This unit has been developed for a grade 7 World Culture and Geography course. This unit is intended to be taught over a period of five weeks. At the unit’s conclusion, students should understand and explain how geological processes affect the human experience in the Roman Empire. They will understand plate tectonics, ore formation, Plinian volcanos, and river systems. They will be able to analyze ancient patterns of settlement, interpret and explain material culture, and explain the tools of empire and its connection to the natural world. The first week will be a general overview of the themes of the unit, with the subsequent three weeks focusing on one of the three locations discussed in this project: Pompeii, London, and Rio Tinto. The unit will conclude with a final project where, using Google Earth, primary, and secondary sources, students will complete a small portfolio that examines a location’s ancient geological and historical features, with an eye to using their learning to make connections to the present day. This unit heavily relies on digital tools and resources, which can be found in the classroom resources section below, including databases of maps, house plans, virtual tours, and artifact databases. The teaching of digital skills is not explicitly addressed here, but teachers should consider what their students are skilled at already when it comes to technology, and what skills they may need to be taught. The following section is the framework for teaching this unit with sample lessons. My chief hope in writing this unit is that teachers, across contents, apply a cross disciplinary pedagogy while teaching these concepts, relying on the skills and bases of knowledge of both geology and history. As I wrote in Part 1, this approach does not have to be limited to the Roman Empire or to the ancient world. Indeed, the specific geological concepts I have chosen to focus on can likewise be interchanged, perhaps focusing on climate, mountain building, or earthquakes instead. The essential component of this unit is using case studies of specific geographic locations that employ scientific and historical methods of study to interpret humanity’s complex relationship with our planet.
Weekly Plan
The following is a sample weekly plan that teachers might want to follow for this project. This is a broad overview that teachers can follow when planning lessons for this unit. Each week has a central theme and is generally focused on one specific geographic region of the Roman World. Also included in the middle column are the specific historical and geological topics that will be covered in that week’s lessons. If you are a Social Studies teacher, depending on your teaching situation, you may want to collaborate with science teachers at your school. The materials provided here do address the scientific side that students will do in this unit and include moments for students to exercise the scientific method in learning about the Roman world. I do not, however, have substantial experience teaching science topics, although hopefully the readings and research presented here will likewise be useful for embracing a cross-disciplinary approach. Reinforcing skills and concepts across concepts gives students a more robust opportunity to truly learn them. Social Studies teachers may wish to prepare lectures or lessons more broadly on Roman history with each case study. I found meaningful connections between the historical period of the expansion of the Roman Empire and the London case study, but other teachers might want to focus instead on the fall of the Roman Empire. Someone teaching about the Punic Wars may want to include the case study of Rio Tinto, given Spain’s status as a Carthaginian colony that Rome gained in the Second Punic War.
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Week
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Unifying Theme and Content
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Historical and Geological Topics
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Suggested Readings and Activities
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1
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Introduction Studying Human and Natural History Together - Rome focus location
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The Founding of Rome, Roman Kingdom, Early Republic; Plate Tectonics
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Poetry from Martial Livy’s renditions of founding myths
Article on the sinkholes of Rome
See lesson 1 below.
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2
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Material History and Volcanic Eruptions -Vesuvius and Pompeii
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Fall of the Republic, Early Roman Empire; Volcanism
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Virtual field trip of Pompeii
Pliny letters and reports
Online database exploration
See lesson 2 and 3 below
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3
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Frontiers of Empires, Managing Rivers and War -London
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Expansion of the Roman Empire; Waterways and rivers
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Secondary Source Readings on Roman London
Selections from Julius Caesar and Tacitus
London Sewage Readings
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4
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Demands for Ore and the Roman Roads – Rio Tinto
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Decline of the Roman Empire, Creation of Ore Deposits
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Roman Mines at Rio Tinto
Reading a Geology Map, Introduction to Google Earth
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5
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Final Project – Exploring Rome
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Students apply their skills and learning working on their final project.
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Extensive use of Google Earth and Primary Source Databases
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Sample Lesson Plans and Activities
The three sample lessons provided are intended to demonstrate the cross-disciplinary approach that defines this unit. Resources that are part of the lesson plans can be found after the bibliography.
Lesson 1
This will be the introductory lesson of the unit. Working in groups, students will examine topographic maps of one of three ancient cities: Carthage, Memphis, and Athens, and explain what makes a location advantageous to settle. Students will examine a map of Ancient Rome and identify the locations' advantages. Finally, students will be asked to consider the geological forces that shaped these locations.
