Ancient Civilizations: Romans!: With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids

by Carmella Van Vleet, Tom Casteel (Illustrator)

Overview

A full-color book for ages 7 to 10 that explores the world of ancient Rome through hands-on STEAM activities, fascinating facts about everyone from gods to ordinary people, and essential questions that get kids recognizing the source of the knowledge we enjoy today!

What was it like to live in ancient Rome? Are ancient Roman roads still used today? What did ancient Romans wear and eat and do for fun? Ancient Civilizations: Romans! With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids investigates the fascinating civilization of ancient Rome through 25 hands-on projects, games, essential questions, links to online resources, and more! Kids ages 7 to 10 learn about ancient Roman homes, food, playtime, clothing, conquests, gods, and entertainment. By promoting critical and creative thinking, Romans encourages kids to develop an understanding of how this ancient civilization laid the foundation of our modern world.

• This book brings daily life from thousands of years ago into today’s reality through fun illustrations, fascinating facts, essential questions, and hands-on projects such as designing an aqueduct, making a Roman theater mask, and building a mosaic.

• Explores the sites of ancient architectural wonders such as the Colosseum and the Cloaca Maxima.

• Introduces key people associated with ancient Rome, including Spartacus, Hadrian, Trajan, and Julius Caesar.

About the Explore Ancient Civilizations set and Nomad Press

Ancient Civilizations: Romans! is part of a set of four Explore Ancient Civilization books that bring to life the vibrant cultures of the distant past. The other titles in this series are Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas!; Ancient Civilizations: Egyptians!, Ancient Civilizations: Greeks!

Nomad Press books in the Explore Your World series integrate content with participation, encouraging readers to engage in student-directed learning. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619308442
Publisher:	Nomad Press
Publication date:	11/06/2019
Series:	Explore Your World
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Carmella Van Vleet is a former teacher and the author of Robotics! With 25 Science Projects for Kids, Aviation: Cool Women Who Fly, and several other titles from Nomad Press. She also writes award-winning fiction for elementary grades. She lives in Lewis Center, Ohio.

Tom Casteel is an illustrator and cartoonist that graduated from the Center for Cartoon Studies in 2011. He has illustrated more than two dozen books for Nomad Press. He lives in South Bend, Indiana with his wife, son, two smelly dogs and one old cat.

Table of Contents

Timeline
Introduction: Let’s Explore Rome
Make a keystone puzzle
Make an aqueduct
Make a plumb bob
Chapter 1: Home Sweet Villa
Make a mosaic
Make an oscillum
Make a bottle garden
Make a strigil
Chapter 2: Eat Like a Roman
Make a delicious dormice dish
Make an amphora
Make a round loaf of bread
Make your own frieze
Chapter 3: Time for School
Make your own marbles
Make your own scroll
Chapter 4: Be Glad You’re Not a Gladiator
Make a Roman theater mask
Play charades
Chapter 5: High Fashion
Make a tunic
Make a palla
Make a toga
Make a bulla
Chapter 6: Emperor’s Rule
Make a Roman coin
Play “When in Rome”
Write your own rules
Chapter 7: Gods and Goddesses
Make a votive
Glossary
Resources
Index

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Explore Ancient Egypt! by Carmella Van Vleet

Calliope Magazine
Explore Ancient Egypt! will certainly intrigue readers and have them eagerly turning the pages to check out the next activity. The sidebars with information make excellent complements.

Praise for Explore Ancient Rome! by Carmella Van Vleet

DIG Magazine
“Explore Ancient Rome! By Carmella Van Vleet offers a variety of projects, accompanied by explanatory history text, designed to stimulate readers’ interest in this ancient culture. Among them are making an aqueduct, designing a villa, creating an oscillum and designing a theater mask.”

Praise for Explore Ancient Greece! by Carmella Van Vleet

School Library Journal
“Fun book about an otherwise daunting culture. Kids will enjoy the format of the book with its cartoon-like drawings and jokes. The text is punctuated with fun fonts and sidebars that enrich the historical narrative of the text. Very fun activities make learning about this culture a great experience. This book a worthwhile addition to your library.”

PSLA Teaching and Learning – Literature Review
". . . Great ideas for science fair or independent or group or group projects for students."

From the Publisher

11/22/2019

Gr 3–5—Cartoon guides take readers on a historical tour: a look at daily life, government, education, religion, technology, and other facts. Questions are included to guide the reader, in addition to a good study practices page with an engineering design worksheet and scientific method worksheet. Back matter features a glossary, an index, video links, and resources. Each chapter is followed by related projects, ranging from educational (create an aqueduct) to ineffectual (make a round journal). Project supplies are sometimes items that can be found around the house and other times are fairly specific, such as plaster gauze and brown duct tape. Not all projects include illustrations or photographs, like the Roman mosaic or counterweight project. The institution of slavery is mentioned only a few times and is most often in reference to the value of people sold or the tasks they might do. It's hard to follow information about one culture here, as they are all intertwined throughout, which undermines learning. In a failed attempt to make history fun and accessible, too many facts and details are glossed over, ultimately creating more confusion than comprehension. VERDICT Readers should get their ancient history elsewhere.—Heather Acerro, Rochester Public Library, MN

School Library Journal