L6+Alexander,Caitlin+Marie

**UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON** ** COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION ** ** LESSON PLAN FORMAT **
 * __ Teacher’s Name __**** : ** Ms. Caitlin Alexander **__Date of Lesson__:** 6 (Perspective)
 * __ Grade Level __**** : ** 9th Grade **__Topic__:** Rome and Christianity
 * __ Objectives __**
 * Student will understand that ** The actions of the Ancient Romans influenced the development of the Western world.
 * Student will know ** Constantine, Battle of Milvian Bridge, Edict of Milan, the First Council of Nicaea, Old St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Edict of Thessalonica.
 * Student will be able to ** analyze and compare enduring themes in the history of the world cross culturally.


 * __ Maine Learning Results Alignment __**
 * //Maine//** **//Learning Results://**
 * //Social Studies – E. History,//**
 * //E1: Historical Knowledge, Concepts, Themes and Patterns//**


 * Rationale: ** Understanding how and why Christianity became the major religion of the Roman Empire will help students understand how Christianity became such an influential part of Western civilization.


 * __ Assessment __**


 * Formative (Assessment for Learning) **

Students will reflect upon their findings in their class journal. By using the journal or diary the students will reflect upon their findings, ideas, and concerns about the learning.


 * Summative (Assessment of Learning) **

Students will create a Comic Life” to show the events that led to the Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. This will give the students a chance to visually depict the events surrounding the rise of Christianity and express their creativity by turning the events into a story.


 * __ Integration __**

Students will use “Comic Life” to create a comic of the rise of Christianity as the central religion of the Roman Empire. The Comic Life will allow the students to create a visual representation of the events, and it will help them gain a better understanding of the events if they are asked to express their knowledge by using their creative skills to form a visual story.
 * Technology: **


 * Art: ** Students will use their artistic skills and creativity while writing up the Comic Life.


 * __ Groupings __**

Students will get together into small groups for discussions about the treatment of Christianity in the time of Roman emperors before Constantine, focusing especially upon Nero and Diocletian. Students will get together with a single partner and quiz one another on the motives and the events preceeding and surrounding the founding of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. There will also be small group discussions intermittently throughout the class where each group is given a different Emperor of the Roman Empire to focus upon, and they will share their knowledge of how Christianity was treated by that particular Emperor. For the final project students will be grouped together into groups of four, and the groups will be prearranged by the teacher.


 * __ Differentiated Instruction __**

Verbal-Linguistic: Students will read the section of their textbook that details the Roman Empire under Constantine and that gives a general background of the rise of Christianity. Logical/Mathematical: Students will create a timeline using “Inspiration” that shows the progression of key events in the Roman Empire during the time of Constantine. Multiple timelines will be made for different sections of the Empire and they will be compared and contrasted. Students will also create a flow chart using “Inspiration” to show the evolution of Christianity and its role during the time of Constantine and later emperors. Visual/Spatial: Students will use ComicLife to create a story about the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Bodily/Kinesthetic: While gathering into their separate groups, students will be given the opportunity to walk around and arrange their desks in a manner that might better suit their group work. Interpersonal: Students will discuss the significance, motivations, and outcomes of Constantine’s decision to submit the Edict of Milan and support the Christianity as a major religion of the Roman Empire. Intrapersonal: Students will write their own commentary to go along with their readings and their class notes in their journals, reflecting upon the significance of events and which events they consider to be important.

** Modifications/Accommodations **

I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations. Absent: If a student is absent for a short period of time (1-3 classes) I will try and set up a mentor system during class between this student and one who has shown mastery of the material already, and the two will spend a short amount of time together during each class so that the absent student can catch up with the rest of the class. If this is not possible, then I will supply the student with specific readings and worksheets that will provide the information. If the student is absent for an extended period of time (more than three classes) I will try and coordinate a time before, during, or after school when that student might be able to come to visit me or spend time with a tutor to catch them up with the class. I will also post my content notes online so that any student can access them. ** Extensions **

The students will be creating a ComicLife as a “final project” for the lesson, in which they will be describing either the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire as a whole (or a specific event in the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire) in the format of a story. Gifted and talented students may show significant mastery of the material by connecting the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire to the dominance of Christianity in the West, or they may compare and contrast the rise of Christianity with the rise of another major religion.
 * __ Materials, Resources and Technology __**

Television/Projector and Projector Screen A copy of the clip from the movie “The Da Vinci Code.” Computers Textbooks Access to the “Inspiration” application Access to the “Comic Life” application Pencils Paper
 * __ Source for Lesson Plan and Research __**

[|//Glencoe World History//] "Chapter 5: Rome and the Rise of Christianity" __ [] __ - This chapter provides an overview of the Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. [] “The Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire” video clip – A clip from the History Channel special “Banned from the Bible” which discusses how Constantine made it so that Christianity was tolerated in the Roman Empire.


