Today we will learn about the development of emires in China, India, and Europe. These empires of the classical era had a lasting impact on the societies that followed them. Their legacies still shape the world today. We will also continue to work on the skills of paragraph writing and outlining.
Question of the Day
What are the social, economic, and political factors that promote stable and unified empires?
Focus Questions: Questions in italics may be used as prompts on this unit's summative assessments.
What is an empire?
What were the social, economic, and political reasons that China was able to unify and for the most part stay unified?
What are the social, economic, and political factors that contributed to the rise of centralized government in Rome?
What was the impact of India's social structure on political fragmentation in India?
The vocabulary below is related to the work you are doing today and would be worth using in your paragraph next class.
Confucius
Filial piety
Bureaucracy
Legalism
Qin Dynasty
Shi Huangdi
Centralized government
Decentralized government
Authoritarian government (autocracy)
Democracy
Direct democracy
Rebuplic
Polis
Monarchy
Aristocracy
Oligarchy
Athens
Persian Wars
Delian League
Peloponnesian War
Alexander the Great
Roman Republic
Senate
Punic Wars
Civil war
Julius Caesar
Augustus
Pax Romana
Sparta
Aryans
Hinduism
Caste System
Buddhism
Today you'll have to write a paragraph on the formation of empires and centralized political systems.
You'll need to show me the outlines that you started last class and completed for homework.
Write one paragraph on the civilizations that you studied for homework last night. The prompt will be: What factors promoted the formation of empires and centralized political systems in early societies?
We will use the textbook to make outlines for focus questions 2, 3, and 4. Each of these questions is among the prompts that may be used for this unit's summative assessments. Today we will start a new note taking method that Mr. Burnett cleverly refers to as Cornoutlines, so we will call them Cornoutlines too. Click here for an explanation of how to do a Cornoutline and to download a blank template to get you started. You will work in a group of three to create three Cornoutlines in class and for homework. You should consult with your group members for ideas and information about the cultures that you did not work on so that you can write a good paragraph next class. Use the pages in the textbook detailed below to do this work. You do not need to read every word, as you are not reading for comprehension. You need to scan these pages to identify information and ideas that will help you answer the question. This is what you should have in your notes. The videos are optional. You should watch them if you need or want more information but you are not required to do so.
Question #2: Pages 104-109 and 200-207. Watch the videos titled "Han Dynasty," "Han Civilization," "Confucianism" (Parts 1 and 2), "Daoism" (Parts 1 and 2), "Legalism" (Parts 1 and 2), and "Qin Dynasty" linked here, if you need more help.
Question #3: Pages 127-145 and 155-172. Watch the videos titled "Greek City-States," "Greek Civilization," "Roman Republic" and "Roman Empire" linked here, if you need more help.
Question #4: Pages 60-71 and 189-197. Watch the videos titled "Mauryan Empire" and "Asoka" linked here, if you need more help.
The Cornoutline that you completed for your group.
Be prepared to write a paragraph in response to this prompt: What are the social, economic, and political factors that promote stable and unified empires?
To improve the quality of your paragraph you may include a sentence or two about this historical document: The Twelve Tables.
Coin with the head of Alexander: This is one of the 100 objects from the British Museum that the BBC has used to tell its history of the world. It's related to today's topic (development of empires).
Pillar of Ashoka: This is one of the 100 objects from the British Museum that the BBC has used to tell its history of the world. It's related to today's topic (development of empires).
Head of Augustus: This is one of the 100 objects from the British Museum that the BBC has used to tell its history of the world. It's related to today's topic (development of empires).