Ancient Rome
Students explore the rise and fall of the ancient Roman Empire and Roman civilization, its various leaders, routines, and rituals, while practicing multiple informational reading strategies.
Unit Summary
In this unit students explore the rise and fall of the ancient Roman Empire. Over the course of the unit, students learn about different characteristics of the Roman Empire, what lead to the Empire’s growth and success, and what eventually lead to the Empire’s demise. Through learning about the daily routines, structures, and rituals of the Roman Empire, students will be challenged to draw conclusions about what the civilization valued and how those values compare to societal values today. This unit builds onto the 2nd grade nonfiction unit on ancient Greece, in which students began to think about how the daily routines, structures, and rituals of a civilization show what they value. This unit, in conjunction with the second grade unit on ancient Greece, will help students understand early influences in the world and the first republics.
The mentor texts for this unit, Ancient Rome and Pompeii: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House and Eye Wonder: Ancient Rome, allow students to practice multiple informational reading strategies in two very different text structures. In both texts, but predominately in Eye Wonder, students will practice using a multitude of text features and illustrations as a way of learning new information about a topic. Over the course of this unit, students will constantly be thinking about how the information from one text builds on and connects to the information in the other text. Then at the end of the unit, students will be asked to critically analyze the similarities and differences between the two texts.
Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Book: Ancient Rome and Pompeii: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #13 by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce (Random House Books for Young Readers) (April 2006) — 750L
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Book: Eye Wonder: Ancient Rome (DK Children, 4th edition, 2004)
Supporting Materials
Article: “Roman Class Structure”
Article: “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (Readworks.org)
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading (Grade 3 Unit 1)
See Text Selection Rationale
Assessment
These assessments accompany this unit to help gauge student understanding of key unit content and skills. Additional progress monitoring suggestions are included throughout the unit.
- Download Cold Read Assessment
- Download Cold Read Assessment Answer Key
Download Content Assessment- Download Content Assessment Answer Key
Unit Prep
Essential Questions
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- How did the city of Rome expand and grow?
- What was life like in the Roman Empire? What did the Romans value?
- What led to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire?
- What were some of the key contributions of Ancient Roman civilization? How have they influenced the present?
Vocabulary
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Text-based
citizen conquer convenience decline disciplined efficient eternal eventually exquisite foreigner found hurl leisure overthrew privileges prosperous quarrel renowned republic resent rights rule siege slaughter sturdy timeless tragic triumph victorious
Root/Affix
-ence -less -ous over-
Related Teacher Tools:
Content Knowledge and Connections
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Previous Fishtank ELA Connections
Future Fishtank ELA Connections
Lesson Map
1
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii pp. 13 – 18
RI.3.2
RI.3.3
RI.3.5
Describe how the Roman Army shaped the future of the Roman Empire.
2
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Ancient Rome pp. 4 – 11
RI.3.2
RI.3.3
RI.3.5
RI.3.7
Explain how the author uses different text features and illustrations to describe how the Roman Empire was founded.
3
Writing
L.3.1.f
L.3.1.i
Make sentences better and more informative by adding more details.
4
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii pp. 41 – 54
RI.3.2
RI.3.3
Explain why the Romans were always ready for war.
5
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Ancient Rome pp. 12 – 15
RI.3.2
RI.3.5
RI.3.7
Explain how the text features and illustrations help build a deeper understanding of the Roman army.
6
Writing
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii
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Ancient Rome
RI.3.3
L.3.1
L.3.1.h
Write multiple sentences using the conjunction because to explain how powerful and organized the Roman army was.
7
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“Roman Class Structure”
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii pp. 19 – 23
RI.3.2
RI.3.5
Describe the three groups of people in ancient Rome and explain why they were important for the success of the civilization.
8
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Ancient Rome pp. 34 – 35
RI.3.3
RI.3.5
RI.3.7
Describe what life was like for enslaved people in the Roman Empire.
9
Writing
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“Roman Class Structure”
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii
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Ancient Rome
RI.3.3
L.3.1
L.3.1.h
L.3.1.i
Write multiple sentences using the conjunctions but and so to explain why each role in society was important.
10
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii pp. 24 – 37
RI.3.2
RI.3.7
Describe what the chapter “The Eternal City” is mostly about and why the structures described were important in Ancient Rome.
11
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Ancient Rome pp. 24 – 27
RI.3.2
RI.3.5
Explain how the author uses different text features and illustrations to support the idea that gladiators and bath houses were an important part of Roman society.
12
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Ancient Rome — 16–17, 20–21, 22–23
RI.3.2
RI.3.7
Explain what life was like in ancient Rome and what daily routines and structures show us about what ancient Romans valued.
13
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Ancient Rome — 28–29, 30–31, 32–33
RI.3.2
RI.3.5
RI.3.7
Explain what life was like in ancient Rome and what daily routines and structures show us about what ancient Romans valued.
14
Writing
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Ancient Rome
RI.3.3
L.3.1.f
L.3.1.h
L.3.1.i
Write multiple sentences using the conjunctions "because," "but," and "so" to explain what life was like in Ancient Rome.
15
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Ancient Rome pp. 38 – 41
RI.3.3
RI.3.7
Explain the role that gods, worship, trade and transportation played in the Roman Empire.
16
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii pp. 55 – 67
RI.3.2
RI.3.3
Describe Hannibal, Julius Caesar, and Octavian, including what type of leaders they were and why.
17
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“The Fall of the Roman Empire”
RI.3.3
Explain what caused the fall of the Roman Empire.
18
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii pp. 103 – 104
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Ancient Rome pp. 42 – 45
RI.3.3
Explain the significance of the heading “The empire lives on."
19
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii
RI.3.9
Compare and contrast both unit texts by comparing and contrasting the most important key details presented in both texts.
20
Discussion
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Ancient Rome and Pompeii
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Ancient Rome
SL.3.1
SL.3.1.a
SL.3.1.d
Discuss and debate unit-essential questions by stating a claim and using evidence from multiple texts to support and defend the claim.
21
Assessment
22
4 days
Informative Writing
W.3.2
W.3.2.a
W.3.2.b
W.3.7
W.3.8
L.3.2.f
Research another ancient Rome topic and create a brochure and visual representation to show what you learned.
Common Core Standards
Language Standards
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L.3.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
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L.3.1.f — Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
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L.3.1.h — Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
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L.3.1.i — Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.
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L.3.2 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
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L.3.2.f — Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.
Reading Standards for Informational Text
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RI.3.2 — Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
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RI.3.3 — Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
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RI.3.5 — Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
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RI.3.7 — Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
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RI.3.9 — Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Speaking and Listening Standards
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SL.3.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
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SL.3.1.a — Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.
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SL.3.1.d — Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
Writing Standards
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W.3.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
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W.3.2.a — Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.
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W.3.2.b — Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
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W.3.7 — Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
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W.3.8 — Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
Spiral Standards
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L.3.3.bL.3.4L.3.4.bL.3.5L.3.6RF.3.3RF.3.4RI.3.1RI.3.10RI.3.4SL.3.1.bSL.3.4SL.3.5SL.3.6W.3.10W.3.4W.3.5W.3.6
