Lesson 1

Unit 4: Classical Traditions and Major

Empires (Era 3)

From Early Civilizations to Empires…

The transition from Era 2 to Era 3

1

Use your prior knowledge from the last unit to Turn and Talk in response to this question:

What did it take in Era 2 to form an agricultural village?

Think about resources, technologies, and institutions.

Provide a specific example you remember from Unit 3.2

Previously on- The world in Era 2… ancient river valley

civilizations in a period of growth and expansion

Argument Formation Note Tracker

3

What does it take

to form an

agricultural

village?

Things people need to have

or do to change from

foraging to agriculture:

Examples / Evidence:

Unit 2

Geographic Luck – access to plants and animals that can be domesticated

Temperate climate Enough people to

populate a village The ability to

communicate and learn from each other

Catal Hoyuk, the village in present day Turkey... an early agricultural village There were humans

living as foragers in the area

They had access to several types of grains

The climate there is mild

List-Group-Label

What do you know about “empires”?

1.Working in a small group, LIST everything you think you

know about empires in 3 minutes (Yes… you can mention

Star Wars).

2.Now, put all of these ideas into groups that make sense

to your group.

3.Next, give each group a name, a label, and be ready to

share your group labels with the class.

4

City-state

Early empires emerged from city-states,

such as Ur, a large city in the region of

Mesopotamia (Sumer).

Turn and Talk

– What do you think a city-state is?

– Why would empires grow out of city-states?

5

Era 3… 1000 BCE to 500 CE

• What makes Era 3 different from Era 2 is the way that

human societies organized and interacted.

• In Era 2, many (but not all!) people began to live in

civilizations. City-states began to develop.

• In Era 3, many people were still living in civilizations.

But something changed for some of these civilizations.

6

ERA 2

ERA 3

Turn and Talk:

• What do you notice?

• What is different?

• What was the big change

between Era 2 and Era 3?

7

Demonstrating a Think Aloud:

“The shift from Era 2 to Era 3 was a TURNING

POINT in history.”

8

Do a Think-Aloud with your partner about

the sentence below:

Important agricultural civilizations changed

and became EMPIRES.

Student think-aloud prompts:

– What do you think it means that civilizations became empires?

– What is an empire anyways?

– How did this change happened?

– What would a civilization have to have to become an empire?

9

10

Location of the

Information

Things a society needs to have

or do to become an empire

Examples / Evidence

What I think

right now (at the

beginning of

Lesson 1) after I

have studied

agricultural

civilizations.

What does it take to become an empire?

Argument Formation Note Tracker:

Driving question:

11

12

13

• 35 million

people

• 2,000

miles wide

• Largest

empire the

world had

ever seen

14

Ruins of Persepolis… one time capital of

the Persian Empire

15

16

17

Rome over time…

18

390 BCE

50 BCE

100 BCE

Turn and Talk:

• What changes over time?

• What do you notice?

19

Turn and Talk:

What seems to be the pattern of

change during this time period?

20

21

So… what makes an empire?

• List of criteria:

22

Militarism…

23

Turn and Talk:

• What do you think militarism is?

• What does militarism have to do with empire?

• Could you have an empire without militarism?

The Big Story

Empires rose and fell during Era 3.

The centers of power shifted, but the same areas were fought over and ruled by different groups.

New empires often conquered and/or absorbed existing ones… they didn’t start from scratch (for example, Persia conquered Assyrian territory; Alexander conquered Persia, and Rome briefly controlled parts of the old Persian Empire).

Over time, the center of power in Afroeurasia shifted westward with the Roman Empire.

Other parts of this story included the development of more trade and exchange, the mixing of societies, and cultural diffusion of beliefs, values, and religions.

24

Feedback Loop of Empire…

25At what point might this cycle break down?

Why would an empire fall? What problems might develop?

More people and more resources

Need for central control

and government

Development of armies,

government systems, taxes,

etc.

Need for more people and resources to

maintain army and power

Conquest and trade

Exit Pass:

• So… what DOES it take to become an

empire?

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Property of Oakland Schools

Authors: Stacie Woodward and Darin Stockdill

Editors: Amy Bloom, Kimberly Hase Galek