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7th grade · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 11

Greece & Rome

Democracy, republic and law

What your child practices

Athens and Sparta, the Roman Republic and Empire, the Twelve Tables and Code of Justinian, and the Greek and Roman ideas found in US government.

Alaska content standards learning standard: SS.7.3.10.1; SS.7.2.8.2 · citizens in Athens and Rome, and early forms of government

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Democracy (Greek for “rule by the people”) began in Athens. Sparta was known for its army.
  2. Rome was a republic: citizens elected representatives and a senate. The Twelve Tables were its first written laws.
  3. US government borrows from both: a republic, a senate and written laws.

Example: What is a republic? Rome’s citizens didn’t vote on every law themselves. They elected people to decide for them. Answer: a government where citizens elect representatives

Greece & Rome in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 7 of 11 in 7th grade Social Studies, after Ancient India & China and before Medieval Europe.

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: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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

    In the Roman Republic, citizens elected leaders called…

    • Emperors
    • Senators and consuls
    • Shoguns
    • Pharaohs

  2. Question 2

    Ancient Greece was made up of many independent…

    • Colonies of Rome
    • Pyramids
    • City-states
    • Dynasties

  3. Question 3

    In Athens, who could vote?

    • Adult male citizens
    • Enslaved people
    • Women only
    • Everyone who lived there

  4. Question 4

    Who became the first Roman emperor?

    • Julius Caesar
    • Alexander
    • Augustus
    • Socrates

  5. Question 5

    Sparta was famous for…

    • Its huge library
    • Its silk
    • Its strong, disciplined army
    • Its pyramids

  6. Question 6

    Why did Greece develop many separate city-states instead of one kingdom?

    • They spoke many languages
    • Rome ordered it
    • The rivers joined them
    • Mountains and seas divided the land

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