The Fall of Rome: Research, Analyze, Persuade
English I Honors and World History Honors.
Objectives
History: Identify factors that contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire; evaluate the role of political leadership in maintaining the strength and vitality of a society; understand the political, economic, and social legacies of Roman civilization.
English: Demonstrate an ability to read informational texts (2.01); research a topic (2.04); write a persuasive essay (3.03); apply the conventions of grammar and usage (6).
World History:2.03Describe the developments and achievements of Roman civilization and analyze the significance of the fall of Rome.
Overview
Roman Civilization lasted over 1,000 years before an invasion by Germanic tribes brought about its collapse in 476 AD. However, many factors had weakened the Empire. Barbarian invasions, unstable and corrupt political leadership, a splitting of the Empire, the rise of Christianity, and frequent civil wars all contributed to the fall of one of the world’s greatest civilizations.
Useresources from your history class and the Internet to research the causes of Rome’s decline. These include barbarian invasions, political instability, the splitting of the Empire, the rise of Christianity, incompetent/corrupt rulers, and civil war. As you read, remember to choose which cause you believe had the greatest effect. Remember to include specific facts and comparative details to support your position.
Part I: Research: Read the document packet from Mr. Harding. As you read, complete the questions at the end of each document IN COMPLETE SENTENCES.
Part II: Analyze: Identify and analyze the causes of the decline of Rome. Complete the two-column notes sheet. Identify the source for all information you find (i.e. Mr. Harding’s lecture, document 8, worldhistory.org, etc.)
Part III: Plan the essay: Complete the outline sheet to organize your essay. Your supporting details should come from the two-column notes sheet.
Part IV: Write the essay: Your essay should include an introduction and a conclusion. Remember to include supporting details and explanations in your body paragraphs. Close your essay with a conclusion that summarizes the main points of your essay. Provide a bibliography at the end of the essay. Finally, proofread, proofread, proofread!
Ms. Bristow and Mr. Harding will use these questions to assess your performance:
Did you focus on the impact of one cause of Rome’s decline?
Did you provide details to support your position?
Did you organize your essay clearly and logically?
Did your essay contain appropriate grammar and have a consistent tone?
Lesson plan and text from
The Fall of Rome: Research, Analyze, Persuade
English I Honors and World History Honors.
Part II: Document Analysis
Use the two-column table below to organize the information you gather from the readings and class discussion. In the boxes on the left, write the factors that contributed to the downfall of Roman Civilization, such as Corrupt Rulers. In the center boxes, describe in specific detail how these factors undermined social, political, and/or economic life. Identify the source for you information in the boxes on the right.
Factors that contributed to the decline of Roman civilization / How did these factors undermine the social, political, and economic power of the Roman Empire? / Document the source from which you got this information.example: Corrupt Rulers /
The Fall of Rome: Research, Analyze, Persuade
English I Honors and World History Honors.
Part III: Plan the essay
Use the template below to help you plan your essay. The thesis statement is a sentence that states the main point of your essay. In this case, your thesis will identify what factor you believe was the chief cause of the decline of Roman civilization.
I. Introduction: Introduce your reader to the issue. Briefly explain what a great civilization Rome was, how big it was, or what major accomplishments it contributed to the world. These are the first sentences of your essay, so try to grab the reader’s interest. ______
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The LAST sentence of your introduction will be the thesis. Write it here:
THESIS (What will your paper prove?) ______
______
II. Body paragraph 1: For the body of the paper you will need to take your ideas and organize them in a logical way. Try to think of three separate ideas you can elaborate upon. You may focus on three emperors who contributed to the decline of Rome; or you could organize your essay by centuries; or you could describe three distinct ways in which Christianity impacted the empire. What ever you decide, three is the magic number for this assignment.
Topic sentence (What is the topic of this paragraph?):
Fact (detail):
Analysis (explanation):
Fact (detail):
Analysis (explanation):
Closing sentence:
III. Body paragraph 2
Topic sentence:
Fact (detail):
Analysis (explanation):
Fact (detail):
Analysis (explanation):
Closing sentence:
IV. Body paragraph 3
Topic sentence:
Fact (detail):
Analysis (explanation):
Fact (detail):
Analysis (explanation):
Closing sentence:
V. Conclusion: Summarize the main points of your essay. Leave the reader with an interesting final note.