High School Ancient History Lesson 12: The Roman Revolution: The Decline of the Republic and the Rise of the Empire

Note the decline of the ideals/constitution of the res publica but the rise of the Empire and the saving of the Roman Empire.

I. Growing Problems within the Republic
     A. Large landed estates (Latifundias)
     B. Tiberius Gracchus
     C. Gaius Gracchus
     D. Gaius Marius
     E. Lucius Cornelius Sulla
     F. Pompey, Crassus and Caesar -First Triumvirate
     G. Marcus Tullius Cicero
     H. The Ides of March

II. Roman Empire
     A. Mark Anthony and Octavian
     B. The Augustan Settlement

High School Ancient History Lesson 11: The Grandeur That was Rome

Note that security is again the major goal of the Romans -security achieved with the ideals/constitution of the Roman res publica.

Complete the following outline using your notes.

I. Origins of Rome
     A. Dorians
     B. Etruscans
     C. Brutus the Liberator
     D. Res Publica
     E. The Roman Senate
     F. Consuls, "The history of Rome is the history of the ruling class."
     G. Plebians

II. Territorial Expansion
           A. Punic Wars

High School Ancient History: Exam 1,

Essay

Pick one to write a thorough, well written and analytical essay. You will be evaluated on factual content (literally how much historical information is provided) (40 pts.), on grammar) (10 pts.), and analysis (evaluating the significance of the material, themes and learning objectives covered in the question) (20 pts.).

1. There has been considerable controversy concerning what constitutes a civilization and when civilization first began. What do you feel makes up a civilization and when and why did it begin?
2. In the Ancient Near East, religion is seen as the overwhelmingly dominant influence over all aspects of life. In light of this, focus on the Egyptian civilization and describe their religious philosophies that influenced both their life and their concept of the afterlife.
3. With both Antigone and Socrates, the conflict between the state and the individual is easily seen. How did this conflict arise? Which, state or individual, do you think was right? In your analysis, relate such conflicts to our society. What do you think Socrates and Antigone represent, especially to a society like our own?
4. Beginning with Achilles, and going to Alexander, it has been said that Greek individualism has gone full circle. Explain and illustrate.

Short Answer

Pick three and identify what or who the short question is, in two or three sentences. Make sure you also relate the answer to the theme or learning objectives of the applicable section. This should take an additional two or three sentences. Each short answer is worth a possible 10 points each.

Pericles

Maat

Osiris

Berit

Satrapy

Hyksos

Code of Hammurabi

Ten Commandments

Hymn to the Nile

Lycurgus

Hebrews.

Hellenization

Homer

Acropolis

Sophocles

Zeno

Neolithic Revolution

Pyramids

Yahweh

High School Ancient History, Map Quiz 1

• Complete map activities found here.
• Using the blank map, take the map quiz. Your teacher will pick 10 among the following to label:
• Label Macedonia 
• Label Greece 
• Label Persia 
• Label Arabia 
• Label India 
• Label the Mediterranean Sea
• Label the Red Sea.
• Label the Aral Sea 
• Label the Black Sea 
• Label the Nile River 
• Label the Caspian Sea 
• Label the Euphrates River 
• Label the Persian Gulf  
• Label the Tigris River 
• Label the Arabian Sea 

High School Ancient History Lesson 10: Alexander: The Great Man Theory

Note the emphasis on the individual in covering the achievements of the great individual, Alexander.

• Map of Alexander's Empire

• The Great Man Theory of Leadership, Thomas Carlyle

I. Greece following the Peloponnesian War
II. Rise of Macedonia
     A. Philip II
          1. League of Corinth
          2. Persian Wars
     B. Alexander
          1. Building an Empire
III. Hellenistic Age
     A.Greek Culture
          1. Major Developments of the Hellenistic Age
          2. Identity Crisis
               a. Epicurus
               b. Stoics

High School Ancient History Lesson 9: The Rise of Greek Philosophy

Note the major contribution of philosophy, covering Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

Complete the following outline using your notes.