 * __ Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale __**


 * // Standard 3 - Demonstrates a knowledge of the diverse ways in which students learn and develop by providing learning opportunities that support their intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and cultural development. //**
 * // Rationale: //**

__ Beach Ball: __ The creativity of different students will be embraced in the classroom, and through informal discussion between classmates and between the class and the teacher the students will have multiple opportunities to share their opinions. Through many different activities, including the ComicLife project, the students will be given the chance to express themselves artistically as well.

__Microscope:__ One of the activities involves having the students read from the textbook, which will stimulate students who are more research oriented, because it will engage them in a formal, tradition fashion of learning and information gathering.

__Clipboard:__ Students will be presented with a list of terms (the terms in the content notes), which will not only serve as a checklist for terms, but there will also be space provided on the sheets for note-taking.

__ Puppy: __ All of the students in the classroom will feel safe and secure in discussions and when they share their ideas, opinions, or work, because my classroom policy will be to be accepting of all ideas, and I will expect my students to do the same.


 * // Standard 4 - Plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, curriculum goals, and learning and development theory. //**
 * // Rationale: //**

The goal of this unit is for students to be able to analyze the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and to be able to make connections between the circumstances and decisions of this era with future events. By understanding how Constantine established the foundations for making Christianity the official religion of Rome, and how Christianity flourished under later Roman rule, they can better understand how Christianity became the dominant religion in the West, and one of the most influential ideologies in the world.


 * // Standard 5 - Understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies and appropriate technology to meet students’ needs. //**
 * // Rationale: //**

Verbal-Linguistic: Students will read the section of their textbook that details the Roman Empire under Constantine and that gives a general background of the rise of Christianity. Logical/Mathematical: Students will create a timeline using “Inspiration” that shows the progression of key events in the Roman Empire during the time of Constantine. Multiple timelines will be made for different sections of the Empire and they will be compared and contrasted. Students will also create a flow chart using “Inspiration” to show the evolution of Christianity and its role during the time of Constantine and later emperors. Visual/Spatial: Students will use ComicLife to create a story about the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Bodily/Kinesthetic: While gathering into their separate groups, students will be given the opportunity to walk around and arrange their desks in a manner that might better suit their group work. Interpersonal: Students will discuss the significance, motivations, and outcomes of Constantine’s decision to submit the Edict of Milan and support the Christianity as a major religion of the Roman Empire. Intrapersonal: Students will write their own commentary to go along with their readings and their class notes in their journals, reflecting upon the significance of events and which events they consider to be important.


 * // Standard 8 - Understands and uses a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and support the development of the learner. //**
 * // Rationale: //**
 * Formative (Assessment for Learning) **

Students will reflect upon their findings in their class journal. By using the journal or diary the students will reflect upon their findings, ideas, and concerns about the learning.


