Watch a Slideshow: Colosseum Close-Up
Discuss: How was the Colosseum similar to a modern sports arena?
Students will get an inside look at the Roman Colosseum, the most famous sports arena in history.
Lesson Plan - Secrets of an Ancient Arena
Learning Objective
Text Structure
Description
Content-Area Connections
Ancient History
Standards Correlations
CCSS: RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.3, RI.4.4, RI.4.5, RI.4.6, RI.4.7, RI.4.8, RI.4.10, L.4.4, SL.4.1
NCSS: Time, Continuity, and Change
TEKS: ELAR 4.6
1. Preparing to Read
Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.
- amphitheater
- renovated
Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about why historians and others are so interested in the Colosseum.
2. Close-Reading Questions
1. Based on the article, what was the Roman Empire?
The Roman Empire was a large area of land controlled by Rome. It was made up of much of what is now Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa.
(RI.4.1 TEXT EVIDENCE)
2. Name four things you might have seen if you went into the hypogea of the Colosseum in 80 A.D.
You might have seen gladiators preparing for battle, doctors treating gladiators, sets or costumes, and animals that fought in some events.
(RI.4.8 INTEGRATING IDEAS)
3. What is status? What does the article suggest about the status of women in ancient Rome?
Status is one person’s importance when compared with the importance of others. In the Colosseum, people of higher status sat close to ground level. Women sat high in the stands, showing that they had lower status than men.
(RI.4.4 VOCABULARY)
3. Skill Building
FEATURED SKILL: Write a News Article
Use “Headline From History” to have students write a news article about a gladiator match.
Text-to-Speech