Animals and Plants - Ecosystems - Mountains

"Mountains" segment from Planet Earth, BBC, David Attenborough
Mountains by Seymour Simon

Discussion:
Animal and plant adaptations in mountains

Activity:
Add "mountains" to the ecosystems comparison chart.
Color in mountainland areas on blank map.

Animals and Plants - Ecosystems - Chapparal

The Chapparal: Life on the Scrubby Coast by Salvatore Tocci

Discussion:
Technical definition of "chapparal"
Animal and plant adaptations in chapparal

Activity:
Add "chapparal" to the ecosystems comparison chart.
Color in chapparal areas on blank map.

Animals and Plants - Ecosystems - Temperate Forests

"Forests" segment from Planet Earth, BBC, David Attenborough
Forests by Andy Owen and Miranda Ashwell

Discussion:
Technical definition of "temperate forest"
Animal and plant adaptations in temperate forests

Activity:
Add "temperate forests" to the ecosystems comparison chart.
Color in temperate forest areas on blank map.

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Sack of Rome (410)

Tools of the Ancient Romans by Rachel Dickinson
Religions of Rome Vol. II: A Sourcebook by Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price

Discussion:
Visigoths - background
Three sieges and the sack
Import of the sack to Romans

Activity:
Review of Emperors Chart
Narration of Emperors from Trajan to Constantine

Animals and Plants - Ecosystems - Grasslands

"Great Plains" segment from Planet Earth, BBC, David Attenborough
Grasslands by Darlene R. Still

Discussion:
Technical definition of "grassland"
Animal and plant adaptations in grasslands

Activity:
Add "grassland" to the ecosystems comparison chart.
Color in grassland areas on blank map.

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Constantine

Religions of Rome Vol. II: A Sourcebook by Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price
Tools of the Ancient Romans by Rachel Dickinson

Discussion:
Wars - Gauls, Civil war within the tetrachy
Conversion to Christianity and Edict of Milan (religious tolerance)
Founding Byzantium (Constantinople)

Activity:
Add Constantine to the Emperors Chart

Animals and Plants - Ecosystems - Wetlands

Wetlands by Darlene R. Still

Discussion:
Technical definition of "wetland"
Animal and plant adaptations in wetlands

Activity:
Add "wetlands" to ecosystem comparison chart.
Color in wetland areas on blank map.

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Diocletian

Religions of Rome Vol. II: A Sourcebook by Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price
Tools of the Ancient Romans by Rachel Dickinson

Discussion:
Diocletian comes to power
Tetrarchy
Attempts at reforming religion
Subsequent rulers (to Constantine)

Activity:
Map exercise: divide the empire up under the tetrarchy
Matching exercise: match the Roman emperor to his accomplishments (or nefarious deeds)

Animals and Plants - Ecosystems - Rain Forest

"Jungle" segment from Planet Earth, BBC, David Attenborough
Tropical Rain Forests by Darlene R. Still

Discussion:
Technical definition of "rain forest"
Animal and plant adaptations in rain forests

Activity:
Add "rain forest" to the ecosystems comparison chart.
Color in rain forest areas on blank map.

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Crisis of the Third Century

Tools of the Ancient Romans by Rachel Dickinson

Discussion:
Civil war after Commodus' murder
The empire starts to break apart
The many short-lived emperors (exceptions: Septimus Severus and his son, Caracella)

Activity:
Add "civil war" to List of Emperors
Pattern study: List of Roman Emperors - looking for patterns of behavior, accession, origin, method, etc

Animals and Plants - Ecosystems - Deserts

"Deserts" segment from Planet Earth, BBC, David Attenborough
Deserts by Darlene R. Still

Vocabulary Added:
desert: wasteland (Latin)

Discussion:
Technical definition of "desert"
Animal and plant adaptations in deserts

Activity:
Create an ecosystem comparison chart. Add "desert", listing plants and animals and their taxonomic groups.
Use this blank map of the world to color in where the deserts are.

