Ancient Rome - Late Republic - Cleopatra

Queen Cleopatra by Tom Streisguth

Discussion:
Review of Egypt - geography, monarchy, religion
Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies
Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII

Activity:
Mapping Egypt
Picture Study - Ptolemaic Egypt - compare to Old, Middle, New Kingdom art/imagery

Ancient Rome - The Republic - Pyrrhus and the Pyrrhic Wars

Plutarch's Lives, Volume II: "Life of Pyrrhus"

Discussion:
Review of cultures and geography - Greece, Macedonia, Sicily, etc
Understanding disparate power struggles - non-unified kingdoms
Meaning of "Pyrrhic victory"

Activity:
Trace Pyrrhus' route on a map; reenact Pyrrhic Wars

Ancient Rome - The Republic - Military - Soldiers

How to Be a Roman Soldier by Fiona Macdonald and Nicholas Hewetson

Discussion:
Types of soldiers
Weapons and gear
Deployments
Differences between the Roman army and Alexander the Great's

Activity:
Arm yourself!  Pretend to be a Roman soldier!

Alexander the Great - Death and Legacy

Alexander the Great: Conqueror of the Ancient World by Tom McGowen
Alexander the Great: The Legend of a Warrior King by Peter Chrisp and Peter Dennis

Discussion:
Alexander's death - no immediate heir or successor
Breaking up the conquered lands
Beginning of the Hellenistic Age

Activity:
Review Alexander's journey

Alexander the Great - Persia and India

Alexander the Great: Conqueror of the Ancient World by Tom McGowen
Alexander the Great: The Legend of a Warrior King by Peter Chrisp and Peter Dennis

Discussion:
Gaugamela
Persepolis
Alexander's major faults (drinking, anger)
Misery in India, and heading back to Macedon

Activity:
Battle re-enactments with Playmobil people
In the backyard, pretend to be in the army going through India.  Face dangers and give up.

Alexander the Great - Asia Minor, Phoenicia, and Egypt

Alexander the Great: Conqueror of the Ancient World by Tom McGowen
Alexander the Great: The Legend of a Warrior King by Peter Chrisp and Peter Dennis

Discussion:
The Gordion Knot
Revenge on Persia
Siege of Tyre
Alexandria
Preparing to go to Persia

Activity:
Re-enact how Alexander conquered Asia Minor through Egypt
Mark important battles on map

Alexander the Great - (re)Conquering Greece

Alexander the Great: Conqueror of the Ancient World by Tom McGowen
Alexander the Great: The Legend of a Warrior King by Peter Chrisp and Peter Dennis

Discussion:
Philip's plans, and death
Alexander decides to take over
Fighting to keep Greece united under Macedonia
What happened to Thebes

Activity:
Re-enact how Alexander conquered and destroyed Thebes

Alexander the Great - Armed Forces

Alexander the Great: Conqueror of the Ancient World by Tom McGowen
Alexander the Great: The Legend of a Warrior King by Peter Chrisp and Peter Dennis

Discussion:
Arrangement of Alexander's army - phalanx, cavalry
Gear and equipment
Training

Activity:
Recreate Alexander's army with Playmobil people

Alexander the Great - Review of Ancient Mediterranean and Asian World Cultures

Alexander the Great: Conqueror of the Ancient World by Tom McGowen
(for picture study): Alexander the Great: the legend of a warrior king by Peter Chrisp and Peter Dennis

Discussion:
Why did Alexander go to war?

Activity:
Make a map large enough (2'x3') to display Alexander's route.
Locate the following places of culture on the map:

• Greece
• Egypt
• "Phoenicia"
• Mesopotamia
• Persia
• India

Alexander the Great - Youth

Alexander the Great: Conqueror of the Ancient World by Tom McGowen
(for picture study): Alexander the Great: the legend of a warrior king by Peter Chrisp and Peter Dennis

Discussion:
Alexander's parents
Story of Bucephalus
Aristotle - Alexander's teacher
Alexander's favorite story (the Iliad)

Activity:
Picture study: bust of Alexander, Alexander taming Bucephalus - Edinburgh, Alexander and Bucephalus in Skopje
Alexander starts a trend: shaving!