Castles and Dungeons

If you are taking a look at the Medieval Period, you simply can't skip past a good look at castles - and along with the castle, the associated Dungeon.  In reality, things like the infamous iron maiden, and other torturous devices were generally used during witch hunts and religious persecutions that took place in the latter portions or the period.  Stories of dungeons for use of torture devices and leaving forgotten, starving captives languishing in darkened prisons below ground are vastly exaggerated.  These stories really come from the pre-renaissance portion of the dark ages.  Additionally, with elementary kids, I think most would agree focusing on the castle part of things is sufficient, but for those kids that really like the drab and dark, I've tried to include a few resources here for that as well.

Projects to Do:

Modeling Castles

I decided to have Alice build a small model of a motte and bailey castle, and then also build a model of a "fairytale castle."  This link will take you to a basic diagram of a motte and bailey.  Motte and bailey castle models are apparently a common project in some locales so instead of rewriting the instructions here, I will direct you to this set of clear instructions.

For the fairytale castle, we simply used an old shoebox, paper roll cylinders of various sizes for our base.  Tag board cut into circles with a pie slice removed, were rolled into cones for the tops of the turrets and then the whole thing was painted.

Textile Arts

Castle walls and floors have often been adorned with tapestries, rugs and other textiles to help keep chilling drafts at bay.  Since Alice had also been reading the "Caroline" Book Series from the American Girls Collection, she was already becoming interested in different stitches so I taught her cross stitch and tied in tapestries with this skill.  Not that tapestries were cross-stitched, but some wall-hangings of the time, were woven tapestries and sometimes made with embroidery.  We took a look at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's article on tapestries and compared needlepoint wall hangings with tapestries.  A famous medieval needlework wall hanging is the Bayeux Tapestry.  Although, not officially a tapestry, the linen is 70 yards long and covered with needlepoint depicting the Norman invasion of England in 1066. After viewing the museum page, I also shared this You Tube video with Alice.  It animates the tapestry so although it is not an accurate depiction of the artwork itself, it certainly expands upon the tapestry designer's intent.

We also took a look at "themes" in art lessons and quickly learned that the Medieval Period resulted in repeated religious motifs, but she was fascinated with the idea that tapestries depicted unicorns so often.  She decided to choose a favorite animal for her cross stitch project and did a panda.  Though not medieval in any way really, while she stitched, Alice felt connected to people of the past that had to sit and learn the same kinds of skills.

If needlepoint isn't your thing, and you don't feel confident picking up a beginner's kit to help your child with, pick up a small piece of white linen and have your child draw a scene depicting a subject from your studies on the fabric using charcoal or chalk.  He or she can draw a favorite personality from the period, a castle, an animal such as a unicorn or bird the Medievals may have chosen or any such thing.  Then, use a little fabric paint and trace the picture with dashed lines to look as though they are stitches.  Also add some color, glue the fabric to a dowel and hang it proudly on the wall somewhere. 

As a part of her studies of Ancient Greece, Alice had already learned a lot about weaving because of our activities relating to the myth of Arachne and her weaving.  During this time, I had purchased a potholder loom, but she hadn't been quite ready to have the patience to complete a project yet.  I've discovered she is ready now!  Alice completed one pot-holder square quickly and easily this time.  If you'd rather not focus on needlepoint, since most surviving tapestries are actually woven, such an activity for your child would be highly appropriate.  Just don't expect to be able to fashion a picture on the first try!

Build a Trebuchet

Part of what makes the Medieval Period one that is so hard to know about, is that it was a time of huge upheavals and a lot of warfare.  The loss of a unifying government and its central police force and laws led to the destruction of many resources and an increase in the need to spend one's time making a living.  Fewer people had the chance to learn to read and write so they made fewer records of themselves.  Many records and treasures were also destroyed during battles and sieges.  Each group of people fought differently and had different weapons at their disposal.  Medieval Battle Tech, by Modern Marvels offers up insight into the different weapons in use and who used them during this period.

The trebuchet (treb- you- shay) is not quite the same as a catapult, but by using the word catapult, I give you an idea of what a trebuchet was for.  As much as a castle was a home for the nobles living in it, a place of work for the numerous servants working there, and a place of celebration and symbol of opression for the many serfs that lived in the shadows of its walls, its first function was mainly that of a fortress.  Siege warfare proved to cause an ever-escalating arms race both in the technology used in laying siege to a castle and in defending it.  Building a trebuchet together offers opportunities to introduce concepts in mechanics and create a memorable experience in learning more about this period in history.  Trebuchets were used to weaken castle walls, injure and kill soldiers on the wall, and instill fear in those people sequestered inside the walls.

