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9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 16

Greece & Rome

Democracy, republic and law

What your child practices

Athens and Sparta, direct and representative democracy, the Roman Republic and Empire, and the Greek and Roman ideas found in US government.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 9.3; 9.3a; 9.3b; 9.3c · how classical Greece and Rome expanded, governed and reached golden ages of achievement

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Democracy means rule by the people. In Athens, adult male citizens voted directly on laws; Americans mostly elect representatives.
  2. Rome built aqueducts to carry water and used concrete for buildings like the Pantheon.
  3. The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE because of invasions, weak leaders and money problems.

Example: How did Athenian democracy differ from US democracy? Athenian citizens met and voted on laws themselves. Americans mostly elect people to make laws. Answer: Athenians voted directly on laws; Americans mostly elect representatives

Greece & Rome in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 3 of 16 in 9th grade Social Studies, after Where Civilizations Grew and before Trade Networks.

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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

    Julius Caesar was killed in 44 BCE because some senators feared…

    • He was becoming a king and ending the Republic
    • He would move to Egypt
    • He was too weak
    • He would free everyone

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    Who became the first Roman emperor?

    • Julius Caesar
    • Augustus
    • Alexander
    • Socrates

  4. Question 4

    Alexander the Great built an empire that stretched from Greece to…

    • Britain and Ireland
    • Egypt and India
    • China and Japan
    • The Americas

  5. Question 5

    Ancient Greece was made up of many independent…

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

  6. Question 6

    Latin, the language of Rome, is the root of…

    • Hindi
    • Arabic
    • Chinese
    • Spanish, French, Italian and many English words

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