Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

10th Grade
World History

Mr. Jordan M. Andress

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STAGE I GOALS
Unit Overview: The unit on ancient Greece and Rome will include religious impacts on
their ancient societies, different wars and how they were fought, political changes that
would have a profound impact on modern day governments, scientific and social changes
that would change how the world would operate while these ancient societies lived. This
unit will take place around the second month of school; students will need to cover earlier
civilizations and world religions before beginning a unit on these two societies according to
the standards.
Political, cultural, and scientific advancements for these two societies are required by the
state of Arizona’s content standards. Brief lectures and activities relating to each
advancement/aspect of their societies each day will give them a better understanding of
the topics. Keeping them primarily the same with both societies, only on different weeks
will also help them understand that both societies greatly valued these aspects and
advancements as they have contributed to modern-day societies.

Enduring Understanding: The polytheistic religion of ancient Greece and Rome played a
major part in their lives as they spent a great deal of time worshipping their gods, each
society used political systems that would outlast their societies, and daily life was centered
around religion, politics, and art.

Essential Question: How did religion, politics, and daily life impact these societies?
How do they impact more modern societies?

Key Concepts:

 Religion – belief system in both polytheistic and monotheistic worship

 City states – sovereign cities in Greece
 Government – political authority in these societies (including democracy, republics,
empires)
 War – armed conflict in and against Greece and Rome
 Mythology – study of stories in both societies regarding religion and ancient ways
 Expansion – land acquisition through victorious conflict
 Christianity – belief in Jesus Christ and His teachings and beliefs widely spread
through the Roman Empire
 Daily life – standard ways of life in ancient Greece and Rome for men, women, and
children
 Innovation – new ideas and methods that improved or changed the way of life
including scientific, architectural, and political advancements

Additional people and events:

 Aristotle
 Julius Caesar
 Caesar Augustus

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  Marc Anthony
 Jesus Christ

Standards:

Arizona Standards for Social Studies:

 SS.S2.C1.PO5.A-E
o Evaluate primary and secondary sources for: (A) author’s main points,
(B) purpose and perspective, (C) facts vs. opinion, (D) different points
of view on the same historical event, and (E) credibility and validity.
 SS.S2.C2.PO2
o Analyze the development and historical significance of Hinduism,
Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.
 SS.S2.C2.PO3.A-B
o Analyze the enduring Greek and Roman contributions and their
impact on later civilization: (A) development of concepts of
government and citizenships, and (B) scientific and cultural
advancements.
 SS.S3.C1.PO1.A-B
o Examine the foundations of democratic representative government:
(A) Greek direct democracy, and (B) Roman republic.

AZ Career & College Readiness Standards:

 9-10.RH.1.
o Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and
secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of
the information.
 9-10.RH.2.
o Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary
source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas
develop over the course of the text.
 9-10.RH.6.
o Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat
the same or similar topics, including which details they include and
emphasize in their respective accounts.
 9-10.WHST.2.
o Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of
historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical
processes.

Objectives:

1. Define monotheism and polytheism

2. Identify Greek and Roman gods

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 3. Differentiate political systems of the time
4. Compare democracy with republics
5. Describe ideas behind Roman expansion
6. Describe the Peloponnesian Wars
7. Explain the rise of Christianity
8. Identify Greek and Roman advancements
9. Analyze daily life for Greek and Roman citizens
10. Evaluate the impact religion had on life in these societies

STAGE II ASSESSMENTS
Formative Assessments:

1. Quizzes: Students will take two quizzes throughout the unit. The first will be given
on day 6 of the unit after the brief review, which will cover the first section of the
unit, ancient Greece. This will cover part of objectives 2, 6, 8, and 9. The second quiz
will include the other part of 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 9 and will be given on day 13. These
quizzes will consist of mostly multiple choice/true or false questions with one short
answer question.
2. Informal discussions: Teacher will lead these discussions throughout the class on
objective topics. For instance the government systems used by the two societies,
which one was more effective democracy or republics? Class will discuss multiple
perspectives on certain events. Some discussions will be a class discussion, others
will include table discussions and class sharing’s.
3. Exit tickets: The students will be allowed time to think out their argument or
opinions and write them down which they will then turn in at the end of the class
period. This will be a way to measure their ability to think about a topic, draft a
response and show their ability to comprehend the class topics. (1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10)

Achievement Test Description:

On day 15 of the unit, the final test for the unit will be administered, which will be a
cumulative test and cover all ten objectives and topics from the two previous quizzes. This
exam is worth 30% of the student’s grade for this unit and will be broken into three parts.

