Context

Classical Antiquity is a significant period in human history, marked by the rise and fall of powerful empires, including the Roman Empire. Rome stands out in many ways from both its sociopolitical structure to its military and cultural achievements. Its influence still stands in many areas of modern life, such as law, language and architecture showing the actual relevance of this historical period.

Rome went through several phases of its existence. From a small village in the Italian Peninsula, it passed through the Monarchy period going to the Republic, when Rome truly starts to expand its territories, and finally the imperial phase, the most known, that will see Rome at the height of its power and influence. Each phase brought relevant changes in Rome's social and political structure, creating a rich tapestry of development and evolution.

Introduction

The project "Exploring Rome" aims to provide students with an engaging and in-depth look into the history of Rome while drawing connections to present-day concepts. It will give students a comprehensive view of Rome, from its foundation to its decline, understanding the social, political and economical dynamics that characterized different eras of Roman history.

Students will explore several topics including the definition of Classical Antiquity, the characteristics of the Roman Empire, forms of citizenship in ancient Rome, comparing the different forms of labor organization and supply in different societies and periods, the description and analysis of the different social roles of women. They will also draw connections between these concepts to the modern world and how they impact our current society.

To support the understanding and development of the project, we suggest the following resources for research: The book "Ancient Rome: From the Earliest Times to its Fall" by Simon Baker that provides a general overview of the history of Rome. The website History.com that has several articles and videos about different aspects of ancient Rome. The BBC documentary "Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire" that can be found on YouTube.

Activity

Activity Title: "Exploring Rome: A Journey Through Classical Antiquity"

Project Goal

This project aims to provide a practical learning experience of the history of Ancient Rome by engaging students in the exploration of various historical topics related to Rome and its social and political dynamics.

Project Description

In this project, groups of students will have to recreate a three-dimensional model of Rome in one of its three eras: Monarchy, Republic, or Empire. This model will have to contain elements that represent the social, political, and economic characteristics of that era, as well as the daily life of its people. Students will have to deeply research and reflect on the different stages of Roman society and express their learnings in the model created.

Along with the model, a document with a detailed explanation of each element chosen for the model, as well as the justification for its selection, will have to be elaborated, creating a reference guide for the three-dimensional model.

Required Materials

• Building materials (Cardboard, clay, paper-mâché)
• Painting and decorating materials
• Paper and pens for the elaboration of the report
• Bibliographic references to conduct the research

Project's Step-by-Step

1. Group Formation: Students will have to organize themselves in groups of 3 to 5 people.

2. Choice of Era: Each group will have to choose one of the three eras to focus their research on: Monarchy, Republic, or Empire.

3. Research: Students will have to conduct thorough research on the selected era, using the suggested references and others that they find on their own.

4. Model Planning: Based on what they learned in their research, groups will have to plan a three-dimensional model that will represent Rome in the chosen era. The plan should include the list of materials that will be needed and a sketch of the model.

5. Model Construction: Groups will have to build the model as planned.

6. Document Elaboration: As they build the model, students should also be elaborating a document that explains each element present in the model, providing details on what it represents and why it was chosen.

7. Final Presentation: Each group will present their model and explain what each element represents, supported by the elaborated document.

Project Deliverables

At the end of the project, students should deliver:

1. Three-Dimensional Model: This model serves as a physical representation of the students' findings on the era of Rome chosen for study.

2. Written Document: This report should include an introduction to the chosen era, a detailed description of the created model with explanations of what each element represents, reflections on the era and connections to modern concepts, and a final section with general conclusions. Therefore the document should have the following sections: Introduction, Development, Conclusions and Bibliography.

   • In the Introduction, students should contextualize the era of Rome that they chose to investigate and justify the relevance of studying that era.
   • In the Development, students should explain the theory that supports their understanding of the chosen era of Rome, describe their activity in detail, methodology used in the research and construction of the model, and present and discuss the results obtained.
   • In the Conclusion, students should restate the main points of the work, explain what they have learned and the conclusions drawn about the project.
   • The Bibliography should list the research sources used to elaborate the work.

The document should be between 2000-3000 words long, divided proportionally among the four mentioned sections.

It is important to remind you that the assessment will take into account both the final product (the three-dimensional model and the written document) and the group process (the collaboration and communication among the group members, the distribution of tasks, the time management, etc.)