I knew this would happen eventually. The year is truly in full swing and it is difficult to keep up with it all, let alone keep this little space up to date. Even so, I am encouraged by my readership (which is continuing to grow) and I really want to keep you all up to date on what we’re up to these days. I’m hoping for more than a once a week posting pattern, but we do what we can do.
History is the kind of block that can really make a teacher feel like she’s racing to keep up. When you’re covering expanses of nearly a thousand years in the space of three weeks, it’s easy to feel like you’re not doing it justice. But I just keep reminding myself that the idea is to create a feeling in the students that creates the backdrop for the cultivating of their skills and imaginations. I don’t need to make sure they’ve got the whole of Roman history down pat.
Last week was one of those weeks. We moved on from the infancy of Rome to the Rome we all know and love. We imagined legions of soldiers out conquering the Mediterranean (which is a great spelling word, by the way.) Rome entered battles at sea with that great shipping port Carthage. And at the end of the week Hannibal crossed the Alps only to face a well-rested and prepared Roman army.
Last week Rome was on the upswing. This week we’ll start looking at some of its troubles. Patricians and plebeians can’t work together in the assembly when there is such disparity in their circumstances. Rome realizes that its long arm of law can only reach so far. We begin to wonder if this great superpower will keep going.
We’re just loving all of the stories.
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