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

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

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)

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

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.

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

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 - 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!

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!

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

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

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Vergil, Horace, Ovid

The Ancient Romans by Allison Lassieur
Selections from Ovid, Vergil, and Horace
(Opening of the Metamorphoses, Opening of Aeneid, In Praise of My Father from Satires)

Discussion:
Purpose of poetry in Rome
Important topics poets discussed
Poets' relationship with government (Ovid's exile)

Activity:
Listen to the Aeneid in Latin; attempt to find the meter.

Ancient Rome - The Empire - Octavian

Tools of the Ancient Romans by Rachel Dickinson

Discussion:
Octavian - accomplishments
The Empire vs. The Republic (systems of government comparison)

Activity:
Make an Emperors comparison chart (Name, Year of Death and Cause, Contributions, Grade).  Add Octavian