Welcome to Ancient Rome

 Today's Learning Objective  * Identify the location and describe the rise of the Roman Republic, including the importance of such mythical and historical figures as Aeneas, Romulus and Remus, Cincinnatus, Julius Caesar, and Cicero. 

Warm-Up  Welcome to Ancient Rome. Romulus and Remus are the legendary twin brothers who according to myth founded the city of Rome. Read about Romulus and Remus here and then take the quiz here. Next, we will watch the Romulus and Remus video below.  

  

Introduction to Ancient Rome: Digital Guided Reading Read along with Mr. Dowling as he introduces you to the new rising power of the ancient world - Rome. After reading, complete the Ancient Rome: A New Power Rises (Reading and Fill-in-the-Blank) worksheet that accompanies the text, which you can find in your Social Studies Google Classroom. 

The Geography of Ancient Rome: Map Exploration If time permits, check out the site here and using a set of digital maps explore how the geography of Rome changes over time.
  

Homework Complete the Ancient Rome: A New Power Rises (Reading and Fill-in-the-Blank) assignment.  

Greek Gods and Goddesses and Comparison/Contrast Paragraph Writing

How many of the ancient Greek gods and goddesses can you identify?

 Today's Learning Objective  * Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta. * Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region. 

Athens and Sparta: Writing a Comparison/Contrast Paragraph Your Athens and Sparta - Comparison/Contrast Paragraph is due today. This class period is your last opportunity to work on in. Please make sure your assessment paragraph has a clear topics sentence identifying what is being compared, details illustrating similarities and differences, and signal words to show those similarities and differences.

Ancient Greek God and Goddess Web Exploration Unfortunately, due to time constraints we had very little class time dedicated to learning about Ancient Greek mythology and religion, which many consider to be the most interesting aspects of Ancient Greece. If you finished your comparison/contrast paragraph, you are welcome to use class time today to explore Ancient Greek mythology and religion, especially as it pertains to their gods and goddesses. You may enjoy the websites and videos below.  

• Ancient Greeks: Gods and Heroes
• Ancient Greece Gods for Kids
• The British Museum: Ancient Greece - Gods and Goddesses
• Ancient Greece: Mythology
• Fact Monster: The Olympian Gods and Goddesses
• Greek Gods and Goddesses

What's So Great About Alexander?

 Today's Learning Objective  * Trace the rise of Alexander the Great and the spread of Greek culture. 

Warm-Up  Today we will be learning about one of the most famous and powerful figures in world history: Alexander the Great. Read a short description of Alexander's life and achievements at Ducksters and then be prepared to share something you learned about with the class.

Alexander the Great Video Hour  Let's continue to learn about Alexander the Great through a series of videos. The first comes from history teacher Mr. Corwin; the second from WatchMojo; and finally the third from the team at Crash Course. What sort of portrait is being painted of Alexander? Does he come across as 'great' in your mind?

Group Discussion: Is Alexander Great or Not So Great? Today you and the members of your team are going to discuss Alexander the Great's achievements and whether they indicate greatness or something else entirely. Check out these guidelines for "Scholarly Discourse." Feel free to use them to help guide your conversation with your classmates. Make a point to express your ideas using academic language, build upon each other's ideas, ask clarifying questions, and even disagree with each other in a scholarly manner.  

CNN Students and Athens and Sparta Paragraph Writing

CNN Student News  As we watch CNN Student News today, identify one or two news stories that you can pinpoint geographically and place on the Current Event layer of your Social Studies World Map via Google Maps. 

Fiery Cross Reef (600 miles off the coast of China); Hiroshima, Japan; Pyongyang, North Korea; Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada; and Milton, Massachusetts were all featured in today's segment. After pinning at least one of these places on your map, consider the most important question: What happened here? You should include a title for the event, the date(s) the event took place, a brief summary of what happened, and include an appropriate photo or video. If you need to refer to a transcript of today's broadcast you can find it here.

Athens and Sparta: Writing a Comparison/Contrast Paragraph  Today you will continue working on your Athens and Sparta - Comparison/Contrast Paragraph, which is due this Friday, May 13. Take a look at the rubric so you're clear about how you'll be assessed. 

Athens and Sparta: Writing a Comparison/Contrast Paragraph

 Today's Learning Objective  * Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta.

Warm-Up Flocabulary Video: Compare and Contrast  Learn how to compare and contrast from Flocabuary. 



Athens and Sparta: Writing a Comparison/Contrast Paragraph Today we will take the information we gathered about the differences and similarities between Athens and Sparta and transform them into a well-written comparison/contrast paragraph. Before we do, however, let's take a look at a sample paragraph.
  

Notice that comparison-contrast paragraph includes a clear topic sentence that names two things and identifies whether they are alike, different or both, contains details that illustrate the similarities and/or differences, and uses signal words to emphasize these similarities and differences. You can see the steps to writing a good comparison-contrast paragraph below.

Now it's time for you to write your own your own comparison-contrast paragraph on Athens and Sparta. The assignment Athens and Sparta - Comparison/Contrast Paragraph, which includes a list of signal words and an assignment checklist, can be found in your Social Studies Google Classroom. This assignment will be due Friday, May 13.

Comparing and Contrasting Sparta and Athens (Day 2)

 Today's Learning Objective  * Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta.

Video Analysis: Sparta and Athens  Today we will continue use our Athens and Sparta - Venn diagram to explore the similarities and differences between Ancient Greece's two most famous city-states, Sparta and Athens. First, we will watch a compilation of scenes from the movie 300, which illustrates the values, emphasis on war, and harsh lifestyle of the Spartans. Continue to use your Venn Diagram from yesterday to take notes and similarities and differences. 

Next, we will watch a BrainPop video on life in Athens. I will play the video for you on the Big Screen, but you may also access the video using the BrainPop app in your Google Drive. 
  

Types of Government: Sparta and Athens  Now we will read about the different types of government in Ancient Greece, particularly in Sparta and Athens. Open the document Government in Ancient Greece (Sparta and Athens) and let's process it together. Continue to add new details to your Athens and Sparta - Venn diagram. Tomorrow we will use the similarities and differences about Athens and Sparta that we have gathered to write compare/contrast paragraphs.    

Homework  Complete your Athens and Sparta - Venn diagram. 

Current Event Friday

CNN Student News  As we watch CNN Student News today, identify one or two news stories that you can pinpoint geographically and place on the Current Event layer of your Social Studies World Map via Google Maps. 

Russia (bordering the Black Sea) and the South China Sea were both featured in today's segment. After pinning at least one of these places on your map, consider the most important question: What happened here? You should include a title for the event, the date(s) the event took place, a brief summary of what happened, and include an appropriate photo or video. If you need to refer to a transcript of today's broadcast you can find it here.

Flocabulary's 18 Years in Rap  Listen along as our friends at Flocabulary rap about the most important news stories of the last 18 years. Which events are you familiar with? Which events would you like to research and learn more about?