 * Summative (Assessment of Learning) **

Students will create a Comic Life” to show the events that led to the Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. This will give the students a chance to visually depict the events surrounding the rise of Christianity and express their creativity by turning the events into a story. The classroom will be arranged so that the student desks make a “U” shape, which faces the front of the room. This is so that whoever is speaking has the full attention of the class, and so that most of the students have a clear, comfortable view of whomever is presenting. When group-work is required, students may re-arrange the desks into pairs, or groups of four or five. The desks will be returned to their proper arrangement at the end of class. Day 1: Students will watch a short clip from the film “The Da Vinci Code” which talks about the foundations of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. A discussion will follow this clip which will focus upon the facts presented and if Hollywood had sensationalized the film or not. (10 minutes.) The class will then discuss how Christianity was treated by the Roman Empire under the reign of prior Emperors in small groups. (10 minutes) Students will then read from the textbook and take notes related to the growth of Christianity in the Empire (15 minutes). The teacher will begin a discussion about what the students read about in the textbook, and will introduce the incident prior to the Battle of Milvian Bridge and Constantine’s victory at that battle. (15 minutes) Students will be shown a short clip, which will introduce the Edict of Milan and the Council of Nicaea. (5 minutes) The teacher will present the events of the Edict of Milan and the first council of Nicaea to the class and lead a discussion of the importance of these events. Then the discussion will move forward to the declaration of Christianity as the official religion of the Empire, how this might affect the Empire, and the possible consequences of this decision. (20 minutes). Students will be given the last few minute of class to write down their findings and thoughts in their journals. (5 minutes) Day 2: Students will begin the class by pairing up with a partner and quizzing each other on the information that they learned in the previous class. (10 minutes) The teacher will provide a short lecture to students about Constantine’s contributions to Christianity and the Edict of Thessalonica. (10 minutes) The teacher will present the students with an introduction to Comic Life, and will give instructions on how to use it. Students will be put into groups to create a Comic Life cooperatively. (15 minutes) The next portion of class will be devoted to creating their Comic Life. The students will be informed before they leave that they will be presenting their comic life during the last half of next class. The homework given will be for students to find photographs for their projects. (45 minutes) Day 3: Students will begin the lesson by asking the teacher any questions they might have about the project. (5 minutes) The student will finalize their projects. (40 minutes) The students will present their projects to the rest of the class. (30 minutes) Students will finish the class by writing in their journals, and they will be informed that they will be participating in a final project, in which they complete a WebQuest. (5 minutes) Through this lesson students will gain a better understanding of how the Romans did influence and continue to influence Western culture and civilization to this day. It is important for students to understand the roots of our culture today, and by the end of this lesson students will understand that by implementing Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, Constantine paved the way for the rise of Christianity in the Western world, shaping the histories and societies of multiple nations around the world. This lesson prescribes to the Maine Learning Results for Social Studies, more specifically in the History Concentration, finally focusing on "Historical Knowledge, Concepts, Themes and Patterns." The students will be refining their analysis and critiquing skills through this lesson by analyzing the different motives behind the acceptance of Christianity as an acceptable (and later favorable) religion of the Roman Empire, how that decision changed the empire as a whole, and what effects it had on later events in history. In order to engage the students as they enter the classroom, a short clip from the movie “The Da Vinci Code” will be shown, and the students will be asked to write an opinion in their journals of how accurate that film’s interpretation of history might have been.
 * __ Teaching and Learning Sequence __**** : **
 * Where, Why, What, Hook, Tailors: Visual/Spatial, Intrapersonal **

Students will know about the different people and events surrounding the rise of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, and be familiar with the terms listed under the Content Notes. By familiarizing themselves with these people, places, and things, and their significance to the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, the students will be able to better describe the sequence of events that led to the rise of Christianity. While delivering the content to the students, I will also be actively trying to stimulate an open discussion between the students and myself, giving them enough information to make informed guesses about different motivations, effects and reactions to the content that we are discussing. While they are participating in group-work I will be walking around the room and interacting with each group individually and checking on their progress and understanding of the task at hand. Students will create a flow chart with the aid of “Inspiration” to create a logical, visual representation of the motivations behind the legalizing Christianity in the Roman Empire. Throughout the entire year students will be keeping a journal in which they will comment on and reflect upon what they learned in class that day, and the students will be given at least five minutes at the end of every lesson to write about what they did or did not understand, what they would like to know more about, and perhaps ideas for later lessons. At the end of class students will turn this journal in to the teacher.


 * Equip, Explore Rethink, Revise Tailors: Logical/Mathematical, Visual/Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal **

Students will be using “Inspiration” to create a timeline and compare and contrast how Christianity was treated under the Republic and under different emperors. They will have already discussed how Christians and Christianity was treated by emperors prior to Constantine, but now they will be using “Inspiration” to make different charts to visibly compare the progression of tolerance (or intolerance) towards Christianity in the Roman Empire. When grouped together, students will work in pairs and in groups, and while working in groups students will be given the opportunity to temporarily rearrange their desks to suit their grouping needs. They will work in groups to discuss the different levels of tolerance shown by Roman emperors prior to Constantine, and on the second day of the lesson the students will be placed into groups again so that they can work collaboratively on the ComicLife. Students will also get together with a single partner and quiz one another on the motives and the events surrounding the founding of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. This gives students the chance to use their peers as a way to compare their definitions and understandings of the concepts learned in class. If they find that their information is incorrect they can always go back to their graphic organizers and edit them, or change the definitions on their checklist handout.