Objective: Students will be able to understand the settlement patterns of ancient peoples based on geological and geographic factors. Students will understand that complex geological processes that occurred millions of years ago shaped the makeup of our planet’s surface.
Teaching Plan: Begin with a hook activity, asking students to think of themselves as a member of a small tribe in the ancient world, attempting to find a place to live. They need to decide what resources or factors in the landscape (i.e. access to a river, minerals, wood, etc.) will contribute to their tribe’s success. Allow students no more than five minutes to complete this activity.
Bring the class together, and have students share their responses to the hook activity first with a partner, and then share out their ideas with the class. The teacher should write down on either a whiteboard or chart paper some of the key ideas down for the class to see as the class comes to a consensus on the most important resources and factors. Then, ask students to consider how those resources or landscape features came to be. Allow five to ten for this activity.
Have students break into groups of four to five students and allow them to choose a name for their “tribe.” Using the criteria they identified, present students with a map or several maps to read and interpret. Suggested online resources for maps of the ancient world can be found in the classroom resources section below. You may want to use topographic maps that showcase features in the terrain. As a scaffold, you can use a blank map of the ancient location and add your own labels for resources or topographic features. Before having students commence their analysis, use one of the suggested cities to model your thought process of notable geographic features. The model should take no more than five minutes. Then, allow students 15 to 20 minutes of time to make their decision, having them record their thinking in the process. Bring the class together, and have students discuss their decision with the entire class. Either as an assessment, homework, or whole class activity, present a map of Ancient Rome to the class, having students identify its key features that would enable its success.
Lessons 2
This will be the first in a two-part lesson as part of the case study on Pompeii and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. This first lesson will explore what causes a volcanic eruption, and the aspects that made the eruption in 79 so deadly.
Objective: Students will be able to describe and identify volcanic features using written and visual sources.
Teaching Plan: As a hook, have students share first in writing, and then with the whole class what they know about volcanos and eruptions. As a follow-up, ask them what this might have to do with ancient Rome. Allow five to ten minutes for students to complete this activity.
Next, have students read the two relevant letters from Pliny the Younger to Tacitus describing the events at Pompeii (Numbers 45 and 46). For this lesson, follow a close reading protocol as students read the source. Translations of this text can be easily and readily found online, though be aware that some may require explanations for difficult vocabulary. For this close reading protocol, students will read the text twice. For the first reading of the text, students will be focused on the gist or main points. This should be read aloud by the teacher. After reading the text, students write a summary of the account. It should only be two or three sentences. Students then share their summaries with the class. For the second reading of the text, students will annotate the text this time. This time, they are going to underline any description they found in the text about the volcanic eruption or its after affects. Students will complete this on their own. Once they have finished annotating, they will list all the features of the eruption that they noticed in the text on a piece of paper, and sketch one or two doodles that reflect the descriptions given in the text.
Once they have finished, students share out their findings with the class, being sure to cite the appropriate passage in the text. As students share their responses, anyone else who also noticed that detail should raise their hands. The teacher should record their responses for the class and the areas of overlap. Once this is completed, share with students the painting from Turner (Figure 2 in Part 2) and a photograph of the Mt. St. Helens eruption (or another similar Plinian eruption.) Call on two or three students to share their ideas of what they notice.
Finally, pair students off. Since students have formulated what they already know about the eruption based upon their annotations, they will discuss with their partner a potential hypothesis on what causes a volcanic eruption like this. Remind students to use what they have learned so far about the earth system as part of this unit and in their other classes when forming hypotheses. For homework, assign a reading on volcanic eruptions to solidify student understanding.
Lesson 3
This lesson builds on the previous day’s learning on the eruption of Vesuvius. Students should understand the causes and effects of volcanic eruptions. Students will focus on the archaeology of Pompeii and how the volcanic eruption preserved many buildings and artifacts. Students will use database tools to explore the city.
Objective: Students will be able to form interpretations and analyses of Roman material culture through the artifacts, art, and architecture of Pompeii.
Teaching Plan: As a hook, have students consider how they think the eruption of Vesuvius affected the people, materials, and structures of Pompeii, first by writing their answer, then sharing their responses verbally with the class. From their homework and the previous day’s lesson, students should understand that Vesuvius had a strong pyroclastic surge that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum in layers of ash and pumice. This burial's effect preserved the cities almost exactly as it had been in 79 AD.
