Europe

How Geography Unites and Divides Europe

In the first cluster of Unit 5, students investigate the geography of Europe as they work to answer the Supporting Question: How does the geography of Europe unite and divide its people and places? Students begin with Europe’s political geography, studying how and why its borders have shifted over time and considering what it means to be a small continent of many nations. A study of Europe’s physical geography follows. Here, they consider how geographic features such as peninsulas (of which Europe has many!), rivers, plains, islands, archipelagos, seas, and oceans unite and divide the people and places of the region. The first two lessons provide the necessary context for students to use a series of maps to draw conclusions and inferences about the people and places of Europe. In doing so, they consider topics of contemporary relevance to the people of Europe. These topics segue into a lesson on the European Union that draws on Europe’s history and political and physical geography and familiarizes students with the mission of this important organization, a key achievement of the European people. Throughout Cluster 1, students work to organize information from multiple sources.

Ancient and Classical Greece, c. 1200–300 BCE (Part 1)

Cluster 2 focuses on the history, culture, and legacy of ancient Greece through the Supporting Question: How did Athens and Sparta shape the lives of their people and the history of Greece? Although there were more than 1,000 poleis, the focus on Athens and Sparta provides a case study in the interplay between the fierce independence and shared identity of the ancient Greek world. Students investigate the political organization of Athens and Sparta, evaluating the tools they use to run their governments and drawing civic conclusions about the quality of life in each polis. Students discover how Athens became a democracy, an important foundation for 8th grade Civics. They also interrogate the social structures of both poleis by evaluating the roles of women, enslaved people, and foreigners and considering how their contributions shaped or were limited by their polis.

In-Depth Inquiry: Ancient and Classical Greece, c. 1200–300 BCE (Part 2)

In this In-Depth Inquiry cluster, students engage in a multiday project focused on the art and ideas of ancient Greece. The content of this project offers many examples of industry, innovation, and infrastructure developed by the ancient Greeks. Students conduct research, develop a slide deck and script, and deliver a short presentation designed to answer the Supporting Question—How does ancient Greece influence us today?—in regard to a particular area of accomplishment. These lessons allow students to appreciate Greek achievements and engage in academic discussions with their peers.

The Roman Republic and Empire, c. 500 BCE–500 CE (Part 1)

Even as the Athenians were experimenting with democratic governance in Greece, across the Adriatic, the Romans were innovating another form of government that responded to the will of the people: a republic. This cluster of lessons opens with an exploration of the strengths, weaknesses, and impacts of the Roman Republic. Students have an opportunity to reflect on Rome’s government organization and social structure and how it included and excluded different people. They also consider how Romans thought about civic duty and virtue, important concepts for later Western societies. Finally, they analyze the impacts of Roman expansion and the costs of the Punic Wars as Roman ambition increased. Students then connect the actions of the Roman Republic to their previous learnings about genocide in Unit 4.

The Roman Republic and Empire, c. 500 BCE–500 CE (Part 2)

Cluster 5 addresses the transition from a republic to one-man rule under an emperor, and the role of Julius Caesar and Augustus in this shift. After an introduction to how emerging autocracy helped create the stability of the Pax Romana, students look systematically at the “tools of empire,” the ways that Romans used military power, economic growth, public order, cultural imperialism (Romanization), and political and cultural flexibility to govern far-flung and diverse provinces of varying strategic value. Students complete a webquest, which allows them to consider the impacts of all of these tools. Resistance and rebellion happened within the empire’s heartland as oppressed, persecuted, and politically unrepresented groups undertook bold protests. These actions offer us a more nuanced and inclusive picture of civic life in the Roman Empire.