain their impact on government, peasants, merchants and
families.
Have students create a timeline showing the evolution of Greek and Roman 3a
*Constructed
society and politics from its origins through the Hellenistic Era for the
Response,
Greeks, and for the Romans from their origin through the founding of the
*Observation
Roman Empire. The students should select major events and include an
explanation of WHY those events are important enough to be included on
the timeline.
Have students prepare a speech. In their speech they should choose either
3c
*Constructed
one Greek or one Roman legacy and argue why it has had the greatest
Response
impact on the modern world.
Have students create a poster showing a visual representation of factors
3e
*Constructed
leading to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The students should
Response
rank the factors by considering which factor led most to the collapse of the
empire. The factor that was most important should be at the top of the
poster. Have the students continue to arrange their visual representations
from most important to least important on their posters. Have them write an
explanation of why they chose the ranking that they did.
All of the elements from the standards may be evaluated with multiple
All
* Selected Response
choice or other short-answer assessments.
elements
Additional Assessments (7/08/2008)
SSWH
Constructed
Each student will be assigned one of the religions: Buddhism,
2b
Response, Dialogue /
Confucianism, Hinduism and Christianity. They are responsible for
SSWH
Discussion,
developing answers to the following questions: (1) how did this religion
2d
Observation
begin? (2) what are the major teachings of this religion? (3) how and where SSWH
has this religion spread beyond its initial inception place? (4) which
3d
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
WORLD HISTORY FRAMEWORK UNIT 3: Classical Empires
UPDATED 12/01/2008  Page 3 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
teachings have transcended geographic/cultural barriers? (5) how has this
transcending occurred? Groups will be formed of four students. One student
in each group represents one of the four religions. Each student is to present
their answers to the three other members of the group arguing that their
assigned religion is the only true “world religion” of the four religions. Each
student has the opportunity to present their findings to their group. To
conclude, the students are to choose one of the three religions, they were not
initially assigned, they personally believe has the most characteristics of a
world religion, in comparison to the other two. For example, if the student
was initially assigned Confucianism, they would have to choose between
Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity for this concluding part of the lesson,
even though Confucianism may have many “world religion” characteristics.
Individually, the student prepares a written response to this question: Why
is this religion characterized as a world religion? Provide specific examples
supporting your assertion that this religion is a world religion.
Students examine the relationship between the following pairs of words in a
written statement of fifty words or less determining how one may have led
to or fostered the other. Students must be specific in their response citing
historic evidence to support their statements: 1) Buddhism and silk roads, 2)
Confucianism and cultural values. Students will share their responses in
peer teams editing and correcting their statements based on information
learned and gained through discussion.
After a teacher led review of the six main characteristics of civilizations
(organized society including urbanization, specialization of labor, culture,
educational progress, monumental architecture, and the role of writing), in
small groups, students will analyze the traits of the Maurya and Gupta
Empires, and classify the information according to the stated criteria on a
chart. The charts will be displayed in the classroom for student discussion
and comparison of information found on group work samples.
Resources
The Maurya Empire: http://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html
The Gupta Empire:
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCINDIA/GUPTA.HTM
Short summary of Maurya and Gupta Empires:
http://greetingindia.tripod.com/ancient.html
Students will review information about the life of the emperor Ashoka and
his lasting legacy on Indian culture. Students will write an analysis of edicts
written by Ashoka during his reign, and how they reflect his embrace of
Buddhism in his lifetime. After the activity, students will take on the role of
Ashoka explaining to his court the reasons and justification for a selected
edict written, the purpose of the edict, and how it reflects his life experience
and conversion to Buddhism.
Resources
King Ashoka: His Edicts and His Times available at:
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html
The Life of Ashoka Mauryan available at:
http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/spring98/Ashoka.htm
SSWH2,
b, d
Constructed
Response,
Discussion, SelfAssessment
SSWH2,
a
Constructed
Response, Dialogue
and Discussion, SelfAssessment
SSWH2,
a
Constructed response,
Observation, Oral
Presentation
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
WORLD HISTORY FRAMEWORK UNIT 3: Classical Empires
UPDATED 12/01/2008  Page 4 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Emperor Ashoka available at:
http://members.porchlight.ca/blackdog/ashoka.htm
In pairs, students will create a compare/contrast matrix analyzing the
similarities and differences between Gupta and Ashoka. Students will create
a list of attributes that will be compared and contrasted between Gupta and
Ashoka. The teacher will select random pairs to share their matrix with the
class. After the analysis and discussion, students will write a short essay
explaining which ruler was the most effective and why.
http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson275/compcon_chart.pdf
Example of a compare contrast matrix.
Students will be assigned groups and each group given one of the following
political structures to research its origins and structure; the Greek polis, the
Roman Republic, or the Roman Empire. On chart paper, each group will
record the origin, structure, strengths, and weaknesses of each political
structure. After groups share out their charts with the class, students will
write on what aspects, if any, of their assigned political structure is reflected
in modern American government. If they do not believe there are any
similarities, students should write about how their assigned political
structure differs from our government.