This lesson may include some images that can be intense for some students. The casts of bodies in Pompeii are haunting, but also help us see the humanity of these ancient peoples. If you do include the casts of the bodies in this lesson, be sure to tell students that this was not the result of the volcano, but an archaeological method used in the 19th century. Consider your student population as you make this decision, and if you do examine the casts, I recommend doing it first as class. Likewise, be aware that some of the examples of graffiti preserved can likewise be vulgar and may be inappropriate.
With that in mind, hand each student a field researchers’ notebook. They will use this guide as they conduct their exploration of Pompei and its artifacts. Ask students to return to the Pliny reading and ask for students’ impression of Pliny and his uncle. The text indicates that the family was relatively wealthy, having ready access to ships and a villa. Likewise, examining the present-day sight shows a proximity to the sea, all of which may be used to infer that Pompeii at least had some status as a city of wealth.
Students will be required to explore five total resources. One should be an artistic piece, one a building, one an artifact, and another the urban plan of the city. The final choice is up to the student. Depending on classroom resources, these sources can be presented virtually or physically printed and distributed. For higher level students, students can have more leeway to choose their objects for exploration. For each item, students will have to consider its purpose, use, or function, who was likely to interact with that object, and finally what it might reveal about the people of the city. If students are still struggling, complete together as a class an analysis of the city’s bath, a place of communal gathering and washing whose spacious forms indicate a place not only to clean oneself, but likewise an important social gathering spot.
After students have completed all five entries in their field notebook, they should find a classmate to compare findings with, and report those findings in their notebook. As a concluding activity, students will summarize what they learned about the Roman world by examining Pompeii’s material culture.
Final Project
Over the unit's duration, students will become more comfortable with using history and geology skills to analyze the ancient. Although paper copies can be created for some textual sources, this assignment should be completed digitally to take advantage of the resources available online and to use Google Earth. Students will be asked to choose one location that was once under Roman control, and complete a brief report using primary historical sources, Google Earth, and secondary readings on both history and geology. Students will first identify some key geographical and geological resources. They will identify the tectonic plate, the nearest fault, and any seismic and volcanic activity in the region. Students will examine any nearby substantial ore or mineral deposits, evaluate the region’s topography, and report its proximity to nearby sources of water. After preparing the geological report using Google Earth and associated data sets, they will then prepare a portfolio of historical materials and sources. Students will consult online databases to see the proximity of any significant roads, mines, or forts using databases listed in the classroom resources below. Students will then find one descriptive secondary source that provides a general overview, one artifact from the location or its region, and one primary source that either or came from the region. Once students have prepared these materials, they will share their collected resources with their classmates to share ideas and commentary on what they have found. The next portion of the project will be a two-paragraph response on how the geological features of their location might have influenced the lived experience of the people who lived there, focusing on one distinctive feature of its geology. They must also prepare a two-paragraph response that analyzes how the people who lived there shaped the environment. To culminate, students will provide one take away from their research and analysis that could help us better understand the complex world and problems we have today.
This will be an intensive project, and students will begin to work on their project very soon after the unit starts. Students should have their location chosen by the end of the first week. For the individual lessons within each weekly case study, we will cover one aspect of using Google Earth, accessing historical datasets, or finding primary resources. The entire final week of the unit is dedicated to time spent working on their project. Day 1 reinforces how to use Google Earth as students examine datasets of their chosen location. Day 2 is focused on finding secondary and primary sources. Day 3’s goal is to access their historical data sets online, with day 4 serving as flexible day to catch up on anything they might be behind on. By day 5, students should be prepared to share their research materials with classmates, with that day serving as a collaborative day. With their materials prepared, students will then complete the remainder of the project at home, with a final due date one to two weeks after the completion of week 5. Depending on your classroom's needs, you may want to stagger students completing one part of the project concurrently with your other classroom lessons. Alternatively, you may want to extend the time students have to complete the geological and historical research components of the project or spend additional days reviewing how to use the online tools. This project should be flexible, and students should feel that they have autonomy in selecting their research location. Teachers should anticipate helping students find places that will have a strong documentary record and may want to curate the selection of the primary and secondary sources. The project is not writing intensive, but it does demand that students be able to research effectively, so more time may be needed to help students find research materials suitable for the project's scope. Finally, for some classrooms it might be more to have this be a group project or include a presentation component. Those decisions should reflect the needs of your students and the realities of your classroom. If group work is chosen, ensure that students are engaging with both disciplines. By the completion of the project, students should show that they have mastered the goal of this unit, of analyzing the ancient world using both the tools of an historian and a geoscientist and see how this approach enables creative and complex thinking.
