8th Grade Ancient History: Overview
This year we examine different ancient civilizations and how they influence how we live our lives today.
The major units we will cover this year are:
- Understanding the Past:
- What are the methods we use to know what happened in the past?
- Why do we know so little about the events of the ancient world?
- Life in Prehistory:
- Who are the ancestors of human beings?
- What was life like as a hunter-gatherer? How did the invention of farming lead to the beginning of civilization?
- How did the first civilizations develop? What are the characteristics of civilizations?
- Mesopotamia:
- How did the geography of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent lead to the creation of the first civilizations?
- What were the social and politcal structures of Mesopotamian city-states?
- What are the major inventions of the Mesopotamians? How do we use these inventions today?
- Egypt:
- What was the role of the Nile River in the lives of ancient Egyptians?
- What are the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians? How did this lead to their practices of mummification and pyramid building?
- Greece:
- What are the characteristics of Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations? How did Greek civilization eventually develop from these two groups?
- How did the geography of Greece lead to the formation of independent city-states? What were the similarities and differences of these city-states?
- What are the different forms of government used in Greece? How does Athenian democracy compare to the government of the United States today?
- What are the differences between Athens and Sparta?
- Rome:
- What is the legendary founding of Rome?
- Who are the seven kings of Rome? What are their accomplishments?
- What is the structure of the government of the Roman Republic? How does this compare to the government of the United States today?
- What were the Roman military advantages that lead to rapid territorial expansion?
- What were the causes of the fall of the Roman Republic?
- What was life like during the golden age of the Roman Empire?
- How did Constantine I's conversion to Christianity impact the future of Europe?
- What were the causes of the fall of the Western Roman Empire? What was life like in Western Europe after its collapse?