I. The Peloponnesian War
I. Greek Philosophy
     A. Sophists
          1. Protagoras of Abdera- man is a measure of all things
          2. Socrates -The Father of Greek Philosophy. Read The Trial of Socrates
          3. Plato
          4. Aristotle Read Ethics

High School Ancient History Lesson 8:The Classical Age of Greece

Using art, architecture and sport, note how the individual was again the focus for the Greeks and the attainment of their security.

Complete the following outline using your notes.

I. The Acropolis
     A. Age of Pericles
     B. The Propylaea
     C. Temple of Athena Nike
     D. Parthenon
     E. Erechtheum
     F. The Agora
     G. Temple to Hephaestus
     H. The Stoa
     I. Temples and Theatres
          1. Theatre of Dionysus
          2. Theatre of Atticus
          3. Theatre of Epidarus
          4. Temple to Poseidon
          5. Temple to Apollo
          6. Greek Olympics-religion and sport -Temple to Zeus

High School Ancient History Lesson 7; The Rise of Greek Individualism, part 2

Note the continued emphasis on the individual through the major cultural contribution of Greek drama. Here the play Antigone demonstrated various types of individuals that the Greeks admired.

Greek Drama
Research the dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Read Antigone.

High School Ancient History Lesson 6; The Rise of Greek Individualism

Note the continued emphasis on the individual, looking at the major city-states of Sparta and Athens and their means of achieving security.

Map activity: City-states of Greece.

Complete the following outline using your notes.

I. Sparta-Experiment in Elitist Communism
     A. Dorian State
     B. Messenia
     C. Lycurgus
II. Athens- Experiment in Democracy
     A. Solon
     B. Cleisthenes
     C. Pericles Read Funeral Oration from Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War.

High School Ancient History Lesson 5: Greece: Emergence from the Tribal State

Note that security is still the major goal or theme for man. The Greeks, however, obtained that goal through a major emphasis on the individual and the unique types of individuals the Greeks admired.

Compare and Contrast: Egyptians and Greeks

Map work: Ancient Aegean

I. Greek Heroes
     A. Myths personified the major ideals that the individual was to aspire to. Originally Greek heroes were warriors.
          1. Myths Research the major gods and their myths.
          2. Heroes: What ideal do each of the characters in The Illiad and the Odyssey represent?
               a. Homer
               b. Achilles
               c. Hector
               d. Odysseus

     B. Myths as History
          1. Henrich Schlirman
          2. Sir Arthur Evans

II. Greek Political Development
     A. Polis: city-state
     B. Dorian Invasion
     C. Archaic Age

High School Ancient History, Lesson 4: Major Developments within Ancient Civilizations

Make note of major developments of folk movements, empire building and the unique developments in religion, especially regarding the Hebrews.

Complete the following outline using your notes.

I. Invasions -Folk Movements- influence on settled societies
     A. Hittites
     B. Hyksos
     C. Second Wave of Invasions

II. Empire Building --- dominate and control other peoples -a common theme of Western societies
     A. Motives of Empire
          1. Security -control others in order to protect oneself
          2. Revenge
          3. Profit-material, economic gain
     B. Control
     C. Assyrians
     D. Persian Empire
          1. Cyrus the Great
          2. Cambyses
          3. Darius the Great
          4. Read The Code of Hammerabi

High School Ancient History Lesson 3: Egyptian Religion and the Building of the Pyramids

Note the theme of security within the Egyptian's tremendous concentration on religion, the afterlife and the building of the building of the Pyramids.

Watch Pyramid, David Macaulay on YouTube.

Complete the following outline using your notes.

