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8th grade · Social Studies · Unit 1 of 13

Rome's Fall & Byzantium

From Rome to Constantinople

What your child practices

Rome's lasting contributions, why the Western Empire fell, Constantine and Constantinople, Justinian and the Byzantine Empire, and the split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 8.1; 8.2 · the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire and its legacy

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE.
  2. The Eastern Roman Empire lasted about a thousand more years as the Byzantine Empire, with Constantinople as its capital.
  3. Emperor Justinian organized Roman law into a law code. Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453.

Example: Which empire continued in the east after Rome fell? The Western Empire fell in 476 CE. The Eastern half kept going from Constantinople. It is called the Byzantine Empire. Answer: the Byzantine Empire

Rome's Fall & Byzantium in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 1 of 13 in 8th grade Social Studies, before The Islamic World.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Constantine was the first Roman emperor to…

    • conquer Britain
    • visit China
    • build the Colosseum
    • become a Christian

  2. Question 2

    Emperor Constantine moved the capital to…

    • Alexandria
    • Paris
    • Constantinople
    • Athens

  3. Question 3

    At its height, around 117 CE, the Roman Empire circled the…

    • Pacific Ocean
    • Indian Ocean
    • Mediterranean Sea
    • Baltic Sea

  4. Question 4

    The leader of the Roman Catholic Church is the…

    • patriarch of Constantinople
    • pope
    • caliph
    • emperor

  5. Question 5

    Constantinople was well placed for trade because it sat between…

    • two deserts
    • Europe and Asia
    • North and South America
    • Africa and Australia

  6. Question 6

    Byzantine scholars helped keep alive…

    • Viking sagas
    • Chinese poems only
    • Maya codices
    • ancient Greek and Roman writings

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