Intermediate Guided Reading Lesson Plan
Title:
Ancient Rome by Erin Ash Sullivan. Benchmark.
ISBN 978-1-4108-5115-4
*Be aware that there are pictures of Roman art on
page 11, 18, 19 and 21 that contain nudity. (You do
have to really look to see it.) This can be easily
blocked out with a small sticker or permanent
marker.
Literacy Standard: VII: Comprehension
Content Core Standard: Sixth Grade Standard 1
Genre:
ELL Strategies
Students reading at this level are likely to be quite fluent
speakers of English although they may need more support with
idioms, expressions, vocabulary, and multiple meaning words.
This will affect their ability to draw conclusions and infer from
the text. Encourage these students to use sticky notes or a
notebook to jot questions they have while reading to be
discussed/clarified at the guided reading table during the
following session.
Text Structure:
Narrative
Informational
Level:
W
Purpose for Reading:
Discover the wonders of ancient Rome.
Essential Questions:
 How are the systems of power, authority,
and governance used to establish order in
ancient civilizations still present in today’s
modern governments?
 What role has religion played in human
development from ancient times to
modern?
 How did physical geography influence the
location and success or decline of early
civilizations?
Other ELL strategies can be found at
http://coe.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/pages/4x4activity.htm
and tailored to the individual needs of your students.
Before Reading
Vocabulary:
Tier 2 Vocabulary Words: High frequency words that are found across a variety of domains. Provide studentfriendly explanations that tell what a word means in everyday connected language. For more information,
please see Bringing Words to Life by Beck & McKeyown.
aqueduct
arch
barbarian
catacomb
chariot
empire
fresco
gladiator
patrician
peninsula
plebian
province
republic
Activate/Build Prior Knowledge:
 Using the map on page 5, show the location of Rome. Discuss what geographic features may have led to
Rome become a major center of civilization.
 Show table of contents. Explain how B.C. dates work. You can connect this to integers.
Comprehension Strategy:
Determining Importance
During Reading
Attend to Comprehension Within, Beyond, & About the text.
After Reading
Attend to Comprehension Within, Beyond, & About the text.
Discussion Questions:
 Talk about the difference between republican and Republican (p. 8).
 What do you think about the picture of the building on page 9? Are you surprised at how the building
looks? Doesn’t it seem like something you could see in present day?
 Imagine you have never seen an elephant before. How would you describe it? Have you ever thought of an
elephant as being a war animal? (p.11)
 Looking at page 13, do you wonder about the parts of the map that Rome doesn’t control?
 What do you think the difference is between someone being the ruler of Rome and making themselves king?
(page 14)
 What does it mean that Augustus ended the republic? (page 16)
 Work through the “Solve It” problem on page 16.
 Work through the “Solve It” problem on page 19.
 Why do you think a woman would want to be a gladiator? (page 20)
 Did Augustus live during the entire Pax Romana period? (page 22)
 Compare/contrast the map on page 25 with the one on page 13.
Content Core Integration:(Science, Soc. St., Math, etc.)
Assessment:
Activities:
Using the information in the box on page 28, write a For more activities see
cause-effect paper on the fall of the Roman Empire. http://www.uen.org/core/socialstudies/sixth/.
See the lesson at
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.
asp?id=965 for more details and a lesson on writing
cause-effect diamante poems.
*Not all activities will be done in each lesson. Some lessons may take multiple days to complete. However, all students should
be reading each time you meet.