THE DRAMA OF ROME
Essential questions:





How do empires change to promote common good?
How and why do civilizations interact?
How do empires acquire power?
What circumstances lead to unrest and instability in an empire?
How can I use evidence from the historical resources to support my views and ideas?
Learning Task:
Each group must create the following:
 A two-three minute role play of an event dealing with the designated topic
 A soft or hard copy study guide with text and multimedia for each person in the class to learn about
the topic.
 A quiz that allows students to test themselves on what they have learned about the topic. (Multiple
choice, fill in the blank, matching, true-false, short answer questions)
Groups will share information about one of the following topics:
 The Rise of the Roman Republic
 Overseas expansion
 Pax Romana
 Social Strata of Rome
 Roman culture- daily life, religion,
 The Roman Economy- agriculture, trade, infrastructure, food and drink
 The Decline of Rome
 The Fall of Rome
Assessment
Your role play and study guide will be assessed.
There will be a test with questions from each topic next week to check your learning.
Due dates:
 Friday, April 10th- detailed plan for study guide and rough draft of script for role play
 Thursday, April 16th- draft of study guide, role play prepared for feedback
 Monday, April 20th- perform role play and publish study guide
 Wednesday, April 22nd - test
Basic information to be shared by each topic:

The Rise of the Roman Republic
o How did Rome’s location affect its rise?
o What is a Republic and how did it work in Rome?
o What internal struggles did the Roman Republic have?
o How did the concept of equality impact people’s lives?
o How did the Roman government function?
o Explain the early expansion of the Roman Republic.

Overseas expansion
o Why did Rome expand overseas?
o Why are the Punic Wars significant?
o Use maps and timelines of Roman expansion to show Rome’s increasing influence in the region
o Why was Rome able to expand so much and so quickly?

Pax Romana
o Why did the republic fall?
o How did the Roman Empire increase the power of Rome?
o Who are the significant emperors of Pax Romana?
o Why is the Roman Empire considered one of the greatest military forces the world has ever
seen?
o Use maps and timelines of Roman expansion to show Rome’s increasing influence in the region
o Why did the Roman senators assassinate Julius Cesar?

Social Strata of Rome
o What role did social rank play in Roman life?
o How was daily life different for rich and poor Romans?
o Describe the concept of Special Treatment for a Few in Rome.
o How does the class system help explain why the only Romans who studied rhetoric were
wealthy men?
o Why did the emperors of Rome go to so much effort and expense to entertain poor people?

Roman culture- daily life and religion
o What were family life and schooling like for young people growing up in the Roman Empire?
o What were the benefits and disadvantages of life in Rome?
o The Homes of the rich and poor
o What was the Roman state religion like and why were some people dissatisfied with it?
o How did religion make the Romans feel they had some control over the unknown?

The Roman Economy- agriculture, trade, infrastructure, food and drink
o Where did Rome get its grain and why did it need to import it from such an expansive area?
o What were some important products of the Roman economy and why were they important?
o How did Roman engineers use the environment to meet the needs of the Republic?
o Describe the diet of Romans and how it was influenced by many regions of the empire.

The Decline of Rome
o Why did the Roman Empire begin to decline?
o What problems did the Empire face after the Pax Romana?
o Why was Diocletian’s reign called the “New Empire”?
o What were the major accomplishments of Constantine?
o Use a timeline and map to describe the events in the history of the Roman Empire from AD 284
to AD 400.

The Fall of Rome
o Why did the Roman Empire fall?
o Who were the barbarians and what drew them to the empire?
o What were the major causes that led to the fall of Rome?
o Why do some historians disagree on the reasons for the fall of Rome?
o What was Rome’s legacy?