Grade 6 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 13, Lesson 1

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A Message of Ancient Days

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 13, Lesson 1: The Birth of Rome(pp. 396-399)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Culture Rome's early development benefited from its location and contact with the Etruscans.

Tell the legend of the founding of Rome, and encourage students to see the importance of Rome's hills in both legend and history. Review the first seven kings of Rome, and point out how contact with the Etruscans changed Rome. Discuss the role of the Senate in governing Rome.

Summarize the advantages of Rome's location in the middle of the peninsula, which is in the middle of the Mediterranean. Make a list with students of the advantages of being near, but not next to, the sea, of building on hills overlooking the surrounding territory, and of locating on the Tiber River.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Place students into groups or teams and ask each to develop a piece advertising Rome as the next, up-and-coming civilization based on its location. Encourage students to be playful but accurate in describing the advantages that could help make Rome a world power.
Have students confirm Rome's central location for themselves, by using the map and its scale on page 398 to measure the distance in miles from Rome to the northernmost city and then from Rome to the southernmost city. Then ask them to use a map of Europe to measure the distance from Rome to Athens, from Rome to Madrid, and Rome to Tunis.

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