7.1 Roman Empire
Media Guide
| Link | Type | Description |
Gladiator | DVD | Excellent film for showing off the grandeur of the empire. It is rated R but there are many scenes that are usable nonetheless. I typically show the early battle between the Romans and the barbarians to give student a sense of Roman organization. I also use the scene of the emperor riding through the city and an edited version of the gladiator battle. |
 Pompeii: The Last Day | DVD | Discovery channel documentary bordering on docudrama retelling the events of Pompeii. There are dozens of Pompeii films out there but this one is the best. Very entertaining and educational. Some questionable content as the film is very honest about Roman lifestyles. |
Ben Hur | DVD | I use only the chariot race scene but it alone is worth picking up the movie. No better recreation of a chariot race has been done that I've seen. |
 Spartacus | DVD | When I was in school we watched the whole movie. Now I only show the opening scene to give a sense of Roman slavery. |
Unsolved History: Colosseum | DVD | A solid episode from an incredible series. I often show this entire episode. Discusses the building and uses of the Colosseum as well as examining whether or not it was ever flooded for mock naval battles as is often believed. |
Gladiators: Bloodsport of the Colosseum | DVD | Another documentary that I have shown in its entirety. Filled with some nice lesser known facts about the Gladiators and presented in a fairly interesting manner. |
Rome: Engineering an Empire | DVD | Highly recommended (I recommend the entire series) documentary retelling most of Rome's key points in history from the perspective of technology. I would not likely show the whole thing but in parts it is stellar. If you've never seen this series, you're missing out. Plus, it is hosted by Robocop. |
 Carmina Burana: O Fortuna | Song | A somewhat modern opera (1935) song that I use to expose students to Latin and to dispel some of their misconceptions about opera. Makes for a great lesson. |
 The Dark Ages | DVD | Documentary primarily about the Dark Ages (duh) but with a great summary of the fall of the empire. You'll want to use this during your Dark Ages unit anyway so definitely worth picking up. |
Encyclopedia of the Roman World | Book | Fantastic book for elementary or middle school students. Good information and wonderful pictures broken down by topic. |
Eyewitness: Ancient Rome | Book | Another excellent book for younger students. Not quite as comprehensive as the Usborne book but arguably more interesting. Filled with wonderful pictures and graphics. The entire Eyewitness series is great. |
Monty Python: The Life of Brian | DVD | There is a scene in the movie where a group of would be rebels get together to discuss why they are going against Rome. It results in a hilarious presentation of Roman contributions to her provinces. Definitely worthwhile. |
Empire | DVD | Mini-series that ran on ABC in 2005. This tells (with some very fictionalized elements) the story of the rise of Augustus. I show the first 8 minutes of this as my introduction to the unit as it dramatizes the assassination of Julius Caesar which essentially launches the empire period. |
Ancient Discoveries | DVD | 2 DVD set with one episode in particular I recommend. One of them is about a Roman doctor named Galen and the rather incredible things he did for medicine centuries ago. I use only clips but this episode could easily be shown in full. Very good for middle school with lots of cringe-worthy moments! The other stuff is mostly pre-medieval but there some useful China information as well. |
Star Wars Episode 1 | DVD | "Huh?!" Few fun clips here just to show how history influences modern culture. The pod race scenes compares nicely to the chariot race from Ben Hur and the galactic senate scenes match up with scenes from Empire. |
Teacher's Guide
Roman Empire Powerpoint Lecture Notes
I. Intro & Geog
a. There is very little actual note-taking in this section. There are a few intro videos and then some general info about the size and scope of the empire. The main map slide I use had to be cut out for the web as it made the file size too large. I will see what I can do about getting it down to a web-managable size.
b. CSI: Rome (Caesar Assassination Lab)
While admittedly not part of the California history standards (well, it is for 6th grade, just not 7th) this lab is well worth doing. I made it based off an episode of Investigating History where they went through some interesting theories about Caesar’s assassination. I use this to introduce the CSI lab concept to my class as it is very high interest. It is a set of 9 stations offering various forensic and testimonial evidence about the assassinations. Students work as CSIs to discover the people and reasons behind the assassination.
II. Roman Technology
a. Another section that is pretty light on the notes. There are a series of after and before pictures showing Rome today and then layering what it would have looked like over the top. The students love this section and I take no credit for it as it came from one of our other teachers. After the architecture section there is a short and very optional section on Roman health practices. I've tried cutting that part but the kids love it.
b. Then and Now
Currently the reading for this lab comes from an old textbook adoption (Across the Centuries) so I am looking for an updated text. That said, I will continue to use it until I do because it is a good lab. This lab serves a dual purpose. First, of course, it serves as an exploration of Roman technology. Secondly, it works very well as an early lab in that it helps students get a sense of how different life was historically. They seem to believe that airplanes have always existed.
III. Society
a. This section is very long and may spill over into a second day. It covers the class structure of the empire with a focus on the importance of citizenship. It then goes on to explore why the Roman games were so important. I may end up moving the citizenship section down into Government for time reasons. It also helps to explain why the people in the provinces became unhappy. Still, for now, it remains here.
b. Culture Shock
The idea behind the Culture Shock labs is to give students a taste of the culture of the civilization. This is done through a series of mini-labs sometimes in groups. This particular one works best as a whole class activity. The first lab gives students a taste of opera (though I am well aware this came around long after the Roman Empire) and Latin. Upon entry I have some stereotypical opera playing and students respond to whether they like it or not. I then play O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (which is a much more interesting opera piece) and have them complete the worksheet. In the second lab students read a short passage about barbarian laws and then take a 10 question "quiz" on the material. To determine the answers to the questions students volunteer to complete "ordeals" in the classroom such as balancing a book on their head or doing pushups. If they succeed, whatever answer that student put is correct (even if everyone else knows it is wrong!) If they fail, whatever they put is wrong. The third activity (which was previously a section in the notes) is a simple introduction of the Roman alphabet. I have an old worksheet I use that I’ll be converting to digital soon.
IV. The Rise of Constantine
a. There is one slide here on economics honestly just because I'd hate to be missing a highway on my first unit. The bulk of this section, however, deals with Constantine. Unfortunately, due to size constraints I've cut out the main slide I use to tell his story. I am working on a solution and hope to have it posted soon. This section is not particularly long unless you're like me and use it to retell most of early Christian history. Constantine was an amazing figure even if Holt's terrible, terrible book gives him only two sentences. I loathe that text.
b. Chapter Walk
V. The Fall of the Empire
a. Though I have tried to cut this unit to 4 lecture days it simply won't happen this year. I've already cut it down from an original 7 lecture days to 5. This final section is short but information heavy. It explores the role of the Roman military, the role of barbarians in the empire and, ultimately, why they were angry enough to rebel and bring the empire down.
b. Fall of the Empire Stations While I really don't like to do two stations lab in one unit I am willing to do so here because both work. In this one students read about 8 different factors behind the fall of the empire and then rank them in order from largest to smallest.