Famous Men of Rome Lesson Plans

What do you get when you cross an experienced homeschool publisher with an excellent, hundred-year-old textbook series? You guessed it! A quality educational tool. And that is exactly what Memoria Press (publishers of Latina Christiana) has provided us in their rendition of the Famous Men series. The original texts by John H. Haaren and A. B. Poland have been edited by Leigh Lowe, reset into a pleasing larger print, double column format, and interspersed with fascinating illustrations. The result is a highly readable text. The aim of the original authors was to make an interesting story of each life and through these stories - told in a simple and dignified style - to make the study of history a pleasure. This goal is being realized and strengthened by the addition of quality full-color illustrative artwork which includes drawings such as the Acropolis of Athens, action scenes from the art world such as the Danes embarking for the invasion of England, various busts and portraits of famous men, and artwork taken from pottery. As you might expect, the Famous Men books from Memoria are quite similar to those from Greenleaf, with some minor differences (illustrations are full-color here and black-and-white in Greenleaf versions). However, the similarity ends here, as the student and teacher guides from Memoria are very different than the Greenleaf Guides. The Student Guide accompanying each Memoria Press book is a year-long consumable workbook course which comprehensively covers the corresponding Famous Men book. Each two-page lesson includes famous quotes, key people and places, vocabulary words, comprehension questions, and an activities section. Suggested activities include map work, timelines, discussion questions, small research compositions and art projects. A review lesson is provided after every five lessons. Additional resource information varies with the course and includes pronunciation guides, maps (of ancient Rome & Italy as well as modern Europe in the Rome book), "Who Said That?" worksheets, timelines, drawing pages, and literary excerpts from the time period that can be used as copywork (Modern Times). The Teacher Guide includes a full-text answer key for the Student Guide, tests that correspond to the reviews and a final exam. The tests and exam are not reproducible but the student could easily write answers on another paper thus making them non-consumable. The Rome TE includes history drill questions and an European geography test. Flashcards are now available for the Greece, Rome, and Middle Ages series. These list the "famous man" on one side and basic information about him on the other. Flashcards are also available for the Greek Myths guide. ~ Janice

30 biographies starting with Romulus ending with Constantine and including the Tarquins, Horatius, Cincinnatus, Regulus, Cato, Marius, Cicerto, and Titus. The book concludes with a short section on the end of the Western Empire. 157 pgs, pb.