I. The Egyptian State
     Menes/Namer
     Pharaohs

II. Life After Death
      A. Mesopotamia
      B. Egypt
            1. Embalming
            2. Sarcophagus
            3. King Tutankhamen

III. The Erection of Tombs
     A. Mastabas
     B. Old Kingdom Pyramids
          1. Zoser at Saqqara
          2. Bent Pyramid
          3. Pyramids of Giza
                a. Cheops- Khufu
                b. Chephren -Chafre
                c. Mycsrnius -Menkare

IV. Mysteries of the Pyramids -Curse of the Pharoah 
      Books of Interest:
     A. The Pyramids of Egypt, I.S.E. Edwards
     B. Mysterious Pyramids, Martin Ebon
     C. Pyramid Power, Max Toth
     D. The Curse of the Pharoahs, Philip Vandenberg
     E. Secrets of the Great Pyramid, Peter Tompkins

High School Ancient History, Lesson 2: Foundations of Ancient Civilization

Note the theme of security and how the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians achieved and maintained security.

Make a map of the area to include in your notes.

Complete the following outline using your notes.

I. The Formation of Civilization
     A. Sedentary
     B. Farming of crops and the Domestication of animals
     C. Surplus food -social impact
     D. Establishment of Social patterns
     E. Keeping records
          1. Cuneiform -Mesopotamia
          2. Hieroglyphics -Egypt
II. Role of the State
     A. Two Societies Emerge -Mesopotamia and Egypt
     B. Why?
          1. Why did these societies emerge where they did?
          2. Once these societies emerged, why did they form the type of societies they did?
     C. Purpose of the State- the Search for Security
          1. Mesopotamia
               a. Sumerians -Ur
               b. Akkadians
               c. Babylon
          2. Egypt -Menes (Narmer) -consolidation of power
     D. Both Societies looked for security
     E. Ancients view of Nature
     F. Placating the gods
          1. How did such dogma achieve acceptance?
     G. The type of societies that were formed

High School Research Assignments

This is a great place to start high school students writing fact based research essay. The steps below can work for any topic, but here is a topic you can start with, if you wish.

source

Research Question: How did Ivan Pavlov's experiments with dogs demonstrate that human behavior could be changed using conditioning? What kind of dog was Pavlov's dog? What is the Pavlov Theory? Explain classical conditioning.

Steps to writing a fact based essay:

1. Analyze the essay questions. Make sure you understand what they are asking, and therefore what the teacher is expecting to be included in the essay.
2. Research your topic thoroughly and find studies that support your ideas. Take detailed notes while doing research. Look for information in different types of sources including books and journal articles. Don't rely just on what you can find online.
3. Create a reference list. Find out what style your teacher is expecting for your sources or reference page. Include all the sources you have used in your research.
4. Create an outline. I always require my students to include the outline with their paper. A good outline will help your student to structure his information and save him a lot of time when he starts to write.
5. Write a strong thesis statement. A thesis statement usually appears at the beginning of paper, in the introductory paragraph. It is usually one sentence tha offers a concise summary of the main point or claim of the essay or research paper. 
6. Write your first draft, including all in-text citations.
7. Proofread and edit the essay. Check grammar, spelling, structure of the essay and quality of the ideas.
8. Revise and review the first draft. Refine your argument and make improvements to content. Correct any spelling and grammar mistakes you found while proofreading.
9. Turn in your first draft to your teacher. Once you go to college you will need to have a friend, classmate, older sibling or a parent to do this step for you, which is to read and review your essay for content, structure, grammatical and spelling errors you have missed. Consider this feedback seriously and make revisions.
10. Prepare the final draft to your teacher's specifications, including page requirements, style requirements and whether or not a title page or table of contents is required. Make sure you understand when the due date is so that you can pace yourself accordingly.

Research Extras:

• This article on the APA website describes how some college students figured out who "Little Albert" really was and what happened after the famous (infamous) conditioning experiment.

• Try your hand at conditioning Pavlov's Dog in this animation on the Nobel Prize site.

High School Ancient History, Lesson 1: Prehistory

Make note of the ultimate goal of all civilization -security. With that in mind, the question arises -when did civilization arise?

Complete the following outline using your notes.