Again, building a trebuchet is a common assignment at some points in school so I will include a link to these instructions which will actually take you to a set of instructions for a wooden trebuchet, but there are also a few other possible styles listed below if you prefer (we liked the popsicle stick one - though it is pretty light-weight).  You can also buy kits if you wish.  We happened to also be studying simple machines so building a trebuchet tied in quite nicely with our science studies as well. 

Books We Enjoyed

Everything Castles by Crispin Boyer

This book has the gorgeous photographs and stunning visuals we have come to expect from National Geographic.  It is thorough as well.  Covering everything from the construction of a castle, to siege and castle warfare, the weapons used, and the life of the knight who fought to protect the castle.  It even shows some "Pop Culture Castles" such as Hogwarts and Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Life in the Middle Ages - The Castle by Kathryn Hinds

Despite its title, this book is actually a well-rounded look at life in Medieval Europe.  It actually describes what feudalism is in a way that is relatable and understandable for the older elementary/primary student - something most books on the period often mention, but don't fully address.  It covers the various responsibilities/jobs of the variety of people that would have lived in the castle.  While knights and the crusades are discussed, they do not dominate the whole book.  There is even a section titled, "Ladies at War," that discusses the role women sometimes took on in protecting their lands or their husbands during this dangerous period of history.  Illustrations depict tapestries, pages from manuscripts and paintings from the Medieval period or Early Renaissance.

Stephen Beasty's Cross-Sections: Castle by Richard Platt
Search out the enemy spy while you peruse this large and visually detailed primer in the anatomy of a castle, its defenses and its times.

Video and Online Resources

Time Team Special Dover Castle is a must see for anyone wishing to have a better understanding of Medieval Life and life within and around a castle.

History Channel's Modern Marvels Take a look at Castles and Dungeons

David Macauly's Castle Both the book and movie provide a nice anatomy of a castle, how and why it was built, and how the people in and around them, depended upon castles.

Modern Marvels: Forts - Describes the evolution of technology behind building defensive battlements.

Lecture: English Architecture Making England in the Shadow of Rome - 410-1130 by Simon Thurley for Gresham College.

How Stuff Works - Castles Includes articles and videos about castle construction, living, history and defense.  Only one of the castle moves is directly about Castles, but the articles are brief and give good over-views providing a great place to start research on any number of sub-topics regarding castles and castle life.

25+ Picture Books Every Child Should Read

Trying to decide on the best picture book to get that niece or nephew or for the baby to be?  Here is a list of some classics that every child should have at some point.

First of all Authors:

1.  Anything Dr. Seuss, but especially Horton Hears a Who, The Sneetches, The Lorax, Bartholomew and the Oobleck and Oh the Places will you Go.  You might like to check out "The Bippolo Seed Collection" a post-mortem collection of stories printed in newspapers but never in books.  
2. We ADORE Mo Willems in this house.  Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and The Knuffle Bunny Series are both spectacular, but we also enjoy the Elephant and Piggy books, Cat the Cat books and The Naked Mole Rat.
3. But Not The Hippopotamus and Oh my, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs were handed down to us and we so enjoyed them, we began looking for more books by Sandra Boynton.  She also wrote Barnyard Dance and Barnyard Bath, Hippos go Berserk, Hey Wake Up, Dog Train (really a song book she illustrated), What's the Matter Little Pookie and many, many, more.
4. Anything written or illustrated by Eric Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Quiet Cricket, A House for Hermit Crab, Pancakes Pancakes, A tiny Seed, Brown Bear Brown Bear, The Very Busy Spider . . .
5. Maurice Sendak didn't only write Where the Wild Things Are.  He also illustrated the beautiful and wonderful stories of Little Bear, Is responsible for all the books in The Nutshell Library and Zlateh the Goat (another book that should not be missed).  It is almost as though he should have been named Midas Sendak - anything he touched was golden. 
6. Margaret Wise Brown is probably best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, but she wrote hundreds of wonderful books including The Little Island and Big Red Barn which also definitely belong on this list.
7. Beatrix Potter is well known for good reason, but aside from the tales of rabbits and Forest critters such as those about Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and the Flopsy Bunnies; Mrs. Tittlemouse and Jeremy Fisher and of course Gemima Puddleduck.  Beatrix also wrote the Tailor of Gloucester, Two Bad Mice and Wag by Waal - all fabulously engaging tales.
8. Mem Fox wrote the beloved Koala Lou and Possum Magic along with other wonderful books such as Guess What (which appears on challenged books lists), and Night Noises.
9. Shel Silverstein is a poet and author best known for The Giving Tree and his collections such as Where the Sidewalk Ends.  Lafcadio and The Missing Piece are also wonderful and shouldn't be forgotten. 
10. Finally, Ezra Jack Keats also can't be missed.  With winners like, Goggles and The Snowy Day his books continue to help our multi-cultural world grow in understanding toward one another while simply entertaining.

