Social Studies Update

For the past couple of weeks in Social Studies, students have been learning about and discussing how the Roman Republic functioned before the rise of Julius Caesar.  We have talked about some of the parallels between the Roman Republic and the US Government, some of the problems and difficulties that every government in the world faces, and how Julius Caesar was able to gain power in Ancient Rome.

Last week, students were broken up into different branches of Rome's government and had to solve real issues that had to do with taxes, starvation, invasion, and people within the government breaking the law. I was really impressed with how students not only took logical approaches to solving these issues, but how they allowed one another to speak without talking over each other.  Many students went out of their way to make quieter students feel comfortable sharing their opinions.  They were not able to solve all Rome's problems, but luckily that was the point.

Today, we did an Assassination Investigation for Julius Caesar.  Students formed their own opinion on the motives for his murder based on various pieces of 'evidence.'  

Enjoy the attached photos of the students "working in the Republic" and "investigating Caesar's assassination" - their enthusiasm is unmatched!