1. This section will consist of 15 multiple choice and true/false questions that will span
both societies and include questions on religion, politics, social life, and
contributions. This section will include questions that cause students to recall
certain events and information from both Rome and Greece. For example, dates,
wars, mythology, etc. Part one of the exam will account for 30% of their test grade.
(All objectives)
2. This section will consist of five short answer questions in which they will continue
to build upon prior knowledge. These five questions will need to be one to two
complete sentences and cover topics such as “describe the difference between
polytheism and monotheism,” “how were the two major forms of government

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 different from each other?” and “Name some of the scientific achievements of
Roman society.” This will also account for 30% of the test grade (All objectives)
3. The final section of the test will account for 40% of the test grade and will be an
essay question. Students will receive their examination and will have one of two
essay prompts to write about. The first essay prompt will deal with Athenian
democracy. Students will need to draft a three paragraph essay on the three
branches of government and in each paragraph students need to focus on who was
allowed, what their responsibilities were, and why they are important. The second
essay prompt will deal with the Roman government. Students must draft a three
paragraph essay describing the change from a Republic to an Empire and in each
paragraph describe the religious changes, military changes, and the social changes.
(All objectives)

Performance (Authentic) Assessment Description:

This performance assessment will consist of three different projects that the students will
have free reign in choosing their content and how they will approach the projects. This will
occur throughout the entire unit; students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge on
political, social, and religious life in ancient Rome and ancient Greece. These three projects
will directly answer the essential question, in which they will focus one specific society to
look at and work with for the project. Students will work independently on all three
projects. They will write a short political speech, create a short comic book, and finally
design a museum exhibit along with an explanation. Students will then turn in all of the
parts to the performance assessment by the end of the day on day 14 (should be a
Thursday) of the class to receive a final grade for the unit. This assessment will account for
forty percent of their grade on the unit.

Part One GRASPS:

Goal: Demonstrate knowledge on social life.
Role: Multiple roles: a Greek or Roman citizen
Audience: Greek or Roman citizens.
Situation: Inform the public about their society.
Product: A short political speech.
Standards for student success: See below.

Speech Overview:

Students will choose to write from the perspective of either a Roman or Greek citizen to
inform other citizens about their society. Students will have mostly free reign on the topic
in which they choose to write about as long as it is accurate and deals with their respective
societies. Students will also have the opportunity to present their speech to the class on the
day that it’s due if they should volunteer to do so. (Objective 5, 6, 8, and 9)

Part Two GRASPS:

Goal: Demonstrate knowledge on political life.
Role: Multiple roles: a Greek or Roman politician

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Audience: uninformed Greek or Roman citizens.
Situation: Inform the public about their political system.
Product: A political comic strip.
Standards for student success: See below.

Comic Book Overview:

Students will continue with the same society from their speech and create a comic strip
showing the political system and how it worked. This should be between five to seven
spaces, have dialogue, and be from the actual time period. If this were a real comic strip, it
would be distributed to the citizens of the society to inform them about how their
governments work (Objectives 3, and 4)

Part Three GRASPS:

Goal: Demonstrate knowledge on religious life.
Role: Multiple roles: a museum exhibit designer.
Audience: museum visitors.
Situation: Inform the public about ancient Greece or Rome’s religious life.
Product: A museum exhibit design.
Standards for student success: See below.

Museum Exhibit Design Overview:

In the final part of the performance assessment, students will design a museum exhibit on a
Greek or Roman god or goddess, which will be on display at a modern-day museum’s new
Rome or Greece exhibition. They will sketch a rough design for the exhibit and describe the
decisions behind this design. Why did they choose this specific religious figure, why they
are important to the religion, and why they are important to ancient society? Students will
also write out a plaque that will be on display for the new exhibit, informing everyday
people about the religious figure. (Objectives 1, 2, and 10)

STAGE III LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Unit Calendar:

Day Topic(s) Unit Brief Listing of Assessments

Objective(s) Activities
Day 1 Greek 1&2 Hook, PowerPoint, Ticket out the
mythology BioPoem on Greek door, BioPoem
god/goddess
Day 2 Greek political 3 PowerPoint, Four Ticket out the
systems political systems door
graphic organizer
Day 3 Peloponnesian 6 PowerPoint, Debriefing
wars Peloponnesian War worksheet