Students will be given journals at the beginning of the unit, in which they will write and record their findings, what they thought about what was being taught, and what they might be confused about or might need clarified. These journals will give students time to reflect and think about what they have learned, and about what they might need to improve upon in the future. They will be given the chance to write in these journals at the end of every class. Students will use their journals as a vehicle for reflection, but they will also use it to convey to me concerns about the content (misunderstandings or clarifying questions). If the students wish for me to read their journals, they can pass them in to me at the end of class and I will write them a response either in the journal itself or on a separate sheet of paper to hand back to them at the beginning of the next class.
 * Explore, Experience, Rethink, Revise, Refine, Tailors: Logical/Mathematical, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal **


 * Evaluate, Tailors: Intrapersonal **


 * __ Content Notes __**

Constantine: Emperor of the Roman Empire during the 4th Century CE, he created an air of religious tolerance towards Christianity and paved the way for it to become the reigning religion of the Roman Empire by creating the **Edict of Milan** and arranging for the **First Council of Nicaea.** Battle of Milvian Bridge: A battle between Emperor Constantine I and emperor Maxentius, which was a key point in Christian history. Before the battle it purported that Constantine had a vision of a cross in the clouds and heard the voice of Christ, telling him “In this sign, you shall conquer.” Constantine subsequently emerged victorious from the battle. This is often cited as the starting point for the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Edict of Milan: An edict issued by Emperor Constantine, which stated that all religions, including the Christian one, would be tolerated within the Roman Empire. First Council of Nicaea: A council which met in Nicaea in the 4th Century CE, which convened by request of Emperor Constantine and effectively created the official religious doctrine for Christianity. Old St. Peter’s Basilica: The first Christian church, commissioned by Emperor Constantine himself. The Edict of Thessalonica: An edict issued by the emperors Theodosius II, Gratian, and Valentinian II, which ordered all subjects of the Roman Empire to swear religious faith to the Bishop of Rome, effectively making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.


 * Handouts: **

__ Pre Assessment __ What do you know already about the Roman Emperor Constantine and the rise of Christianity? What do you think you know? What would you like to know about the Roman Emperor Constantine and the rise of Christianity? Do you know about the Edict of Milan? If yes, then explain what it is. Would you feel confidant being tested on this material? __ Post Assessment __ What have you learned about the Roman Emperor Constantine and the rise of Christianity? What would you still like to know, or what do you still not know about the Roman Emperor Constantine and the rise of Christianity? What was the Edict of Milan? Would you feel confidant being tested on this material? Today’s class will begin with you and your partner (pre-chosen) quizzing one another on the notes taken last class. You will each ask a different question one at a time, and you will be quizzing one another for the next five minutes. You can use this time to check your notes with your partner and clear up anything that might be missing or unclear. Here are some examples of questions that you and your partner can ask one another in your quiz pairs: Before the Battle of Milvian Bridge, what did Constantine see or experience? What did Constantine proclaim in his Edict of Milan? What were the results of the Edict of Thessalonica? Why was it important for Constantine to construct Old St. Peter’s Basilica? These are only sample questions: you can come up with many other diverse questions to quiz your partner on the notes taken last class. **__ Comic Life Checklist __** You and your group will be creating a Comic Life presentation, detailing some aspect of the Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire in the form of a story. Before you start putting photographs together and creating the comic, consider these things first: What aspect of the Rise of Christianity in Rome will you be focusing on? How was the religion viewed by the Romans at this time? Who were the leading figures of this time period? (Emperors, Generals, Social Leaders, other important figures). Here are different time periods during the Rise of Christianity in Rome that you can choose from (or if you have a different idea of what you want to present, you may bring your idea to the teacher): · Christianity during the reigns of different emperors (Nero, Hadrian, Diocletian, Constantine) · Constantine’s experience at Milvian Bridge, The Edict of Milan, and the First Council of Nicaea · Constantine’s contributions to the development of Christianity How are you going to tell your story? Will there be a narrator? What perspective will it be told in? (First Person Singular, Third Person Omnipotent?) What images do you want to use in your comic? Where will they be coming from?
 * Partner Quiz Sample Questions: **
 * Remember! ** Do not just tell what happened in your comic! Be sure to include reasons, motivations, and results! Why did these people do the things they did? How did it affect the empire (or even the world)?