All Roads Lead to Rome The Origins of the City and Republic Topic: Geography and Rise of the Roman Republic Copyright 2011 New Dimension Media

All Roads Lead to Rome The Origins of the City and Republic Copyright 2011 New Dimension Media Common Core State Standards: Reading Standard for Literacy in History/Social Sciences Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. Topic: Geography and Rise of the Roman Republic

Teacher Notes The origins of the city of Rome are rather humble, built among seven hills along the banks of the Tiber River. However, the foundation of Rome, and its subsequent expansion into a republic and then empire, has had enormous historical impact in the Western world in the intervening centuries. For instance, the Framers of the United States’ Constitution harkened back to the democratic principles of the Roman Republic when writing that document in 1787, and the French emperor Napoleon conscientiously emulated the military traditions of the Roman Empire in his effort to dominate Europe just a few decades later. The influence of Rome certainly extends beyond political and military models as well. The principles of law and government, the art of architecture, and the science of engineering were spread widely by the Roman empire, as was the unconscionable practice of slavery. It was a city of splendor and savagery, or art and atrocity, and its centrality to the ancient world is best summarized in a proverb of the time: “All roads lead to Rome”.

Teacher Notes Since Rome possesses such astounding resonance in the traditions of the western world, the history/social science standards of every individual state require some familiarity with the city of Rome, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. The concept-based Common Core State Standards also find application in the study of Rome. In this lesson, students will study the geography of Rome at its foundation, the legendary origins of the city, and the growth of the city into the early Republic. Based on their research, students will be expected to gain an understanding about what it was like to live in ancient early Rome. Students will use that understanding to write journals from the perspective of an early Roman resident, be they a senator, soldier, slave, craftsman, priest, merchant, or other sort of resident. Students will build journals using presentation software, and in addition to written entries, journals should also make use of photographs or illustrations, and possibly audio elements such as narration or music.

Enduring Understanding: The political, military, scientific, and artistic traditions spread by the Roman civilization have influenced human history for almost three thousand years, including the present day. Essential Questions: 1. Where and when was the city of Rome established? 2. What role does legend play in the history of the city of Rome? 3. Following the foundation of Rome, how did the city grow and expand into a republic? 4. What challenges were faced by the early Roman Republic? 5. What were the lives of early Roman residents like?

Lesson Objectives: 1. Students will examine the geographical conditions of the foundation of the city of Rome and its eventual growth and expansion into a republic. 2. Students will explore the legendary origins of Rome and articulate the role of legend in the history of the city. 3. Students will investigate the growth and expansion of the city into a republic and describe the challenges caused by that growth. Project-Based Learning: 1. Students will conduct original research into the geography of ancient Rome, its legendary origins, and the growth of the city into a republic. 2. Students will conduct original research into the lives of ancient Roman residents. 3. Students will plan multimedia journals through slide-by-slide storyboard for use with presentation software (Power Point, Keynote, etc.) 4. Students will construct multimedia journals describing the lives of early Roman residents using original prose, photographs/illustrations, and possibly audio narration or music.

The geography of ancient Rome and its legendary origins need to be taught somewhat simultaneously. First, students must gain a basic understanding of Roman geography: the city was built on the banks of the Tiber River amongst seven distinct hills. Students need to identify and label the river and these hills on a map. Second, students must learn the Roman origin myth of Romulus and Remus. This myth contains references to Roman geography - for example, the brothers were found near the Aventine Hill and reared on Palatine Hill. Third, students must explore must explore the characteristics of each hill as the city grows and evolves into the republic. If a student wants to write their journal from the perspective of a senator, then that student should recognize that most government buildings were located on Capitoline Hill and most of the political nobility lived on the Palatine Hill; if they wish to write from the perspective of a slave, the student should recognize that poorer residents of Rome tended to live on Esquiline Hill; merchants, the Aventine Hill; and so on and so forth. Teacher Notes:

Student Instructions: Keep these research steps in mind as you prepare your multimedia journal: 1. Examine the geography of ancient Rome, particularly the seven hills and the location of each with respect to the Tiber River. 2. Explore the Roman origin legend of Romulus and Remus, and connect their story to the geography of Rome. 3. Investigate the growth of Rome from city into a republic, and determine the challenges that faced Rome as it expanded. 4. Synthesize this information to create a realistic journal of an ancient Roman resident. Tips for your multimedia journal: 1. Get personal. Decide the perspective from which you will write. Are you a senator or a slave? A soldier or a merchant? A craftsman, like a baker or tanner or sword-maker? Determine your perspective and stick to it. 2. Assume that identity. Write your journal in the first person. You need to think like you are that person, as if you are describing what your life is like, not someone else’s life. 3. Stay focused. You need to remain balanced between being creative with the life of your journal character and demonstrating expertise in ancient Rome.

Resources for Early Roman Geography and the Legendary Origins of Rome Check out these short video clips and news articles to learn more about ancient Roman geography and the legendary origins of Rome. Use these resources to kick-start your original research. Pay special attention to the dates of specific events for a timeline exercise later in the lesson.

Teacher Notes About Copyright Throughout this lesson you might have noticed the 2011 Copyright New Dimension Media tag. The meaning of this tag is important for you to understand in terms of your use in upholding copyright law.1. You cannot distribute this lesson plan beyond your school boundaries. 2. Film producers receive royalties on their work and distributing these lessons outside of this agreement means they will not receive remuneration for their work.3. If you enjoy high-quality media content, then you will want film producers to keep producing. This will only happen if they receive the royalties they have agreed to in their contract which, in turn, allows educational companies like us to extend high-quality media content to our customers.4. Copyright law also covers the images in this lesson. These cannot be re-purposed and distributed outside of this lesson. Doing so does break copyright law. 5. We are required to say this in legal terms so our legal disclaimer is below: License to Use Lesson Plan and Content: NDM hereby grants to the Approved Teacher a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to display and use the content, images and methods included in this Lesson Plan. The license also applies to other Teachers in the Approved Teacher’s school District only. This Lesson Plan cannot be distributed or sold outside the Approved Teacher’s District. Restrictions on Use: Teachers shall not make or distribute unauthorized copies of the content, images or methods included in this Lesson Plan. Unauthorized use or distribution of content at unlicensed sites is a violation of intellectual property rights and subject to additional fees and charges.

The Roman Republic defeats Carthage, gaining control of most of the Mediterranean world. The Roman Republic gains control of the entire Italian peninsula south of the River Po. Caesar Augustus founds the Roman Empire, ending the republic. The city of Rome is founded by Romulus and Remus near the bend in the River Tiber. The Roman Republic, the world’s first representative government, is created. Gracchus attempts to distribute public land to homeless Romans. 509 BCE 753 BCE 146 BCE 27 BCE 260 BCE 133 BCE Drag the event to the correct marker on the timeline. Log into CCC! and locate/link video segment to prove your match!

We Value Your Opinion! We hope you enjoy using this lesson with your students. If you have an idea or suggestion on how we may improve this lesson, we would love to hear from you! Please use the Contact Us page of the Connection site to provide us with your valuable feedback. When commenting on this lesson, please refer to the title of the lesson in your comment. You will hear back from us and maybe even see your suggestions incorporated in a new version of this lesson plan! Don't forget to also follow us daily on Facebook and Twitter for more great instructional ideas. We hope you come back again for more great interactive lesson plans made especially for you and your students. Have fun boosting student achievement at your school! Sincerely, The New Dimension Media Instructional Design Team Copyright 2011 New Dimension Media