I. Periods of Human History
     A. Stone Age
          1. Paleolithic
          2. Ice Age
          3. Mesolithic
          4. Neolithic

II. Cave Paintings
     A. Where? In Pyrenees Mountains
     B. Why?
          1. Religious
          2. Intellectual Control over Environment
          3. Art
     C. Sense of Time

III. Stonehenge
     A. Stonehenge I
     B. Build on Salisbury Plain
     C. Stones from Quarry 30 Miles away
          1. Gerald Hawkins -Stonehenge Decoded
          2. Ditch Bank
          3. Heel Stone -Sarsen Stone
          4. Aubrey Holes (56), John Aubrey
          5. Heel Stone
     D. Stonehenge II
     E. Stonehenge III
     F. Trilithons and lintels
     G. Druids

IV. Myths and Historical Perspective
     A. Myths are Truths that are no longer believed.
     B. The imagery of myths are not allegory.
     C. Myths often relate the creation of the world and sometimes it's future destruction.
     D. Myths tell how God's created humans.
     E. Myths provide a moral code by which to live by.
     F. Myths are generally stories that have been handed down for generationsg.
     G. Myths are used to explain natural phenomenon.
     H. Gods are often visualised as having human shape, feeling human emotions and performing human acts.
     I. Myths render the cosmos more intelligible.
     J. Myth is to be taken seriously because it reveals a significant truth.

High School Ancient History

In this course students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of:

• The major developments in Western history.
• The major ideas and themes that led to these developments.
• The intellectual, social, political, economic and cultural developments within the societies covered.

Students will also demonstrate the ability to:

• Carry out historical analysis and research.
• Convey thoughts and ideas in written essay form.
• Recognize and analyze major original historical documents.

Semester 1: Civilization

Learning Objectives: Demonstrate an understanding of 1) civilization; 2) the need for security within Western Civilization; 3) the importance of religion for the Egyptians and their view of security; 4) the individual within Greek society and their attainment of security

1. (Sept. 7) Prehistory: The beginning of civilization
2. (Sept. 14) Foundation of Ancient Civilizations
3. (Sept. 21) Egyptian Religion and the Building of the Pyramids
4. (Sept. 28) Major Development within Ancient Civilizations
5. (Oct. 5) Greece: The Emergence from the Tribal State
6. (Oct. 12) Rise of Greek, Individualism, part I
7. (Oct. 19) The Rise of Greek, Individualism, part II
8. (Oct. 26) The Classical Age of Greece
9. (Nov. 2) The Rise of Greek Philosophy
10. (Nov. 9) Alexander The Great Man Theory
11. (Nov. 16) Map Quiz
12. (Nov. 21) Exam 1

(Nov. 30) Break week

Semester 2: The Romans

Learning Objectives: Demonstrate an understanding of 1) the rise of the Roman red publica and the obtaining of security, 2) the fall of res publica an exemplified by the assination of Julius Caesar, 3) the rise of the Roman Empire and the reestablishment of security beginning with the reign of Caesar Augustus; 4) the emergence of Christianity within the context of the Roman Empire; 5) the causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire.

1. (Dec. 7) The Grandeur that was Rome
2. (Dec. 14) The Roman Revolution: The Decline of the Republic and the Rise of the Empire (Christmas break Dec 16-Jan 1)
3. (Jan 4) The Empire and the Rise of Christianity
4. (Jan. 11) Roman Society and Architecture
5. (Jan. 18) The Roman Empire: The Beginning of the End
6. (Jan. 25) The Fall of Rome
7. (Feb. 1) Map Quiz
8. (Feb. 8) Exam 2

(Feb. 15 Break Week)

Semester 3: The Middle Ages

Learning Objectives: Demonstrate an understanding of 1) the rise and power of the Roman Catholic Church; 2) feudalism within the context of the turmoil of the Middle Ages; 3) the expansion that took place during the Middle Ages; 4) the demise of feudalism and the emergence of the Modern Era.

