Purpose of Social Studies Blog

This blog reviews various texts that could be used for a 6th grade Social Studies class studying Roman history. The books selected reflect a diverse look at history by broadly covering the following topics: archaeology, language, religion, culture (art, working life, entertainment, etcetera), and general history such as significant wars and battles, general timelines, significant rulers, and more. Exposing students to Roman history through such a broad range of topics will encourage students to think more critically about it. Critical thinking will enrich the student's understanding of history so that they are able to view it as a complex cohesion of factors put together like a puzzle. Each text will be summarized, evaluated for its level of applicability for the 6th grade age group, and analyzed for how the text could be mined for potential lesson plans relating to this unit of study.

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths is a collection of Greek myths. At first glance, a novice might question why students should read a book about Greek mythology if students are studying the Romans. However, Roman religion adopted Greek mythology and only added to it while Romanizing the names of the characters. Each myth is told like a story, and the book divides itself by major gods and goddesses to heroes to minor heroes and so on and so forth. There are illustrations throughout the text that capture the dramatic moments of many of the stories.

This book is often regarded as a definitive mythology textbook for students younger than high school, much in the same way Edith Hamilton's Mythology is consistently read by high schoolers. Not only does this book provide an accurate account of the myths, but it also retells each myth in a way that is accessible for this age group.

Potential Lesson Plan:

Standard: Standard 6-2, Indicator 6-2.3

Objective: The student will create an original myth to explain phenomena in space in order to understand how people use stories to explain the unknown.

Materials: Paper, pencils, photocopies of the tales of Narcissus, Iris, and Arachne, and a room arrangement to accommodate groups of three.

Outline: Students will be broken into groups of 3. Each student will be assigned one of the following etiological tales: Narcissus, Arachne, and Iris. After each student has read their story, they will then summarize it for their other group members. Upon completion of this, the group will then pick an phenomena in space to explain with their very own myth. There will be a list of them such as: why are there black holes, why is Jupiter so big, or how did Pluto end up so far away? The students will craft their story using at least one mortal and at least one supernatural creature like a Centaur, a god or goddess, or even a monster. After students have crafted this story, they will record a final draft which they will then share with the rest of the class.

Usborne Encyclopedia of the Roman World

The Usborne Encyclopedia of the Roman World is exactly what the title states. This text is chock-full of informative illustrations and accompanying text. It could easily be read straight through or studied for just one section. The book is organized to follow the chronological history of Rome. Anachronistic phenomena such as gladiators or slavery are placed into a general category called "Everyday Life." This book provides wonderful summaries for big ideas like the Roman Republic or the Roman Empire while offering enough details to be informative.

Although many 6th graders might not read through the text chronologically, it makes for easy browsing. Students are able to look at a two page section and read a comprehensive summary of a portion of Roman history. The illustrations and easy to read text make it a prime candidate for a pleasure read for students.

Potential Lesson Plan:

Standard: Standard 6-2, Indicator 6-2.4

Objective: The student will investigate the impact of the Roman Empire and create a graphic organizer to illustrate what they learn.

Materials: Posters, Markers, copies of the text, rulers, and pencils.

Outline: Students will read "The Legacy of Rome" and "More About the Empire." After reading these two sections, students will synthesize the information by creating a "Before and After the Romans Chart." This chart will detail not only cultural contributions, but also how the world was different during the Roman Empire.

History News: The Roman News

History News: The Roman News has an unusual format. It takes significant events or time periods in Roman history and displays them like a newspaper. Everything is written from the perspective of the Romans.

The eye-catching format of this book makes it a very engaging read for this age group. Not only are the pictures in full color, but the captions and headlines are also very attention-grabbing. The only downside of this very engaging format is it might confuse students into thinking the Romans had newspapers.

Potential Lesson Plan:

Standard: Standard 6-2, Indicator 6-2.3

Objective: The students will summarize historical information by creating a faux newspaper article.

