Download Ancient Rome: Prosperity and Decline

Ancient Rome: Prosperity and Decline
o What do you know about Rome’s rise from a small village to a world
power?
o How do you think Rome transformed itself into a sprawling empire
that covered two million square miles?
o As you watch the program, take note of how Rome extended its
influence on the surrounding cultures.
• Post-viewing questions:
o Rome was able to use its network of roads to spread its culture
throughout the empire. Discuss how planes, trains, automobiles,
television, and the Internet make culture more universal today.
th
o What is the 20 Century equivalent of Roman culture?
• Activity: Create a flipbook with a series of maps that show the expansion of
Rome from a small village to a sprawling empire. Label you map to show which
peoples were conquered by the Romans and when. Share your work with the
class.
• Pre-viewing questions:
o What do you know about the existence of slavery in Rome? How
did this institution begin?
How many slaves do you think occupied the city of Rome during its
peak of power?
o As you watch the program, take note of how slave labor affected the
growth of the economy within the empire
• Post-viewing questions:
o Rome improved the life of its citizens with advances like the
aqueduct, which brought fresh, clean water to the city. But the empire
went into decline despite these advances. Why do you think the
empire started to decline?
o Is there a limit to how large an empire can grow?
• Activity: Build a miniature aqueduct using cardboard tubing, duct tape, balsa
wood and water. Calculate the slope of your aqueduct and flow rate of the
water. Then present your design and findings to the class.
Discussion Questions
1. By what standards do historians consider a nation to be a world power? At
what point in its history did Rome become a world power? What are some of the
potential responsibilities of such a label?
2. Many of the world’s large cities—from ancient Rome to modern-day New
York City—have developed in similar ways and for similar reasons. What
features do most large cities share? How do many cities develop in terms of
layout, economy, and population? Discuss possible reasons why people have
chosen to live in cities throughout history.
3. Speculate about one psychological or sociological explanation why Rome had
gladiators and why Roman citizens enjoyed watching “the games.” Hypothesize
what forms “the games” take today. Why have these activities evolved into their
modern-day counterparts?
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved. Ancient Rome: Prosperity and
Decline: Teacher’s Guide 5
4. What was the effect of having paved roads on everyday life in Rome and its
provinces? Discuss what life would be like if there were no roads or highways
between American cities today.
5. How did the growth of the slave economy ultimately damage the empire and
its livelihood? How was Roman slavery different from the kind of slavery that
existed in the United States during the 1800s?
6. The imperial government provided “bread and circuses” to keep the Roman
masses happy. What steps do modern governments like that of the United States
take to prevent uprisings by the people?
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
• 3 points: Students identified, for all 40 words, the Latin word or word part, the
English meaning of the Latin word or word part, and another English word
derived from the same Latin word or word part; worked cooperatively within
their groups.
• 2 points: Students identified, for at least 30 words, the Latin word or word part,
the English meaning of the Latin word or word part, and another English word
derived from the same Latin word or word part; worked well within their
groups.
• 1 point: Students identified, for less than 30 words, the Latin word or word
part, the English meaning of the Latin word or word part, and another English
word derived from the same Latin word or word part; had difficulty working
cooperatively within their groups.
Vocabulary
assimilating
Definition: The process of absorbing one cultural group into another so that they
have a common identity.
Context: Rome had a genius for assimilating different peoples into the empire, a
skill dating back to its beginnings.
barbarians
Definition: To Romans, any group of people found outside the Roman world,
usually on the fringes of the empire.
Context: Rome faced the threat of barbarians massing along the empire’s borders.
city-state
Definition: In ancient times, the city-state was any urban center that maintained
its own political identity, leadership, and sovereignty. It is the forerunner to the
modern nation-state.
Context: Before long, the empire expanded well beyond the limits of a modest
city-state.
displacement
Definition: The act of taking the place of another, especially using underhanded
tactics.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved. Ancient Rome: Prosperity and
Decline: Teacher’s Guide 6 Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Context: The returning soldiers were forced into the cities due to the slave labor
being used to tend their farms, resulting in a massive peasant displacement.
Gauls
Definition: Inhabitants of the area now covered by modern-day France.
Context: One hundred thousand Gauls were taken prisoner and enslaved by
Roman forces as the empire expanded.
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12
Education addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
• World History—Classical Traditions, Major Religions, and Giant Empires:
Understand how major religious and large-scale empires arose in the
Mediterranean Basin, China, and India from 500 BCE to 300 CE.
• World History—Classical Traditions, Major Religions, and Giant Empires:
Understands major global trends from 1000 BCE to 300 CE.
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has developed national standards to
provide guidelines for teaching social studies. To view the standards online, go to
http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/.
This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards:
• Time, Continuity, and Change
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the
free teaching tools offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print
support materials, or save them to a Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn
more, visit
• http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html