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Marcus Aurelius

Life in the Roman Empire: The City by Katherine Hinds
Life in the Roman Empire: The Patricians by Katherine Hinds
Religions of Rome Vol. II: A Sourcebook by Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price

Discussion:
Succession of Marcus Aurelius
Stoicism (wisdom, courage, justice, temperance)
Campaigns in the Eastern part of the empire

Activity:
Add Marcus Aurelius to the List of Emperors.
Narration: Tell the story of the succession of emperors from Octavian to Marcus Aurelius.

Animals and Plants - Ecosystems - Overview

Secrets of Habitats by Andrew Solway
Plants and Plant Life, vol. Plant Ecology by Michael Allaby

Vocabulary Added:
ecosystem: environment-system

Discussion:
Types of ecosystems
Co-evolution of animals and plants

Activity:
Compare and contrast ecosystems of friends and family - how is life different in each place because of the ecosystem?

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Hadrian

Life in the Roman Empire: The Patricians by Katherine Hinds
Religions of Rome Vol. II: A Sourcebook by Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price

Discussion:
Imperial succession
Hadrian's achievements

Activity:
Add Hadrian to the Emperors Chart
Add Hadrian's wall to the map of the Roman Empire

Plants - Experiments

The student will make a poster presenting one of the plant-based experiments undertaken at the beginning of the unit.  The student can choose which experiment to feature.  The poster should include the following sections of the scientific method:

• Question
• Hypothesis
• Prediction
• Testing
• Analysis
• Conclusion

The poster should have at least two drawings or photographs, depending on the experiment chosen, as well as samples taken from the experiment.

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Roman Provinces

Roman Britain by Ruth Brocklehurst and Stephen Wright
Religions of Rome Vol. II: A Sourcebook by Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price

Discussion:
Rome's acquisition of provinces
Life in the provinces
Administering the enormous empire

Activity:
Color and label a map of the Roman Empire

Plants - Final Review

The student should be able to place a list of 50 plants in their correct place on a taxonomic tree.

The student should be able to answer the following questions:
What are the three things all plants need?
What is the word that means that plants convert sunlight to food?
What is chlorophyll?
What does it mean to "fix" nitrogen?
What are annual rings?
What is the difference between a spore and a seed?
What are the four parts of a flower?
What is pollination?  Name some pollinators.
How does a flowering plant reproduce?
Why or how do plants go extinct?
What does cooking do to a plant?
What is an invasive species?  Are there any in our yard?  Why are they a problem?

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Trajan

Life in the Roman Empire: The Patricians by Katherine Hinds (primary sources)
Life in the Roman Empire: The City by Katherine Hinds
Rome in Spectacular Cross-Section by Stephen Biesty

Discussion:
Domitian - Nerva - Trajan (line of succession and adoption)
Military achievements
Public works (market, forum, column)
Welfare and infrastructure projects

Activity:
Add Trajan to the Emperor Evaluation sheet
Draw your own Column, putting yourself on the top as a statue

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Gladiators

Gladiators Battling in the Arena by Katherine Frew
A Roman Gladiator by Don Nardo
The Colosseum by Elizabeth Mann

Discussion:
Participants: slaves, criminals, prisoners of war
Ludi - training programs
Types of gladiators and events

Activity:
Correctly outfit our Playmobil Colosseum gladiators with the right trappings for their type of event.

Plants - Dicots Review II

The student should be able to answer the following questions:
Why does mint spread so fast?
What kinds of Lamiidae plants would you find in your spice rack?
Why are daisies sometimes so different from each other?
What kinds of asters can you eat?
Name some uses of sunflowers.

Take the student outside and identify at least 10 plants from these two groups.

Plants - Dicots Review I

The student should be able to describe the distinguishing characteristics of a dicot.