Materials: Scissors, markers, pens, pencils, card-stock, paper, and history textbook.

Outline: Students will pick a historical event from their textbook and create a newspaper article to summarize it. Students will mimic the style of The Roman News text. They will create a draft version in black and white before creating a final version on card-stock and in color.

Rome (books 1 and 2) via graphic organizers

Rome: Book 1 and Rome: Book 2 are collections of graphic organizers that outline broad topics like what the typical Roman house looks like, the Roman impact on America, images of the Roman forum with labeled parts, etc. These books provide an efficient, brief look at Roman history. Each graphic organizer serves as a summary for these broad topics.

This text is very useful with 6th grade students who have shorter attention spans or who learn more visually. In the teacher's guide, there is text to explain each portion of the graphic organizer if anything seems ambiguous or unclear.

Potential Lesson Plan:

Standard: Standard 6-2, Indicator 6-2.3

Objective: The student will compare the format of a graphic organizer to written text as a means of conveying history.

Materials: Rome Book 1 and Rome Book 2, pencil or pen, and paper.

Outline: Students will choose a graphic organizer that interests them. They will then write a two paragraph essay that relays the information presented in their chosen graphic organizer. They will then break into groups of 4 and take their information. After reading their essay to their classmates, they will discuss which format was easier to understand and whether they could see the advantage of using the other format.

Horrible Histories: The Rotten Romans

Horrible Histories: The Rotten Romans is an anthology of various fascinating facts about the Romans that do not put them in the best light. The book is interesting because it allows students to see how textbooks can sometimes sugarcoat or skip over the negative parts of a civilization. This compendium of facts is not laid out completely arbitrarily. The book is divided into chapters that categorize various cultural facets of Ancient Rome, such as the Roman army or Roman childhood.

The use of humor in this book makes it very age-appropriate for 6th graders, because they are able to amuse themselves and learn at the same time. It also makes for some great light reading for students who are more intimidated by long form formats such as chapter books or textbooks, but the information is intellectually stimulating enough to make it a worthwhile read.

Potential Lesson Plan:

Standard: Standard 6-2, Indicator 6-2.3

Objective: The student will research a topic in Roman history that interests them and compose a one page paper to show what they have learned.

Materials: Access to the library, Computer with word processing software, flash drive, and access to printer.

Outline: Students will find one fact which they find the most interesting, and then research more about it. After researching this fact, students will write a one page paper to give this fact a context. For example, if it is a game, they will explain why games were important during the Roman Empire and how Roman games are different from ours today.

Monuments Past and Present: Ancient Rome

Monuments Past and Present: Ancient Rome shows the reader what a structure looks like now versus how the structure looked in ancient times. This wonderful contrast allows students to understand the process of historical interpretation and provides excellent fodder for the discussion of how history can be a collusion between multiple disciplines in order to create a singular idea.

For example, in order to understand how the Colosseum looked, students could analyze the amalgamation of expert evidence. Archaeologists actually dig up the structure in a very scientific and methodical manner, art historians reference architecture of the same time period, language scholars reference literature describing the structure or translate any inscriptions on the structure, and historians use the events and culture of the time to provide a historical context to interpret the structure or any ambiguous nuances.

The main text of the series might prove challenging for 6th graders, but they would be able to read through it with some guidance or partner reading. The pictures really make this book engaging because students can lift the transparency over the ancient ruin again and again to understand how the progression of time impacts these monuments.

Potential Lesson Plan:

Standard: Standard 6-2, Indicator 6-2.3

Objective: The student will interpret an ancient ruin in order to understand the concept of historical interpretation.

Materials: The text, pencils, pens, tracing paper, and posters.

Outline: The student will pick their favorite ancient monument from the text. They will then list the differences between the artistic rendition of what it used to look like and how looks now as an ancient ruin. Once they have done this, they will then come up with ideas on how historians came to the idea that this was how the monument looked, and then group their facts according to categories. For examples, arches and missing columns = archaeologists, or colors and statues = literary sources.