Choice Lesson Plan- Cause Effect Model

Author: Kyle Cross

Date Created: April 1, 2014

Subject(s): World History 

Topic or Unit of Study (Title):  Unit 2: Chapter 6- Rome and Early Christianity

Title: The Fall of Rome: Trees don't grow to the sky. 

Grade Level: 9th

Materials: Textbook (student/teacher), Paper, Pen/pencil, Worksheet detailing the causes and effects of the Fall of Rome (one per group/table)

Summary (and Rationale):  Events and conditions inside as well as outside the Roman Empire weakened it and led to its collapse in the west in the 400s. 

I. Focus and Review (Establish Prior Knowledge): [10 minutes] Review the Rise of Christianity, presented during the previous class period. Touch on Christianity and Judaism, Jesus of Nazareth, The Spread of Christianity and the Early Christian Church. 

II. Statement of Instructional Objective(s) and Assessments: 

Objectives	Assessments	
When given the topic of the Fall of Rome, students will be asked to evaluate what caused this event and ultimately formulate adequate conclusions and generalizations. 	In class, grouped by table, students will complete a cause and effect chart for the Fall of Rome. Students are expected to be able to identify causes, effects, after-effects, conclusions and generalizations. 	
After teaching the lesson, the learner will be able to understand how Rome ultimately fell. In an essay, students will discuss the factors that led to the fall of Rome	For homework, the students will write a short essay detailing the fall of Rome and the contributing factors. 	

State the objective: [3 minutes]
Assessment: [See Guided Practice]

III. Teacher Input (Present tasks, information and guidance):  [20 minutes] Teacher Input will be shorter than usual to allow additional time for guided practice. 
1. The Empire Weakens
	•	Weak Leaders
	•	Economic Troubles
2. Attempts at Reform
	•	Diocletian
	•	Constantine
3. Invasion and Fall
	▪	The Invaders
	▪	Fall of the West

IV. Guided Practice (Elicit performance): [40 minutes] Students will be divided up by table and given a worksheet, which contains categories pertaining to the causes and effects for the downfall of Rome. There will also be sections for conclusions and generalizations. Students will be presented with the topic which we will have covered during our lecture. They will try to come up with as many reasons as possible for why Rome ultimately fell. They will then turn to the effects of the Fall, here they will also try to formulate as many examples as possible. Students will come up with conclusions and support for their conclusions. They will finally make some generalizations about the topic. I will assist the groups if they have any questions. We will share the ideas with the class. 

V. Closure (Plan for maintenance): [7 minutes] At this time I would like to summarize what we have been discussing during this class period. We will review what we have determined through our guided practice on the Fall of Rome and any additional information that may have been overlooked from the lecture. 

VI. Independent Practice: [10 practice] With the closing moments of class students will use what we have discussed to construct a short essay detailing the Fall of Rome. 

STANDARDS:

WH.H.1.3	Use Historical Analysis and Interpretation to:
1. Identify issues and problems in the past.
2. Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in the past.
3. Analyze cause-and-effect relationships and multiple causations.
4. Evaluate competing historical narratives and debates among historians.
5. Evaluate the influence of the past on contemporary issues.	

Plans for Individual Differences: In today's class we will spend a lot of time doing group work so as to adequately address all of the issues pertaining to the Fall of Rome. We will be formulating a lot of causes and effects and it could get confusing for the students as they see a lot of ideas. If anyone has trouble keeping up or getting the correct information in their notes then I could post a overview of what we discussed in class today, including a chart which demonstrates the causes and effects in regards to the Fall of Rome. This will be posted online so that everyone may take advantage of it. 

References (APA style):
Ramirez, Stearns, Wineburg. (2007). World History: Human Legacy. United States of America.