Lesson plan English
Topic: Rome – the time of conquest
Target group
5th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
I. Ancient civilizations. Pupil:
2) locates in time and space (...) the civilizations of the ancient (...) Rome;
3) characterizes the structure of society (...) Rome;
4) situates in time and knows various systems of governance and organization of society in (...) Rome.
General aim of education
The student will learn how has Rome, beginning as a small city‑state, became a great empire.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
to characterize what the Roman army looked like and what triumph was;
to describe with whom they fought and whom the Romans conquered and what were the consequences of these conquests;
to explain who were the eminent leaders, what were the most important battles and achievements of the period of ancient Rome.
Methods/techniques
expository
talk.
activating
discussion.
programmed
with computer;
with e‑textbook.
practical
exercices concerned.
Forms of work
individual activity;
activity in pairs;
activity in groups;
collective activity.
Teaching aids
e‑textbook;
notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;
interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.
Lesson plan overview
Before classes
Students locate Rome on the map and discuss the first centuries of its existence.
Introduction
The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.
The leader, referring to the previous lesson and the task in which he asked about associations with ancient Rome, repeats the students' answers. Then he asks students what an empire is (this answer will probably fall among the students' associations).
Realization
The teacher begins the main part of the lesson by explaining to the students that in the beginning of its republican existence, Rome was not a great state at all. Nothing also indicated that it will happen. As an example he gives the conquest and plunder of Rome by the Gauls in the 4th century BC. However, it managed to pick up and rebuild its position in Italia. It happened thanks to a well‑organized army. The teacher shows and explains the ways it functioned. Students perform Exercise 1. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly performed and provides feedback.
Continuing, the teacher emphasizes that the purpose of Rome was to expand, because it allowed the state and its elites to get richer. Then he tells the students the history of the Punic Wars and related events – the development of the Roman fleet, land combat tactics at sea (boarding and warships adapted to it), Hannibal's expedition, battles of Cannae and Zama. Students perform Exercise 2.
The conquest of the Greek world – Macedonia and Greece, was the next stage of conquest after acquiring the territories of Cartagena. Inclusion of them into Roman states led to the creation in the 2nd century BC of the Imperium Romanum, meaning the Roman Empire. Countries outside Italia have become Roman provinces – the teacher explains their character and meaning to Rome. Students perform Task 1. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and provides feedback.
The teacher explains why the Imperium Romanum needed the constant expansion. Then he mentions the successes of Roman leaders and the ways of celebrating them. Students perform Task 2 (interactive illustration).
The teacher asks the students what the consequences of a policy of conquests could have been. Students should indicate mainly positives – the growth of the state, its wealth, war spoils, slaves, etc. Then the teacher asks students what could have been the negative effects of the conquests. Students answer this question by working in pairs or small groups. Students perform Exercise 3.
As an example of the effect and its escalation, the teacher tells the students about the War of Spartacus.
Summary
As a summary, the teacher asks students to talk about specific Roman conquests and the associated effects. Students can do it in the form of a table.
Homework
The teacher tasks students with homework: The War of Spartacus became the history's largest slave rebellion in Rome. Find out who Spartacus was and how it happened that he rallied so many people behind him.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Republika – dosłownie rzecz publiczna, ustrój polityczny, w którym władza sprawowana jest przez obywateli poprzez wybory. W starożytnym Rzymie była to niemonarchiczne sprawowanie władzy przez posiadających prawa polityczne obywateli.
Legion – podstawowa jednostka taktyczna rzymskiej armii złożona przede wszystkim z ciężkozbrojnej piechoty (legionistów).
Kontrybucja – danina nałożona na przegraną w wojnie stronę, np. państwo.
Prowincja – jednostka administracyjna w starożytnym Rzymie utworzona na podbitym terenie, poza Italią. Zarządzana byłą przez namiestników.
Limes – umocnienia i fortyfikacje na granicach cesarstwa rzymskiego.
Triumf – uroczysty wjazd do Rzymu. W starożytnym Rzymie było to najwyższe wyróżnienie jakie mógł otrzymać wódź za zwycięstwa w bitwach. Jego celem było uczczenie wodza i jego żołnierzy.
Patron – używane w starożytnym Rzymie określenie na bogatego obywatela (patrycjusza), który sprawował opiekę nad ubogimi obywatelami (klientami) lub niewolnikami. Patron był zobowiązany do opieki nad klientem.
Klient – ubogi, wolny obywatel w starożytnym Rzymie pozostający pod opieką patrona. Klient musiał być posłuszny patronowi, w zamian on zobowiązywał się do pomocy materialnej, finansowej oraz opieki nad nim.
Texts and recordings
Rome – the time of conquest
Rome as a republic was initially a small city‑state and nothing foreshadowed its great triumphs in the future. Gradually, by conquering other tribes, it managed to take control over the entire Apennine Peninsula. The expansion was stopped for several decades after the invasion of the Gauls, who, at the end of the fourth century BC, defeated the Romans and plundered the city. However, it did not stop its further development. The key role in the implementation of the policy of conquests was played by the army, organized in legions. After the conquest of Italy, the Romans turned their attention to Sicily, where the Carthaginian Empire had its colonies. The Roman elites agreed that only territorial expansion will allow keeping the current strong position of Rome. After three wars in the third and second century BC called the Punic Wars, the Romans achieved a complete victory and the Carthaginian Empire crushed. The Second Punic War of 218‑201 BC was a particularly fierce conflict. The command of the Carthaginian army was taken over by Hannibal whose bold plan to pass through Spain, Gaul and the Alps to attack the Romans from the north was fully realized. In the great battle of Cannae in 216 BC, he defeated the Roman army. However, he did not manage to take advantage of this victory and the Romanian tactics of avoiding clashes with enemy troops and attacking Hannibal's allies proved to be extremely effective. They finally defeated the army of Carthage at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC and imposed a hard condition on it.
After the victory over Carthage, Rome directed its expansion toward the eastern part of the Mediterranean. In subsequent years, successive areas were conquered and incorporated into the Roman Empire, turning them into provinces administered by governors. Macedonia, Greece (146 BC) and Egypt (30 BC) became the parts of Rome. The conquest of the Greek world ended, making the Mediterranean sea the internal sea of the Roman Empire, called by its inhabitants the Mare Nostrum – our sea. The effects of the conquests, even despite the victories of the Roman legions, did not always bring the same profits. The long Punic Wars caused huge losses in the economy, destruction and long‑term absence of peasant‑soldiers from the country. It contributed to the increase in the number of slaves, who repeatedly rebelled against their masters. The largest uprising, led by Spartacus, broke out at the beginning of the first century BC. In spite of many defeats, thanks to entrusting the command to the eminent commander Crassus and gathering a huge number of troops, the army of Spartacus was defeated. As a result, thousands of his soldiers, former slaves, were crucified on the way from Kapua to Rome.
A centuries‑old order based on the relationship of a rich patron taking care of a poor client has been shaken. As a result of the deepening differences between a small group of rich people profiting from conquests and the masses of the poor, there were many conflicts and outbursts of dissatisfaction.