The student should be able to answer the following questions:
Name one of the oldest dicots (magnolia).
Why do leaves change colors?
What does "deciduous" mean?
Why do some plants eat animals?  How do they do it?
Name some Rosidae plants that we eat.

Take the student outside to identify at least 10 different kinds of Rosidae plants.  Extra credit if the student can distinguish among Rosidae, Hamamelids, and Magnolids.

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Colosseum and Circus Maximus

Roman Amphitheaters by Don Nardo
The Roman Colosseum by Elizabeth Mann
Rome in Spectacular Cross-Section by Stephen Biesty

Discussion:
Structure and purpose of the Colosseum/Circus Maximus
When/how the Colosseum was built
Naming the Colosseum (for the statue, not the amphitheater's size)
Events at Colosseum vs. Circus Maximus

Activity:
At last, our Playmobil Colosseum set is used for its intended purpose.  Let the games begin!

Plants - Monocots Review

The student should be able to give the distinguishing characteristics of a monocot.

Take the student outside.  The student should correctly identify at least 10 monocots.

The student should be able to answer the following questions:

Name some monocots we eat (banana, ginger, pineapple, grains, palms).
Name some monocots that grow especially well in or near water (sedge, cattail, rush, reed).
What is the purpose of the bulb in the bulb plants?

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Mt. Vesuvius

Investigating the Past: Pompeii and Herculaneum

Bodies from the Ash by James M. Deem

Discussion:
Pompeii - location, geography, proximity to Vesuvius
Archaeological excavations
Beliefs about volcanos
Herculaneum - difference in experiencing the volcano

Activity:
Make a model of Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Herculaneum.  Destroy!

Plants - Primitive Plants Review

The student should be able to describe and identify basic characteristics of:

• algae
• moss
• clubmoss
• fern
• cycad
• gingko
• conifers

The student should be able to answer the following questions:

How does moss absorb water without roots?

What is lichen?

How do ferns reproduce?

Why are cycads different from conifers?

Why were people surprised to discover gingko?

How can you tell cypress from spruce?

What makes a pine tree different from most other conifers?

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Year of the Four Emperors

List of Roman Emperors from Wikipedia

Discussion:
Political Upheaval - comparing/contrasting the Republic and the Empire

Activity:
Add the four emperors (all together) to the Emperors chart
Re-enact Year of Four Emperors events with Playmobil people

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Claudius and Nero

Tools of the Ancient Romans by Rachel Dickinson

Discussion:
Contributions of Claudius
Why was Nero such a bad emperor?  Has he been misjudged, or was he really that bad?

Activity:
Add the two emperors studied to the Emperor Chart

Plants - Embryophytes - Tracheophytes - Angiosperms - Dicots - Asteridae - Compositae II

Classifying Flowering Plants by Francine D. Galko
Plants and Plant Life Vol. 10: The Dicotyledons by Michael Allaby

Discussion:
Familiar edible plants
-artichoke
-lettuce
-sunflower

Activity:
Add artichoke, lettuce, and sunflower to Plant Kingdom tree
Cook a salad with artichokes and lettuce, and sunflower seeds
Try out some different products made from sunflowers
Plant sunflowers in the garden; observe how they turn their heads toward the sun

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Tiberius and Caligula

Tools of the Ancient Romans by Rachel Dickinson

Discussion:
What makes a good ruler?
Advantages of having an emperor vs. having a republic
Disadvantages of having an emperor

Activity:
Add the two emperors studied to the Emperor Chart

Plants - Embryophytes - Tracheophytes - Angiosperms - Dicots - Asteridae - Compositae I

Classifying Flowering Plants by Francine D. Galko
Plants and Plant Life Vol. 10: The Dicotyledons by Michael Allaby

Discussion:
Familiar non-edible plants
-thistles
-gerber daisies
-African daisies
-marigolds
-chrysanthemums

Activity:
Add daisies and thistles to Plant Kingdom tree
Go out in the garden and see how many kinds of Compositae plants we have