Introduction:
This unit will allow the students to learn about the Classical Civilizations, specifically Greece and Rome. Students will gain a good understanding of these civilizations by the time they complete all four phases of the unit. The unit is divided into four parts, which will overlap somewhat.
Part 1 is an ongoing teacher-directed packet of mini lessons designed to directly teach content about the civilizations to be studies.
Part 2 is a webquest about Greece that the students will complete.
Part 3 is an online scavenger hunt through a clearinghouse site of Ancient Roman information.
Part 4 is an inquiry project on the Classical Civilizations that is student directed.
Learning Goals:
Students will be presented with information about Classical Greece and Rome. Many aspects of those civilizations will be covered: culture, government, important people, art and music, and war. Much of the information will be disseminated through books, videos, the teacher, and websites. Mini lessons will include information on government, geography, art, history, culture, and maps.
- To go to Rome, click here.
Students will design and complete an inquiry project of their choosing on a Classical Civilization topic. The topic can be one that was covered directly through teacher-directed learning or one that they came across in their web research.
Project Unit Activity Structure:
Part 1: Background Information of Classical Civilizations
This part of the unit will be ongoing throughout the entire unit. Teachers will conduct mini-lessons on content-based topics, research methods and technology. They will cover the progression of the Greek and Roman civilizations, the cultures, the important people, the technology, the government, and the arts. Teachers will use video-clips, book excerpts, slides, and other teaching materials. These mini lessons will occur about every other day for the entire duration of the unit.
Part 2: Greece WebQuest
The webquest will take about 4-5 days to complete. Students will begin the journey through Classical Greece. They will work through the “Welcome to Ancient Greece“ webquest. They will explore the culture, government, important people, etc. and complete the task of the quest. The teachers will stress that as they move along in the webquest, they should be on the lookout for topics that interest them and that may be topics for their inquiry projects still to come.
Part 3: Classical Rome Web Activity
The web activity will take students about 4-5 days to complete. Students will have a list of investigative questions that the teachers have designed that they will have to research. The purpose of the questions is to immerse the students in Classical Rome. The website is “Project Rome”. It has resources for government, art, music, politics, citizens, geography, maps, etc. Teachers will ask high level questions that force the students to put together information that they find in order to answer the questions.
Part 4: Classical Civilizations Inquiry Project.
Day 1 – Discuss the elements of a good inquiry question. Brainstorm what worked and what did not work when formulating the inquiry question for their last project.
Give options for presentations: iMovie, Appleworks Presentation, QuickTime, Appleworks Word Processor.
Students may work alone or in pairs.
Days (2 – 4) – Exploration of inquiry topics.
Review of notes taken during web activities on possible inquiry questions.
Formation of inquiry question.
*Collect inquiry questions from groups.
Days (5 – 9) – Data collection
* Collect 1 page reflection on background research.
Days (10 – 13) – Presentation preparation.
Days (14 – 15) – Student presentations
*Grade Presentations with rubric.
Assessment criteria:
Students will be graded throughout the project. Each assessment is identified by an asterisk (*).
Teacher guidance:
Students will receive continuous feedback from the teacher when assignments are collected, when problems arise, and when the teacher roams the room asking questions about the projects. They will also receive feedback during the webquest and web activity work. Students may also use each other as resources. The teacher will try to develop a library of alternative research sites for the students on this topic, using student contributions for this library.
Technology used:
Students will be expected to use at least five different types of technology/learning tools during their presentation of their inquiry project. See