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 Simulation

Day 4 Greek science 8 PowerPoint, Research Ticket out the

and tech advancements or door
advancements/ philosophers in a group
philosophy of 3-4 for class
presentation.
Day 5 Greek daily life 9 PowerPoint, class Ticket out the
presentations, door
Homework-Daily Life
Story through the
British Museum, study
Day 6 Greece 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, Debrief on homework, Greece quiz
review/quiz and 9 finish presentations if
needed, Quizlet, if time
allows, work on
Performance
Assessment.
Day 7 Roman 2 PowerPoint, Ticket out the
mythology Compare/contrast the door
Roman and Greeks gods
Day 8 Roman political 3 & 4 PowerPoint, Stanford Ticket out the
systems History Education door
Group activity on
Roman Republic with
United States
Day 9 Republic to 5 PowerPoint, Reading Ticket out the
Empire and Venn diagram door
NatGeo
Day 10 Roman daily 9 PowerPoint, Roman Ticket out the
life daily life graphic door
organizer
Day 11 Rome science 8 PowerPoint, Video on Ticket out the
and tech Roman engineering and door
advancements science advancements
Day 12 Turn to 7 Hook, PowerPoint, In- Ticket out the
Christianity class Performance door
Assessment work
Day 13 Rome 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, Kahoot!, if time allows, Rome quiz
review/quiz and 9 work on Performance
Assessment.
Day 14 Unit Review 10 Discussion, Jeopardy In-class
review game discussion,
Performance
Assessment due

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Day 15 Unit Exam 1-10 Unit Exam

Catalog of Lessons:

Day 1

Lesson title: Greek Mythology

Unit objectives: 1 (Define monotheism and polytheism) and 2 (Identify Greek and
Roman gods)

Activities:
 Unit Hook
o After attendance is taken, (re)introduce idea on polytheism and monotheism:
 Ask students if they know any part of Greek mythology
 Show image of Raphael’s Council of the gods1
o Have students to get out a sheet of paper
o Ask students to analyze image and identify any known 12 Olympians.
o Inform students about which gods and goddesses are which in the image.
 PowerPoint
o Monotheism and polytheism
o On each of the twelve Olympian’s
 Describe each Olympian’s powers, what they represent,
characteristics, and to whom they were related.
 Briefly describe other lesser gods, but not require the students to
know their information.
 BioPoem
o Have students choose a god or goddess to research on GreekMythology.com
and write a BioPoem about their god including;
 Greek name
 Four traits of character
 Relative of
 Lover of
 God of
 Who fears
 Who gives
 Who needs
 Resident of

Assessment:
 Ticket Out the Door
o Have students write down one god/goddess that they didn’t do the BioPoem
on, and what you would want to learn about them

1 Raphael’s Council of the gods https://www.wga.hu/support/viewer_m/z.html

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 o Which do they want to focus on: Greece or Rome?
 BioPoem
o Have students put their name on their BioPoem and turn it in.

Day 4

Lesson title: Greek Science and Tech Advancements/Philosophy

Unit objectives: 8 (Identify Greek and Roman Advancements)

Activities:

 PowerPoint
o Begin class by asking students about any Greek Philosophers they may
already know about.
o Brief lecture on philosophers and advancements in science and technology
 Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras.
 Describe how people still use their ideas as reference when it
comes to philosophy.
 Alarm clock, odometer, cartography, geometry, medicine.
 These are still used today, though they have evolved over time.
 Research Project
o Break students into groups of four members
o Have students in their group choose a technological or scientific
advancement (that may or may not be in use today) or a Philosopher
 Once something has been chosen, another group cannot chose the
same idea
o Allow students to have the remainder of class time to research their
advancement or philosopher and create a short presentation using
PowerPoint or Prezi (limit of 5 minutes)
 Presentations will be given on day 5, if class time runs out, students
will continue their presentations on day 6 at the beginning of class
before a brief review.

Assessment:

 Ticket out the Door

o Students will choose a presentation; they will write down two things they
learned and one question they still have.

Day 8

Lesson title: Roman Political Systems

Unit objectives: 3 (Differentiate political systems of the time) and 4 (Compare republic
with democracy)

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Activities:
 PowerPoint
o Describe how the Roman Republic is often compared with American
democracy
o Review what democracy was in ancient Greece
o Describe a Republic
 SHEG Activity
o Pass out documents to students (see attachments)
 Timeline of the rise of the Republic
 Breakdown of the branches of government
 Document A: Modified description by Polybius of the Roman
constitution
 Document B: Excerpt from The Crowd in the Late Republic by
Professor Fergus Millar
 Document C: Excerpt from Professor Alan Ward’s article “How
Democratic was the Roman Republic?”
o Students will work with their table mates and use these documents to fill out
their graphic organizer for the three documents (timeline and breakdown is
there to help with the documents)
o Students will share out their groups’ response to the question, how
democratic was the Roman Republic?
 Discuss similarities and differences between the Roman Republic and
the direct democracy of Greece.

Assessment:
 Ticket out the Door
o Write down one similarity and one difference between the Roman Republic
and the United States of America.

Day 12

Lesson title: Turn to Christianity

Unit objectives: 7 (Explain the rise of Christianity)

Activities:
 Unit Hook
o Show students Jean-Leon Gerome’s painting The Christian Martyr’s Last
Prayer2
 Discuss the painting
 What do you see?
 What do you think?

2Gerome’s The Christian Martyr’s Last Prayer

http://art.thewalters.org/images/art/large/l_ps1_37113_fnt_dd_t09.jpg

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 o Show students Gianfrancesco Penni’s Baptism of Constantine3
 Discuss the painting
 What do you see?
 What do you think?
o Ask students why they think Rome evolved from persecutions of Christians
to an Empire where it became the primary religion?
 PowerPoint
o Lecture on the rise of Christianity in Rome
 What Christianity is
 Persecution of Christians
 Constantine being the first emperor to convert to Christianity
 Religious tolerance for Christians
 After the Edict of Milan, Christianity became the official religion of the
Empire
 How it spread after this
 In-class Performance Assessment Work
o Students will be able to use the remainder of the class period to work on
their Performance Assessments.
 They should have access to computers for this day
 This will be one of the only class days dedicated to them working on
their Performance Assessment

Assessment:
 Ticket out the Door
o Students will write down two interesting things that they learned about the
rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire and one question that they still have
about it.

Day 14

Lesson title: Unit Review

Unit objectives: 10 (Evaluate the impact religion had on these societies)

Activities:
 Discussion
o Students will be engaged in an in-class discussion on the impact religion had
on these societies
 Did it play a part in their culture?
 If so, how big of an impact did it have on their culture and daily life?
 Does religion have an impact on societies today?
 Jeopardy Review Game

3 Penni’s Baptism of Constantine

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Raphael_Baptism_Constantine.jp
g

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 o Number off students 1-8, and have them get in their groups (6 groups of 4, 2
groups of 3)
o Have two rounds of review questions
 The first round is on Greece, the second is on Rome
 Categories will include religion, political systems, science and
technology, daily life, and one categories separate for each society
 Greece is Peloponnesian Wars
 Rome is Republic to Empire
o Winning team will get 5 points extra credit for the unit, second place will get
2 points extra credit.
Assessment:
 Performance Assessment due
o Students will need to have turned in all parts of their Performance
Assessment by the end of the class period
 Comic strip on political life, speech on society, and museum
mythology display
 They can turn in their assessment by the next day before they take
their unit exam for an automatic deduction of 10%
 Remind students to study before the exam the next day.

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CITATIONS
Gerome, J. (1883). “The Christian Martyr’s Last Prayer.” The Walters Art Museum.
http://art.thewalters.org/images/art/large/l_ps1_37113_fnt_dd_t09.jpg

Penni, G. (1517-1524). “Baptism of Constantine.” Wikipedia.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Raphael_Baptism_Consta
ntine.jpg

Raphael. (1517-1518). “Council of the gods.” Web Gallery of Art.

https://www.wga.hu/support/viewer_m/z.html

Stanford History Education Group. “Roman Republic.” Stanford History Education Group.
https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/roman-republic

ATTACHMENTS

The Christian Martyr’s Last Prayer by Jean-Leon Gerome

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The Baptism of Constantine by Gianfrancesco Penni

Council of the gods by Raphael

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SHEG documents

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