What Your Child is Learning in Unit 6, "Rome: A World Power"

In this unit, your child will learn about the rise, expansion, and decline of Rome. He or she will examine Rome's achievements in military organization, engineering, and trade, and see how Christianity spread throughout the Roman-held lands to become the dominant religion in Europe. Your child will also come to understand how the ancient world has helped shape our modern world.

Activities You Can Do at Home to Support Your Child's Learning

Chapter 13 The Rise of Rome

• In school, your child will learn how Roman myths reflected how Romans viewed themselves. Discuss with your child a myth that he or she knows. Determine what trait is expressed in the myth (honestly, loyalty, cleverness, etc.) that the people who created the myth believed themselves to have.

Chapter 14 The Roman Empire

• People in one province of the Roman Empire benefited from trade with people from other provinces in the empire. Today, your state trades heavily with other states. Make a list of ten everyday items and find out which items were produced outside of your state.
• Help your child find examples of Roman mythology in American culture. For example, Cupid is used as a symbol of love. Note statues on buildings, symbols used in advertising, and words based on the names of gods and goddesses.

• The Romans, like Americans today, debated how high to set taxes. With your child. discuss newspaper reports on taxes today.
• As he or she reads about why the Romans called certain people barbarians, your child will come to understand that words reflect the values of the speaker. Work with your child to come up with pairs of words that describe the same person from conflicting values. For example, a person who does a death-defying stunt could be called either brave or foolish, depending on the point of view of the speaker. Work to come up with five pairs of words.