Teaching the Empires

Jason Manning , I'm totally with you! Era 3 of Origins is a beast. I've often gone to BHP for ideas on how to simplify it  One thing I created to help that's not a jigsaw is this Growth of Empires Investigation. Another activity that is a variation on the jigsaw, was this Franken-Empire activity. It helped a lot in prepping for the Autopsy of an Empire activity later on. I've also had years where I really deep dive on just Han Dynasty and Rome, too. In any year, I've tried to hone in on the characteristics of empires which helps as we get to the Mongols and the Comanche and we test out those definitions. 

I hope it helps to know that you're not the only one struggling to get more out of studying empires! I'm also interested to hear how others confront this topic. Jessica Lindenmeier , how do you tackle empires in WHP?

Hi ERIN CUNNINGHAM  you reply and links were incredibly helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to link previous threads that can help me out.  I loved the simplicity and effectiveness of the Franken- Empire lesson and I think this is how I am going to go back and review before the assessment.  It is a nice way of bringing it all together.  Thank you again.. 

No problem. Happy to help and I'm looking forward to seeing what other people suggest, too!

Hey man, last year I had that 9th grade ENL hybrid group as one of my classes.  The ENL teacher said that the kids really appreciated more visuals.  I did an activity where I broke the class up into groups, gave each group a folder with a bunch of pictures of achievements/contributions from some different empires.  I actually did it by region:  Chinese Dynasties, Mauryan & Gupta in India, African Trading Kingdoms, and Islamic Empires in the Middle East.  They basically had to figure which achievements came from each empire simply by searching the Internet.  First group done, got a few points on the empires test.  We went over the correct answers, students took a picture of their results and then we closed with a sketch notes assignment where students had to draw images of the contributions and describe the impact they have in the world today.  

Nothing special, but I can share if you'd like.  

Todd Nussen , I think its hilarious how  you and Jason swap resources through the Community when you could just walk down the hall to each other's classrooms!

Jason Manning , it looks like Erin has set you up well. Lots of ideas and resources to complement them.

One conceptual framework I have used to make connections among empires is to frame the study based on the Silk Road. Whether some of the empires were pre/post/during is not as important as the fact that they all contributed to global trade. When you study various empires, or even cities, as parts of a whole, I think it makes learning about them more meaningful. We get out of the compartmentalization mode, and into a map or a timeline with unique points along the way. That also lends itself well the scale-switching. 

Wow! That previous thread was so helpful for me to put the pieces together. I knew what you meant by Franken-Empire, but the samples you included were super beneficial. 

Jason Manning this year I used the new articles on agrarian societies because they are all written following the same structure: Geography & Environment, Political Structure, Culture, Society, and Decline & Transformation. Each section includes a big question, which I asked my students to respond at home in preparation for a class discussion. In class I explained and deepened some of their characteristics. Then I paired civilizations for each of the sections I teach for my students to complete the Comparing Civilizations activity. 

For a summative assessment I gave them a test and finally I concluded the unit with the Museum Project. This was the best part where creativity and fun came hand in hand.

Laura Massa , these photos are outstanding! I bet just a fraction of the amazing nature of the real event!

I am curious about your assessment structure. What sort of "test" did you give as your "summative" assessment? Do you always give a traditional test when you already have a performance opportunity, shared construction of the comparison activity, and a class discussion?

Donnetta Elsasser yes, I always include a unit test for each threshold, regardless of the activities we do during the unit. Tests contain multiple choice exercises and several short essay questions using stimuli such as tables, a short article, charts, images, etc. where students elaborate a response using evidence to respond to the prompt.