Students will be paired with one other person. As a partnership, they are to
research Chinese civilization under either the Zhou or Qin, depending on
which dynasty they are assigned. The partnership should be able to describe
the government/politics of that dynasty including some of the important
leaders, the economic aspects of the civilization during that dynasty, how
the dynasty came to power, how the dynasty lost its power, and any major
achievements/advancements made during that dynasty’s reign. Each
partnership will then be grouped with another partnership that researched
the opposite dynasty. Once each partnership has shared their findings with
the other partnership, as a group, they are to come to consensus and
establish a supported argument as to why one of the dynasties is more
significant than the other, providing specific examples as to why and how
this is true. Their argument should be developed as a short essay
summarizing reasons why the one dynasty is more significant in
relationship to the other—comparing and contrasting strengths and
weaknesses of each.
2a
* Constructed
Response,
*Dialogue/Discussion
3a
*Constructed
Response,
*Dialogue/Discussion
Description of
Assessment:
SSWH
2c
Constructed
Response, Dialogue /
Discussion,
Observation
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
WORLD HISTORY FRAMEWORK UNIT 3: Classical Empires
UPDATED 12/01/2008  Page 5 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Sample Test Items
How were the contributions of Gupta and Ashoka to the Mauryan empire
similar?
A. Both contributed to the fall of the Mauryan empire as a result of
military defeats.
B. Both were responsible for the spreading of Buddhism throughout the
empire.
C. Both leaders expanded the boundaries of the Mauryan empires by
conquests.
D. The development of science, specifically medicine, expanded under
them.
Which has the greatest impact on the demise of the Mauryan Empire?
A. Huge floods.
B. Starvation and earthquakes.
C. Alexander the Great’s invasion of India in 327BC.
D. The emergence of smaller states that fought against each other.
The structure of the Greek polis and Roman Republic was similar in that
A. both societies chose representatives to make political decisions for
them.
B. both societies allowed all males the right to vote and participate in
politics.
C. women in both Greek and Roman society were given no political
rights.
D. the only way for one to become a citizen was to be born a citizen.
Qin Shihuangdi’s statement, “anyone who uses the past to criticize the
present. . . .should be put to death,” was directed against scholars who today
might be called
A. Physicists
B. Astronomers
C. Historians
D. Mathematicians
2a
C
SSWH 2a
D
3a
C
SSWH 2c
C
FOR SAMPLE PERFORMANCE TASKS FOR THIS
UNIT, PLEASE VISIT
http://www.georgiastandards.org/socialstudiesframework.aspx
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
WORLD HISTORY FRAMEWORK UNIT 3: Classical Empires
UPDATED 12/01/2008  Page 6 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Resources for Unit
1. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Roman+legacy%22 site provides an
interactive display that students can use to trace various legacies of the Ancient Romans.
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/activities/index.shtml site provides activities,
resources, timelines, and other links to help students trace legacies of the Ancient
Romans.
3. http://nths.newtrier.k12.il.us/library/teacher_assignments/romelegacy.htm site provides
an interactive outline of links to primary sources about achievements of the Roman
Empire.
4. http://etext.virginia.edu/journals/EH/EH37/Goldberg.html provides a website of very
specific details concerning the final fall of the Western Roman Empire.
5. http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/history/fall.htm provides an interactive
website on the Fall of the Western Roman Empire with links for additional information
and suggestions for teachers.
6. http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/gallic.1.1.html provides a translation Caesar’s “De Bello
Gallico” is found at this site.
7. http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caesar.html provides a website of information on the
life of Julius Caesar.
8. http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/resources/shakespeare/caesarwebguide.html a teaching
guide and student activities can be found on this site.
9. http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95sep/augustus.html provides a brief biography with
links to more information on the life of Augustus Caesar.
10. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Augustus+Caesar%22 provides detailed
information on the life of Augustus
11. http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/: A website created by Ross Dunn and San Diego
State as a resource for lesson plans and information for the teaching of world history.
12. http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander00.html includes information on
Alexander’s life and accomplishments.
13. http://pothos.org/alexander.asp another large website with information about Alexander.
14. http://www.iep.utm.edu/g/greekphi.htm Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophers.
Contains information on the philosophers
15. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/WORLD.HTM a website at Washington State University.
Contains information about Greek philosophers.
16. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/eastasiasbook.html#Religious%20Traditions
East Asian Sourcebook contains primary source material for religious beliefs as well as
other information.
17. http://www.globaled.org/chinaproject/confucian.html This website contains several
lesson plans created by high school teacher Kirsten Larsen that encourage students to
become familiar with various aspects of Confucianism.
18. Unitestreaming.com China: From Past to Present: The Silk Road, the Great Wall,
Changes in Government, Destiny Determined: Power and Ritual in Asia, Civilizations:
Fall of Power
19. www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm : Site contains overview of the religion
including beliefs, descriptions of various sects, and background on Siddhartha Gautama.
Good background information for the teacher and/or students.
20. www.religionfacts.com Site with concise and relevant information about various
religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism, with information about symbolism, history,
practices, and holidays, etc.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
WORLD HISTORY FRAMEWORK UNIT 3: Classical Empires
UPDATED 12/01/2008  Page 7 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
21. www.mohenjodaro.net Mohenjo Daro: The Ancient Indus Valley City in Photographsthis site provides numerous pictures and information about Mohenjo Daro. Great site for
students and teachers.
*UNIT CONTRIBUTORS: Martha Battle, Sonia Carlyle, Sean Costa, Deborah Heckwolf, Mary Ann King,
and Alphus Spears.
Additional input provided by the GaDOE Social Studies Staff and the Social Studies Advisory Council.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
WORLD HISTORY FRAMEWORK UNIT 3: Classical Empires
UPDATED 12/01/2008  Page 8 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved