Understanding by Design Unit Template

Title of Unit Ancient Civilizations Grade Level Grade 9

Subject Social Studies Time Frame 19 days
Developed By Nicole Clampitt

Stage 1 - Identify Desired Results

Broad Areas of Learning
How are the BAL incorporated into this unit?

Lifelong Learners- This unit plan will accomplish this by using a fun activity dealing with each of the four ancient civilizations chosen. Each activity will
build their knowledge of the civilization as well as engage their creativity and imagination.

Sense of Self and Community- When comparing the ancient civilizations to Canadian society they will be given chances to think about how they fit into
Canadian society. From this they will be able to compare their place in society to that of others and develop a sense of sensitivity and respect towards
others.

Engaged Citizens- All of the civilizations chosen, created technologies and ideas that are still used today. The students will be asked to make the
connections between these ancient civilizations and Canadian society using these same technologies and ideas. They will also be asked to think critically
about the evolution of these things and how exactly they’ve impacted today’s world.

Cross curricular Competencies

How will this unit promote the CCC?

Developing Thinking- They will build on the previous units about what a society is as well as the effect of empires on indigenous people groups. They
will use this knowledge to help them understand the importance of the ancient civilizations chosen. Lastly, some of the activities that will be done require
them to build on the skills they worked on earlier in order to complete the activity.

Developing Identity and Interdependence- Throughout this unit they will be asked to make comparisons between the ancient civilizations chosen
and Canadian society. This will help them to find their place in society today and that will help them to form an identity based on Canadian society.
Though this they will be able to develop an awareness of their impact on society.

Developing Literacies- I will be using handouts and reading as the primary form of literacy. However, the students will also have a chance to look at
literacy from the ancient civilizations (ex. hieroglyphics, ancient Greek and Roman texts, ect) as well develop their own cultural, geographic and historical
literacies.

Developing Social Responsibility- As the students develop their identity in society they will also begin to develop their sense of social responsibility. By
knowing their own place in society they will become more aware of the people and communities around them and will begin to develop respect for these
things.
Learning Outcomes
What relevant goals will this unit address?
(must come from curriculum; include the designations e.g. IN2.1)
DR9.1 Examine the challenges involved in obtaining information about societies of the past.
DR9.2 Synthesize the significance of key historical events in societies studied.
DR9.3 Assess the relationship of the natural environment in the development of a society.
DR9.4 Determine the influence of societies of the past on contemporary life in Canada.
RW9.2 Appraise the significance of trade and transportation in the development of the societies studied.
RW9.3 Determine the influence of technologies of past societies studied on contemporary society.
Enduring Understandings Essential Questions
What understandings about the big ideas are desired? (what you want What provocative questions will foster inquiry into the content? (open-
students to understand & be able to use several years from now) ended questions that stimulate thought and inquiry linked to the content
What misunderstandings are predictable? of the enduring understanding)
Students will understand... Content specific….
 The impact of ancient civilizations on modern society  How different would our world be if ancient civilizations hadn’t
 The importance of technologies from ancient civilizations developed transportation and trade routes?
 The difficulties with finding historical documents  Would the ancient civilizations have developed if laws and politics
 The importance of trade to ancient civilizations hadn’t been created?
 Do you think ancient civilizations thought about what they were
leaving behind for future generations?
 What do you think future generations will think, study, and say
about today’s Canadian society?
Knowledge: Skills
What knowledge will student acquire as a result of this unit? This content What skills will students acquire as a result of this unit? List the skills
knowledge may come from the indicators, or might also address pre-requisite and/or behaviours that students will be able to exhibit as a result of their
knowledge that students will need for this unit. work in this unit. These will come from the indicators.
Students will know... Students will be able to…
 They will have a basic understanding of the ancient civilizations of  They will know how to look at historical texts critically
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.  They will be able to make connections between the ancient
 They will understand the difficulty in acquiring knowledge about the civilizations and today’s Canadian society using the technologies
ancient civilizations and how scholars manage to gain information and ideas that were started in ancient civilizations such as laws,
about them. democracy, and building, and star mapping to determine
 They will gain basic understanding of the ancient languages direction.
 They will know about the different theories and controversies that are  They will be able to do research about a certain topic and write a
debated about among scholars when dealing with different historical short paper on that topic
events and be able to think critically about them
 They will have a better understanding of how the Canadian
government functions and how democracy started

Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence

Performance Task
Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate the desired understandings, knowledge, and skills? (describes the learning activity in
“story” form. Typically, the P.T. describes a scenario or situation that requires students to apply knowledge and skills to demonstrate their understanding
in a real life situation. Describe your performance task scenario below)
By what criteria will performances of understanding be judged?
GRASPS Elements of the Performance Task
G – Goal G- The goal is for them to understand how societies today are based on ancient societies.
What should students accomplish by
completing this task? R- The students will take the role of thinker and researcher. In their activity the will need to think about the
R – Role connections between ancient and modern societies. To begin with they will do some ground work in groups and
What role (perspective) will your students getting help from their peers to help them build these thinking skills After that they will be expected to continue
be taking? building these skills on their own in the form of research.
A – Audience
Who is the relevant audience?
A- The audience will be based on their age group, attention span, and desire for creativity
S – Situation
S- When dealing with the activity done on their own they may struggle developing a thesis statement and finding
The context or challenge provided to the
student. reliable sources. I will make myself available to help them but I will also be aware of this challenge for all
P – Product, Performance students and be a bit more lenient when marking.
What product/performance will the student
create? P- They will be creating a 3-4 page research paper

S – Standards & Criteria for Success

Attach rubric to Unit Plan
Create the rubric for the Performance Task

Other Evidence Student Self-Assessment

Through what other evidence (work samples, observations, quizzes, tests, How will students reflect upon or self-assess their learning?
journals or other means) will students demonstrate achievement of the
desired results? Formative and summative assessments used throughout
the unit to arrive at the outcomes.
Throughout the unit I will have them do group work activities that will I will be going through the answers to the handout questions they do
help them build their critical thinking skills with small individual projects to individually in class and allowing them to supply answers and correct their
be handed in for marks. I will also do regular homework checks to ensure own mistakes. This gives them chance to assess their own work and ensure
that they are completing their assignments. Lastly, I will do a test at the they have learned the necessary ideas.
end of the unit with questions designed to make sure that the students
achieved all the intended outcomes.

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

What teaching and learning experiences will you use to:
 achieve the desired results identified in Stage 1?
 equip students to complete the assessment tasks identified in Stage 2?
Where are your students headed? Where have they been? How will you make sure the students know where they are going?
What experiences do the learners bring to the unit? How have the interests of the learners been ascertained? Have the learners been
part of the pre-planning in any way? What individual needs do you anticipate will need to be addressed?
Learning environment: Where can this learning best occur? How can the physical environment be arranged to enhance learning?
The students will be headed towards an understanding of how ancient civilizations affect the societies of today and particularly Canadian society. They have
already looked what a society is and how civilizations develop. They have also looked a little at how empire building can affect an indigenous population.
The learning environment will be desks grouped in fours all facing the front of the classroom in order to maintain their focus during work periods. However,
the desks will be easy to move when group work is required. Some students may require a bit more help in completing their handout assignments
(maintaining focus, having questions about what answers I’m looking for, ect.) so I intend to give them plenty of in class time so that I’m available to them
if necessary. I also intend to go over all the handout answers in class so that the students can make sure they have the correct answers for the unit test.
How will you engage students at the beginning of the unit? (motivational set)

The first day of the unit I will introduce them to the different civilizations we will be studying by having them do a handout with questions. This handout will
have questions that will help them determine the relevance of the unit in today’s world and begin the conversation about how the ancient civilizations have
affected the world as we know it today.
What events will help students experience and explore the enduring understandings and essential questions in the unit? How will you
equip them with needed skills and knowledge?
# Lesson Title Lesson Activities CCCs Resources

1 Introduction to Motivational Question DT, DL Booklets

Ancient What kinds of things do you know about ancient civilizations? Atlas’
Civilizations Main Procedure
I will hand out booklets to each student with information about the beginnings of ancient civilizations
and they will answer the questions that are in that booklet. There will basic knowledge recitation
questions as well as opinion based questions. There will also be two maps. One will help the students
identify locations and important aspects of ancient civilizations. The other will help them understand
where the civilizations were located in comparison to today’s border lines. They will also be looking at
some of the challenges to finding historical documents from ancient civilizations.
2 Introduction to Do a homework check and quickly go over answers from yesterday’s assignment DT, DL Handouts
Mesopotamia Motivational Question
From your assignment yesterday where was the civilization of Mesopotamia located?
Main Procedure
I will hand out a short write up with information of the Sumerians and their lifestyle. The students will
read the information and complete the attached Spider Web diagram and question set to help them
summarize the things they will read about. They will also add a handful of words to their definition
cards. They will be able to find the definitions and the terms they are looking for in the write-up. Some
of questions that need to be answered allow them to be creative by drawing their own ancient
symbols.
3 Who was Do a homework check and quickly go over answers from yesterday’s assignment DT Projector
Hammurabi? Motivational Question and screen
Who was Hammurabi and why was he important?
Main Procedure
Watch “Hammurabi's Code Explained: World History Review” on YouTube. This will serve as an
introduction to Hammurabi. They will have a sheet of questions about Hammurabi to answer while
watching the video.
4 Hammurabi’s Motivational Question DT, DSR, Envelopes
code What rules do we have here in the classroom and why are they important? DII with the
Main Procedure crimes
Separate the students into 6 groups of 5 (list of groups provided at bottom of lesson plan) and give written on
each group a set of blank strips of paper and an envelope with a crime written on it. Explain to the them
students that they are to read the crime and with their group come up with a punishment they think is blank pieces
appropriate, write it down and place it in the envelope (has to be school appropriate answers). They of paper
then need to pass the envelope to the next group and repeat the task with the new envelope they pens
receive. However, they are not allowed to read the previous group’s answers. This continues until all list of groups
the groups have come up with a punishment for all of the crimes. I then open the envelopes and read
the different answers the groups have come up with. After this I read them the punishments that
Hammurabi came up with for these different crimes. After this they will be given a recent news article
 about a crime and conviction and answer a few objective questions about the differences between
Canadian laws and Hammurabi’s laws. They will hand this in for marks.
5 Introduction to Do a homework check and quickly go over answers from earlier. DT, DL Handouts
Egypt Motivational Question
What do you already know about ancient Egypt?
Main Procedure
I will hand out a short write up with information of the Egyptians and their lifestyle. The students will
read the information and complete the attached Spider Web diagram and question set to help them
summarize the things they will read about. They will also add a handful of words to their definition
cards. They will be able to find the definitions and the terms they are looking for in the write-up. Some
of questions that need to be answered are defining different hieroglyphs as well as drawing their own.
6 Egyptian This is a five day lesson DT, DII Projector
technology Day 1 and screen
Do a homework check and quickly go over answers from yesterday’s assignment Handouts
Motivational Question Building
What kinds of technology do you think they used in Egypt? supplies
Main Procedure Rulers
They will watch a documentary video (“Superior Technology of Ancient Egypt Civilization: Full Ping Pong
Documentary” on YouTube) about different technologies invented in Egypt while writing about 3 of the balls
technologies presented in the video that they found interesting (to keep them focused on the video).
They will hand this in for marks at the end of class. After this I will hand out and introduce their
project for the next 2 days. They will be put into groups and do an egg race. They are expected to
build a device that holds a ping pong ball 60cms above the table and 10cms out from the table. They
will have to build it together in their groups and will get the next 2 days to work on it. At the end of
the 2nd day I will come to each group and place a ping pong ball on their device. If the structure holds
it for 30 seconds they succeeded. Whichever group’s structure hold the egg for the longest wins. I will
supply building materials (popsicle sticks, straws, plastic spoons, etc) but the students can also supply
their own.
Day 2
I will start by reminding them about their assignment and their groups. They can move the desks
around as they need to. They will get the whole class period to work on their structures. They can be
stored in the classroom at the end of the period.
Day 3-4
They will get the whole class period to work on their structures.
Day 5
They will get the most of the class period to work on their structures. In the last 15 minutes of class, I
will begin going around to “test” their structures and determine a winner for the egg race. Before this
during the last few days and the every 15 minute mark of this class I will be letting them know how
much time they have left to complete their structures.
7 Introduction to Do a homework check and quickly go over answers from earlier. DT, DL Handouts
Greece Motivational Question
What do you already know about ancient Greece?
Main Procedure
I will hand out a short write up with information of the Grecians and their lifestyle. The students will
read the information and complete the attached questions about the write up to help them summarize
the things they will read about. They will also add a handful of words to their definition cards. They will
be able to find the definitions and the terms they are looking for in the write-up. Some of questions
 that need to be answered are looking at examples of Greek letters and trying to decide what kind of
sound they would have made and making up their own symbols. They will also be looking at the
spread of the Greek language and the Hellenization process that took place under Alexander the Great.
8 Who was Do a homework check and quickly go over answers from yesterday. DT, DL Projector
Socrates? Motivational Question and screen
What do you already know about Socrates? Handouts
Main Procedure
Watch the documentary about Socrates and his life (“BBC Genius of the Ancient World 2of3 Socrates
With Bettany Hughes HD Documentaries” on YouTube) while the students answer a few questions on a
handout in order to kept their attention on the video.
9 Socratic Circle This is a four day lesson DT, DL, Library
about Day 1 DSR time/access
democracy I will begin by explaining how a Socratic Circle works. I will select 12 students to be part of the main to computers
discussion and we will rearrange the desks into a circle so we can all see each other and we will for research
discuss the impact of and the positive and negative qualities of democracy. The rules will be that the
students have to raise their hands if they have something to say (this gives me the ability to call on
students who also haven’t contributed much to make sure everyone says something) and they will be
encouraged to ask questions more than trying to answer them though any participation is good. The
rest of the students will sit around grouped behind the members of the main circle. These students will
each be given a chance to comment on something they thought was important that was said during
the conversation within the circle. They will then be given the rest of class time to research the topic a
bit so that they can be a bit more informed and capable of making a contribution.
Day 2
We will move the desks and begin the circle the inside circle will have 30 minutes of speak to each
other and the outside circle will have 30 minutes to respond at the end.
Day 3
They will be told they have to write a research paper (3-4 pages) with a thesis statement about
democracy and the Canadian government system. They can reuse the research they used earlier but
will also be encouraged to ask each other about others research and to help each other out. They will
be given two days of class time to work on it and it will be handed in for marks later.
Day 4
They will work on their papers for the entire class.
10 Introduction to Do a homework check and quickly go over answers from earlier. DT, DL Handouts
Rome Motivational Question
What do you already know about ancient Rome?
Main Procedure
I will hand out a short write up with information of the Romans and their lifestyle. The students will
read the information and complete the attached question set to help them summarize the things they
will read about. They will also add a handful of words to their definition cards. They will be able to find
the definitions and the terms they are looking for in the write-up. Some of questions that need to be
answered are looking at the importance of the development of roads and trade systems that the
Romans set up.
11 Timeline of the Do a homework check and quickly go over answers from yesterday. DT, DL Handouts
Roman Motivational Question Pencil
Emperors 18 Which Roman Emperors do you already know about? Tell me about them. Crayons/ma-
day Main Procedure rkers
They will be given a write about the emperors and their lives. They will be told to read through the Blank papers
 write up first then create their own timelines for the Roman Emperors. They are allowed to be as
creative as they like. They will hand this in for marks at the end of class.
12 Fall of Rome Motivational Question DT, DL Projector
What do you think caused a great civilization like Rome to collapse? and screen
Main Procedure Handouts
Start with a very short YouTube video called “Fall of The Roman Empire...in the 15th Century: Crash
Course World History #12.” This will serve as an introduction to the many theories of the Fall of Rome.
They will then read a short write up about these theories and answer some questions about what they
think about these theories.

Assess and Reflect (Stage 4)

Considerations
Required Areas of Study:
Is there alignment between outcomes, performance
assessment and learning experiences?
Adaptive Dimension:
Have I made purposeful adjustments to the curriculum
content (not outcomes), instructional practices, and/or
the learning environment to meet the learning needs and
diversities of all my students?
Comments
I believe that is definite alinement between the outcomes, performance assessment and
learning experiences. The handouts that they are required to do have questions that relate
directly to the outcomes and the students will be able to make the connection between
their work and the outcomes quite easily. The performance assessments are based on the
thought patterns they’ve developed while answering the handout questions.
For struggling students:
I would expand the number of days and time I give them to work on the induvial
assignments and make myself as available as possible to them in order answer any
questions they may have. I will make sure to check on them during the group activities to
ensure that are engaged and participating and if they aren’t I will make a point of
speaking to them later to make sure that they were understanding and if they didn’t they I
will help them to.

For students who need a challenge:

Instructional Approaches:
Do I use a variety of teacher directed and student
centered instructional approaches?
Resource Based Learning:
Do the students have access to various resources on an
ongoing basis?
FNM/I Content and Perspectives/Gender
Equity/Multicultural Education:
Have I nurtured and promoted diversity while honoring
each child’s identity?
I think many of the lessons will already allow them to think outside the box a bit. All of
handouts have a creative aspect to them so that should help them to engage with those a
bit better. Many of the group activities also allow them to challenge their own thinking and
be creative as well. The induvial activity can easily be tailored to provide them with a
challenge as well.
I believe I do. I start with readings and handouts in order to give them a base to move
from. I pair that with an activity of some kind to get them thinking and engaged in the
material and the learning. I don’t often do both in the same lesson but rather switch
between the two different types of lessons.
Each write up in the handouts will be taken from a variety of sources and they will keep
the handouts. There will also be textbooks and atlases in the classroom for them the
access. Lastly, for the research paper they will have access to computers and the library to
find resources.
My subject matter for this unit does not allow much space for that at this time but I
believe that I can nurture that attitude with my classroom rules and expectations to
ensure that all my students feel respected and can learn at their optimal level.