Mystery of History Volume 1: Week 24, Lessons 70, 71, and 72 - The Roman

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Lesson 70: The Roman Republic

Let me ust say that Rome is about to take up a lot of your history lessons, so beginning here, feel free to take time to really dig in ancient Rome. First there’s the Republic, and then comes the Empire. In fact, it will spill over to Mystery of History Volume 2.

After reading the MOH lesson, we watched Drive Thru History Ancients: Rome 1-3 and Rome 3-2. In addition, we took time to work on the geography lesson. The color map on page 233 of the Third Edition is a wonderful graphic. As I’ve mentioned before, I will cast this photo on to the living room TV and discuss it as a group.

I assigned City by David Macaulay to my boys to read. All of his books are incredible, and this one is no different. The illustrations and descriptions are so interesting.

And, guess what? PBS made it into a movie!

I really appreciated the Companion Guide’s suggestions for all ages on patriotism and government. We went over these with the whole group.

Lesson 71: The Battle of Marathon

This is one of those classic stories from ancient history that everyone should know, not only because it’s pretty dramatic, but also because it’s constanty referenced in literature and culture.

We enjoyed the story straight from the MOH leeson, and then watched Animated History’s Battle of Marathon.

We are currently using Usborne’s Ancient Greeks for occasional reading. I usually assign 6-8 pages per day. The photos are so enticing.

Lesson 72: Herodotus

The lesson on Herodotus was short and fun. We read the MOH lesson and also read excerpts from his original writings. Let me just say that you should get a copy of his histories if you have boys. It is full of very exciting, easy-to-read stories.

This week, we began reading Victory on the Walls: A Story of Nehemiah by Frieda Clark Hyman. We are nearing the time of the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, so it’s a great time for this historical novel to begin.

To finish up, we added these events to our timelines, did the mapwork in the Companion Guide, my 10 & 13 year olds added the corresponding sections to their labpooks (folder books), and everyone did the Week 24 review quiz.

Be sure to check out all the great book suggestions and activity ideas in the Mystery of History Companion Guide! Follow the entire course with us at the main Mystery of History Volume 1 page here.

Do you have some fun ideas for these lessons? Comment below!