1. (Feb. 22) Western Christendom: The Emergence of the Roman Church
2. (Mar. 1) Societies of Greatness: Byzantine and Islam
3. (Mar. 8) Charlemagne: The Consolidation of Empire
4. (Mar. 15) Feudalism and the Emergence of Medieval Society
5. (Mar. 22) The Expanding Medieval Frontier
6. (Mar. 29) The Church in the Middle Ages, part I
7. (Apr. 5) The Church in the Middle Ages, part II
8. (Apr. 12) The End of the Medieval Era
9. (Apr. 19) Map Quiz
10. (Apr. 26) Exam 3

(May 3 Break Week)

Semester 4: The Renaissance

Learning Objectives: Demonstrate the understanding of 1) the growing emphasis of the individual during the Renaissance; 2) the philosophical movement away from God as the determinate factor in an individual's life; 3) the development of a modern political philosophy in the writings of Machiavelli; 4) the growing disruption of the Roman Catholic Church; 5) how the Protestant Revolution of Luther led to a secularization of Western society

1. (May 10) The Italian Renaissance
2. (May 17) Machiavelli vs. Erasmus: Realism vs. Idealism
3. (May 24) Christian Humanism and the Beginning of Religious Rebellion
4. (May 31) Martin Luther and Protestant Revolutionary Thought
5. (Jun. 7) Map Quiz
6. (Jun. 14) Exam 4

Source: The Western Image, volume I: An Introduction to Western Civilization, David Tengwall

Hands-On Ancient History: Ancient Egyptian Feast

For our Ancient Egyptian feast, the boys researched what the Ancient Egyptians ate and then we recreated it using what we have available to us now.

We decided on a sweet and a savory bread, spiced beef, lettuce, grapes, melons, dates, cucumbers, and fish.

The bread doughwas divided into two loaves.To one was added honey, dates, raisins and walnuts. To the other, garlic.

I put the Egyptian spiced beef in the slow cooker.

Ancient Egyptian Hands-On History: Scribe's Box and Papyrus

The Scribes' Box

For our scribe's box, we just bought a tray from Michael's, some fine point paint brushes and some black acrylic paint. 

Papyrus

Our papyrus was simply made from strips of construction paper which are slightly over lapped and glued together.

Hands On History: Ancient Egyptian Weapons: Khopesh and Shield

The Khopesh, also called the sickle sword or a Sappara is a sword that was actually a hybrid between a sword and an ax. This is why it has such an unusual shape. This is a real sword design and these swords were really used over 3,000 years ago and not again since. There are still some examples of this sword in museums and two of them were found in king Tut's treasure.

source

The swords of that time period were made of copper, bronze or possibly iron. And these metals are not as strong as steel. This is why the unusual curve in the blade -this added enough strength so it could be used as an almost ax style weapon.

I made our by downloading the template and using the instructions found at Storm The Castle. All you have to do is cut out the three parts of the sword and tape them together. Then you make five copies out of cardboard and glue them all together. We used some foam-board instead of some of the cardboard.

The shield was made from a piece of white foam-board which he painted with black acrylic paint. He added straps on the back with cloth ribbon and duct tape.

Hands-On History: Ancient Egyptian Clothing

Headpiece

To make the head covering, you will need a 24" x 24" white muslin, If you want to add the asp, you will also need aluminum foil for the snake and gold jewels for eyes. Roll the foil and fold it to make a cobra shape, then spray painted it gold and hot glue on the jewel eyes. Paint some 3/4" ribbon with gold spray paint and use that to go around the head covering and, if you are using it, put the asp on. Measure the head, then remove the ribbon and staple it. Now you can put it on the head and wrapped the tin foil snake around it. 

Shendyt

The shendyt is a kilt-like garment which was made of cloth and was worn around the waist, typically extending to above the knees, in ancient Egyptian society.

You can make a shendyt from the same material as the headpiece. Bring it together in the front and sewed it to keep it firm. Another strip of the same type cloth can be used as a belt. Your student will need to wear shorts under the shendyt.

Arm Cuffs

You can make a really nice arm cuff from a recycled Gatorade bottle, which are already molded with indentations. Cut the side of the circle so there is an opening, and then spray painted it gold. We glued on gems.