Lesson 2: Government
Essential Question
How does the government of the Ancient Romans compare to US government today?
NCSS Theme
Power, Authority, and Governance
VA Standards of Learning
Social Studies 3.1
The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present world in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative democracy), and sports.
Language Arts 3.6
The student will continue to read and demonstrate comprehension of non-fiction texts.
Objectives
Students will be able to define the terms ‘contribution’ and ‘representative democracy.’
Students will be able to describe the type of government found in Ancient Rome.
Students will be able to explain the similarities between the government of the Ancient Romans and the US government today.
Students will be able to demonstrate comprehension of non-fiction texts.
Materials for Learning Activities
Students
· Exit Slips
· Social Studies Textbooks
· KWL Charts
Teacher
· Ancient Rome: Government PowerPoint Presentation
Procedures for Learning Activities
Introduction (5 minutes)
1) “Today we are going to have another exciting lesson on Ancient Rome! Who can remember what we discussed yesterday? What did the Ancient Romans do for a living? Where did they live?” (hook and link)
2) “In today’s lesson, we are going to be learning about the type of government that the Ancient Romans had. Who knows what a government is and why it is important? We are learning about this because the U.S. government today is based on some of the same government principles found in Ancient Rome. It helps us understand the world we live in today.” (purpose) Extensions and Connections: Throughout the lesson, encourage students to make connections to what they know about the U.S. government or the local government in their community/school and extend their connections to the governments of other Ancient cultures that they know about.
Instructional Strategies (40 minutes)
1) Pass out Social Studies textbooks and individual KWL charts to the whole class and create a KWL Chart on the Interactive White Board. The textbook pages used should cover the topic of Ancient Roman government. As a whole group, conduct a non-fiction text preview using the text features including title, table of contents, pictures, captions, bolded words, graphs, index, etc. (If students have been exposed to this sort of activity before, it can be conducted either individually or in pairs). Ask “Looking at the non-fiction text features, what do we know about Ancient Roman government?” Responses should be recorded in the K column of the Interactive White Board for students to copy onto their own charts. Afterwards, ask “What do you want to know about Ancient Roman government that you think these pages will tell us?” Record responses in W column of chart and have students copy onto their own papers.
2) Once the text preview is complete, read the textbook pages as a whole group. Ask “What did we learn about Ancient Roman government?” Record responses in the L column of the chart and have students copy.
3) Continue lesson using Ancient Rome: Government PowerPoint Presentation. Ask questions in slide notes to facilitate discussion.
Summary (5 minutes)
1) “What is the most important thing you learned from today’s lesson? Does anyone have any questions, connections, or light bulb moments to share? You did a wonderful job today and tomorrow we are going to learn about the many art and architectural wonders of Ancient Rome through a virtual field trip!”
2) Have students complete the exit slip for the day’s lesson individually and turn it in.
Assessment
Differentiation
How does the government of the Ancient Romans compare to US government today?
NCSS Theme
Power, Authority, and Governance
VA Standards of Learning
Social Studies 3.1
The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present world in terms of architecture, government (direct and representative democracy), and sports.
Language Arts 3.6
The student will continue to read and demonstrate comprehension of non-fiction texts.
Objectives
Students will be able to define the terms ‘contribution’ and ‘representative democracy.’
Students will be able to describe the type of government found in Ancient Rome.
Students will be able to explain the similarities between the government of the Ancient Romans and the US government today.
Students will be able to demonstrate comprehension of non-fiction texts.
Materials for Learning Activities
Students
· Exit Slips
· Social Studies Textbooks
· KWL Charts
Teacher
· Ancient Rome: Government PowerPoint Presentation
Procedures for Learning Activities
Introduction (5 minutes)
1) “Today we are going to have another exciting lesson on Ancient Rome! Who can remember what we discussed yesterday? What did the Ancient Romans do for a living? Where did they live?” (hook and link)
2) “In today’s lesson, we are going to be learning about the type of government that the Ancient Romans had. Who knows what a government is and why it is important? We are learning about this because the U.S. government today is based on some of the same government principles found in Ancient Rome. It helps us understand the world we live in today.” (purpose) Extensions and Connections: Throughout the lesson, encourage students to make connections to what they know about the U.S. government or the local government in their community/school and extend their connections to the governments of other Ancient cultures that they know about.
Instructional Strategies (40 minutes)
1) Pass out Social Studies textbooks and individual KWL charts to the whole class and create a KWL Chart on the Interactive White Board. The textbook pages used should cover the topic of Ancient Roman government. As a whole group, conduct a non-fiction text preview using the text features including title, table of contents, pictures, captions, bolded words, graphs, index, etc. (If students have been exposed to this sort of activity before, it can be conducted either individually or in pairs). Ask “Looking at the non-fiction text features, what do we know about Ancient Roman government?” Responses should be recorded in the K column of the Interactive White Board for students to copy onto their own charts. Afterwards, ask “What do you want to know about Ancient Roman government that you think these pages will tell us?” Record responses in W column of chart and have students copy onto their own papers.
2) Once the text preview is complete, read the textbook pages as a whole group. Ask “What did we learn about Ancient Roman government?” Record responses in the L column of the chart and have students copy.
3) Continue lesson using Ancient Rome: Government PowerPoint Presentation. Ask questions in slide notes to facilitate discussion.
Summary (5 minutes)
1) “What is the most important thing you learned from today’s lesson? Does anyone have any questions, connections, or light bulb moments to share? You did a wonderful job today and tomorrow we are going to learn about the many art and architectural wonders of Ancient Rome through a virtual field trip!”
2) Have students complete the exit slip for the day’s lesson individually and turn it in.
Assessment
- Students will be assessed through informal questioning during the lesson, the L section of the KWL chart, and the exit slip. The KWL chart will assess the knowledge and level of comprehension students pull from the non-fiction text, while the informal questioning and exit slip will assess the overall knowledge they’ve acquired about Ancient Roman government and its relationship to the U.S. government today.
Differentiation
- ELLs: Using the text features and PowerPoint presentation gives these students a lot of visual memory to refer to. The Think-Pair-Share activity will be beneficial because it reinforces the language of the material with peers.
- Visual/Spatial Learners: The text features and PowerPoint presentation allow these students to connect concepts with images.
- Interpersonal Learners: These learners will benefit from the Think-Pair-Share activity allowing them to discuss their thoughts with peers in a social setting.
- Gifted: The extensions and connections to oneself and other ancient civilizations provides limitless opportunity for comparing and contrasting government.
- ADD/ADHD or other students who struggle with time can tell the teacher what they learned at the end of the lesson instead of completing the exit slip.
Click on Unit Resources Page for Slide Presentation, Exit Slips, and KWL Chart files.
Note: Only the Slide Presentation files contain the discussion prompts and additional information in notes.
Note: Only the Slide Presentation files contain the discussion prompts and additional information in notes.