Grade 6 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 14, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A Message of Ancient Days

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 14, Lesson 2: Social Rank in the Empire (pp. 436-439)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Culture Social divisions were clearly defined and expressed in the Roman Empire.

Describe the three social classes in the Roman Empire by making a chart with three columns. Have students help you fill in the chart by describing the occupations of the three classes, their dress, and even their seating at events and private parties.

Discuss the ways in which a Roman could change his social level and the difficulties in doing so.

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

Assign the social position of elite, "more humble," or slave to each student, and have each student prepare a brief talk describing an event from that point of view. Encourage them to include a description of any activities or work that would have been part of the event. Students should do the math to divide the class into the three groups proportional to the three social groups of the Roman Empire. For example: 2% will be equivalent to number of the elite, 33% will be equivalent to the number of slaves.
Have students stage a pantomime of an event at the Roman Colosseum.

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