The Rise of Rome: The Republic
Essential Question
How did a small city build a republic and an empire that still shapes our laws and language?
This week we leave Greece for the city that would inherit and spread its legacy across the known world: Rome. We trace Rome from its legendary founding through the creation of the Republic, its system of Senate, consuls, and law; the life-and-death struggle with Carthage and Hannibal; and the dramatic rise and fall of Julius Caesar, which ended the Republic. Faith threads through St. Lawrence, the Roman deacon-martyr; the virtue of discipline; and YOUCAT's teaching on the Passion and the meaning of redemption.
Liturgical note: Ordinary Time (autumn). A week to reflect on the Cross at the heart of the faith, even as we study the empire under which Christ would be crucified.
Threads at a Glance
What Each Thread Covers This Week
Rome's founding myths, the Republic (Senate, consuls, law), the Punic Wars & Hannibal, expansion, Julius Caesar & the Republic's fall
The Thirteen Colonies: three regions and religious havens
Julius Caesar
The Roman Republic & Italy; draw the Italian peninsula, Rome, Carthage & the western Mediterranean
Roman art I — Republican veristic portraiture; engineering as art (the arch, aqueducts, roads, concrete)
Music in Roman life — the tuba & cornu, the hydraulis (water organ), music in the army & games
St. Lawrence (Roman deacon & martyr)
Discipline (self-mastery & civic order)
YOUCAT — Jesus Christ III: the Passion, Cross & meaning of redemption (Q96-Q102)
Subjects & predicates; the simple sentence; subject-verb agreement in tricky cases
Expository continued — a how/why explanation (how Rome governed itself)
Weekly Writing Assignment
How Rome Governed Itself
Explain how the Roman Republic governed itself. Your job is to make a reader understand the system: what the Senate, the consuls, and the assemblies each did, and how Rome tried to balance power so no one person could become a king (the idea of 'checks and balances'). Open with a thesis about what kind of government the Republic was, walk step by step through its main parts and how they worked together, define key Latin terms, and close by explaining why the Roman model still influences governments today, including the United States.
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- Opens with a clear thesis describing the Roman Republic as a system of shared, balanced power
- Accurately explains the role of the Senate, the consuls, and at least one assembly
- Explains the idea of balancing power so no one becomes a king
- Defines key terms (republic, consul, Senate, veto) and is logically organized
- Closes with the Republic's lasting influence; clean grammar, with correct subject-verb agreement
The Week
Four Days of Learning
- St. Lawrence: The Deacon Who Gave the Church's Treasure10m
- From Myth to Republic: How Rome Governed30m
- The Passion and the Cross: The Meaning of Redemption15m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Discipline: The Strength of Self-Mastery10m
- The Thirteen Colonies20m
- Roman Art I: Honest Faces and Engineering as Art25m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Catechism Review: The Cross and Redemption5m
- Subjects, Predicates, and Tricky Subject-Verb Agreement20m
- Mapping the Italian Peninsula and the Western Mediterranean30m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Julius Caesar: Genius, Conqueror, and the End of the Republic15m
- Music in Roman Life: Trumpets, War, and the Water Organ20m
- Writing: How Rome Governed Itself (Introduction)20m
- St. Lawrence Reflection & Week Synthesis5m