On June 19, 325 Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Western Rome, summoned church leaders from around the world to his home in Nicea. His goal was to resolve a growing conflict among religious leaders that threatened civil war in his empire. The two halves of the empire continued to prosper equally until the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I (379 – 395 CE).
In class activities:
- Played a game in which we tried to protect our property from invaders when it was kept in a small area vs. large, and discussed the similarity with Rome
- Learned about the split of the Roman Empire
- Discussed constantine and the 1st Council of Nicea
- Made cross bookmarks
- Reviewed the events that we have covered over the course of the year
- Completed our Ancient History Notebooks
Optional lesson extension activities:
- Roman empire interactive timeline
- Division of the roman empire interactive map
- Read about Rome - I highly recommend the fiction series Detectives in Togas
for this age group. It is fantastically fun, and can spark a greater interest in this time period.
Next week the kids will begin their electives. I have truly enjoyed teaching this crew and appreciate their thoughtful questions and spirit of cooperation in class. Each child created a notebook during our class. I encourage you to sit with your child and flip through their work as a review activity (and just for fun). Please keep this in a safe place. During our year-end program the children are invited to bring in examples of their work to display.
