Class: Ms. Humphrey's 7th grade social studies class
Unit Content Standards:
CA Content Standard: 7.1 Students analyze the causes and effects of the vast expansion and ultimate disintegration of the Roman Empire.
1. Study the early strengths and lasting contributions of Rome (e.g., significance of Roman citizenship; rights under Roman law; Roman art, architecture, engineering, and philosophy; preservation and transmission of Christianity) and its ultimate internal weaknesses (e.g., rise of autonomous military powers within the empire, undermining of citizenship by the growth of corruption and slavery, lack of education, and distribution of news).
2. Discuss the geographic borders of the empire at its height and the factors that threatened its territorial cohesion. 3.Describe the establishment by Constantine of the new capital in Constantinople and the development of the Byzantine Empire, with an emphasis on the consequences of the development of two distinct European civilizations, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and their two distinct views on church-state relations. Common Core Writing Standards: 2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
Essential Historical Questions: Who is a citizen? What rights do they get? What makes an empire? What breaks an empire?
Who protects a society? Why do they do it?
Big Ideas for the Unit: Early strengths and lasting contributions of the Roman Empire
Internal weaknesses of the Roman Empire
How Geographic borders and factors can affect a society
Development of the Byzantine Empire
Views on church state relations (Focused on Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic)
Unit assessments:
Entry level: Class mind map (have students call out words they think relate to the Roman Empire. Start writing the words on the board and then have students try to connect them in a mind map in journals. Tell them to have a box for “not included” for words they think should not actually be apart of the mind map.)
Formative:
Thumbs up questions (instead of having them raise their hands, they put one thumb up near their chest/placed on their desk so the teacher can see but others don't rely on the one person to answer. If not everyone is able to come up with an idea, scaffold again).
Council with individual students during small group/individual group work.
Council with groups during group work (based on reading levels/ells/writing levels/gate/ etc. group students accordingly. Have a different mini lesson prepared with each group. During the mini lesson, scaffold and have students participate in your mini lesson (learning together). Then allow them to work it out with each other in front of you so you can assess their ability to do it on their own.
Summative Assessment:
Roman senate discussion: Students will be given a topic and opinion that they must defend (wither they personally agree or not) based on evidence from primary and secondary sources. The teacher will play the Emperor and will listen to each side (along with the rest of the class). Students will be assessed on ability to defend the opinions based on evidence (primary and secondary), their research notes/resources, and their journal write reflection on each debate (including their own so they can say if they agree or not personally/relate it to modern day etc.)
Essay on Church state relations, comparing the arguments of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic church along with a conclusion that ties it into the modern world.
Group project on why they think the Roman Empire remained in power for so long, the three main reasons they think it failed, and how the United States stacks up in comparison
Unit Content Standards:
CA Content Standard: 7.1 Students analyze the causes and effects of the vast expansion and ultimate disintegration of the Roman Empire.
1. Study the early strengths and lasting contributions of Rome (e.g., significance of Roman citizenship; rights under Roman law; Roman art, architecture, engineering, and philosophy; preservation and transmission of Christianity) and its ultimate internal weaknesses (e.g., rise of autonomous military powers within the empire, undermining of citizenship by the growth of corruption and slavery, lack of education, and distribution of news).
2. Discuss the geographic borders of the empire at its height and the factors that threatened its territorial cohesion. 3.Describe the establishment by Constantine of the new capital in Constantinople and the development of the Byzantine Empire, with an emphasis on the consequences of the development of two distinct European civilizations, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and their two distinct views on church-state relations. Common Core Writing Standards: 2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources (primary and secondary), using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences
Common Core Reading Standards:
2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
3. Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
7. Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
Essential Historical Questions: Who is a citizen? What rights do they get? What makes an empire? What breaks an empire?
Who protects a society? Why do they do it?
Big Ideas for the Unit: Early strengths and lasting contributions of the Roman Empire
Internal weaknesses of the Roman Empire
How Geographic borders and factors can affect a society
Development of the Byzantine Empire
Views on church state relations (Focused on Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic)
Unit assessments:
Entry level: Class mind map (have students call out words they think relate to the Roman Empire. Start writing the words on the board and then have students try to connect them in a mind map in journals. Tell them to have a box for “not included” for words they think should not actually be apart of the mind map.)
Formative:
Thumbs up questions (instead of having them raise their hands, they put one thumb up near their chest/placed on their desk so the teacher can see but others don't rely on the one person to answer. If not everyone is able to come up with an idea, scaffold again).
Council with individual students during small group/individual group work.
Council with groups during group work (based on reading levels/ells/writing levels/gate/ etc. group students accordingly. Have a different mini lesson prepared with each group. During the mini lesson, scaffold and have students participate in your mini lesson (learning together). Then allow them to work it out with each other in front of you so you can assess their ability to do it on their own.
Summative Assessment:
Roman senate discussion: Students will be given a topic and opinion that they must defend (wither they personally agree or not) based on evidence from primary and secondary sources. The teacher will play the Emperor and will listen to each side (along with the rest of the class). Students will be assessed on ability to defend the opinions based on evidence (primary and secondary), their research notes/resources, and their journal write reflection on each debate (including their own so they can say if they agree or not personally/relate it to modern day etc.)
Essay on Church state relations, comparing the arguments of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic church along with a conclusion that ties it into the modern world.
Group project on why they think the Roman Empire remained in power for so long, the three main reasons they think it failed, and how the United States stacks up in comparison