Books:

1. The Hello Goodbye Window by Chris Raschka
2. Drummer Hoff by Barbara Emberly
3. Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
4. Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
5. Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
6. Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy
7. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
8. Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema
9. Tar Beach by Faith Ringold
10. A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams
11. Always Room for One More by Nonny Hogrogian
12. The Sign of the Seahorse by Graeme Base
13. Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
14. St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
15. The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper.

Of course there are many more books that are also wonderful tales, but these are some of the ones that have been tried and true favorites in my house, classroom, and the homes of the little ones I have cared for.

First Grade Reading List

First grade is usually a big year for gaining reading independence for kids.  If you are looking for a great selection of easy reader books or ideas about programs to help your child learn to read, please check out "A note on Beginning Readers".  This article is simply the list of books we used with her First Grade Curricula and decisions were often made based more on how the books would play with other topics she was studying or for literary concepts like character, problem and solution, cause and effect and plot concepts.  For example, "Just Lost" by Gina and Mercer Mayer was chosen as a way to go over safe decisions if she gets separated from adults in public situations and "Fancy Nancy Poison Ivy Expert" was my way of introducing her to how to watch out for this pernicious plant when we are in the woods.  Both books happen to also come from a list of books that are pretty easy to read.  Harry and the Lady Next Door is great for picking out problem and solution and all the books from Zonder Kidz related to our study of the development of the first Hebrew cities and culture as a part of ancient History.

Books Alice Read to Us:

From Zonder Kidz: I Can Read - 

Jonah and the Big Fish

Daniel and the Lions 

David and the Giant

I Can Read Books:

Bath Time for Biscuit; Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit's Day at the Farm; Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Amelia Bedelia Helps Out; Peggy Parish
Little Bear; Else Holmelund Minark
No Fighting, No Biting; Else Holmelund Minark
Owl at Home; Aarnold Lobel

Step Into Reading:

Old, New, Red, Blue; Disney

Tangled, A Horse and a Hero; Disney
Unicorn Wings; Mallory Loehr

Scholastic: 

I Spy Books

Annie and Snowball and the Dress-up Birthday; Cynthis Rylant

National Geographic Kids

Sea Turtles

Dolphins

Misc.

Go Dog Go

And I mean it Stanley
Bedtime for Francis
Danny and the Dinosaur
Various Curious George Books
The Legend of the Blue Bonnet
Who Will be My Friends
Frog and Toad are Friends
Harold's Purple Crayon
Most of the Berensstein Bears Collection
A number of Jonathan London's Froggy Books
All of the Elephant and Piggie Books and Cat the Cat by Mo Willems
Big Red Barn
Runaway Bunny
Harry and the Lady Next Door
If you Give a Cat a Cupcake
If you Give a Pig a Pancake
If you Give a Moose a Muffin
One Fish, Two Fish

Hop on Pop

Books We Read Together, Or I Read to Her:

All in Just One Cookie

The Great Kapok Tree

The Shaman's apprentice

My Backyard Garden

Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow

Soil an Early Bird Book by Sally Walker

The Tiny Seed

A Seed is Sleepy

Watch a Seed Grow

Classical Myths to Read Aloud

26 letters and 99 cents

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown

Charlotte's Web

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Mr. Popper's Penguins

I Once was a Monkey

Stuart Little
The Sneeches
What Was I so Afraid of?
Lights for Gita
Tales of Amanda Pig
Little Oh
Thumbelina
The Sugar Child
The Gingerbread Man
The Stinky Cheese Man
The Three Little Pigs
The Three Horrid Pigs
The Three Little Javelinas
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Collections We Love:

The Miniature World of Peter Rabbit

The Nutshell Library 

Treasury of Fairy Tales (Naomi Lewis)
Aesop's Fables

Jim Weiss and a variety of his Audio Collections including Myths of Ancient Greece, Stories of the Bible and Shakespeare for Children.
The Starbright Foundation's Fairy Tale Classics

Ancient Rome (Unit Resources)

Things to Cover:

Wow! There is a lot to cover when doing a unit about Ancient Rome, but it is all pretty interesting too.  You'll want to discuss the important historical highlights like the existence of the republic and the rise and fall of the empire.  Geographical aspects like important landmarks such as the Colosseum, Pantheon, and Forum in Rome.  You also won't want to forget the far-flung landmarks such as Roman Aqueducts and amphitheaters throughout the empire as well as Hadrian's Wall.  The remains these masters left behind can all be a part of impressing upon your kids the incredible building skills and technology at Roman disposal (not to mention the reach of their influence).  Along those same lines, study of bath house construction can make the comforts of the Roman lifestyle seem pretty amazing and tell kids a little bit about the day to day life of some Romans at the height of the Empire's dominance.  Any student of any age can be introduced to the food and clothing the Romans typically ate and wore, along with many of the cultural regularities.  For example, how did education work?  What did they eat?  How did the spend their time?  Did they play games?  Every kid that speaks English, Spanish, Italian or French will find a lesson in Latin root words useful as they build a vocabulary in their Latin - Based language.  Many historical figures can be introduced, but especially Julius Caesar can't be forgotten.  Asking your more mature kids to do a study of characters like Julius Caesar, Brutus, Octavius and Mark Antony can lead to some very thought-provoking questions and discussion.  On the more somber side, what of the conquered people?  What happened to the people and cultures of the brutally conquered such as the Dacians?  How did the cultures of the Celts, Egyptians, Greeks and other neighbors influence Roman culture?  Of course, religious or not, one can't forget the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire and the impact on World History both the Roman Empire and Christianity has had.  And that is the SHORT LIST!

Here are just SOME of the wonderful resources we accessed in our studies (or that I previewed and may not have used with Alice because of her age and my objectives, but that might be useful to use based on your objectives and the age of the child/children you are teaching.

Lessons and Activities From PinchxEverything:

Although I have listed many of the online resources we have used throughout the unit below, my blarticles sometimes have additional resources related only to the specific subject matter of the individual lesson.  For example, if you are looking for resources about Roman Food and Feasting, you'll want to check out the lesson blarticle "Have a Roman Feast" OR if you want to compare beam and arch construction (and access the video that was incorporated in that lesson) you'll want to check out "Breaking Bridges".

Have a Roman Feast - Some of the things (including recipes) you need to know to host an authentic (and sugar free) Roman Feast - including how to make cheesecake without sugar!

What the Romans Wore - Incorporate this BEFORE your feast and dress the part while you celebrate the Empire's Bounty.
What's a Keystone? Sponge Craft - Help your kids grasp what an arch is and it's most important piece of anatomy, the keystone.  Great way to make the vocabulary words, arch and keystone a bit more "concrete" for them (I know its a cheesy joke - I used to tell my students it was my job to teach them what cheesy jokes are - by telling them).

Build a Roman Arch - This is just a model of a Roman arch but will give your kids an idea of what an arch is and why they needed a "form" to build them.  This lesson is a great one to do alongside, "What's a Keystone?".  We built the arches first and Alice had a really hard time grasping the position to place her stones in.  If we had done the keystone arch first, her stone arch may have held up better and the construction may have gone more smoothly.

Closely related is the lesson, "Breaking Bridges" - Beam vs. Arch Construction to demonstrate why the arch is so important in architecture and why it helped make the Roman's such great builders.

10 ideas for Historical Writing - Not all of these ideas are applicable to Rome, but most can be used with this unit to encourage your child to write.  A couple might be GREAT for your highschool kids, "Heroes and Martyrs" for example.


How the Romans Counted - a brief lesson about Roman Numerals (and resource links for those that need or want to spend more time with this number system.


The Story of Remus and Romulus - Links to the story online including an animated version, as well as a brief description of how to use the story and overlap with Language Arts objectives for a variety of age groups.


Myths - Why the Romans Told these Stories
This activity teaches kids to use a Venn Diagram while the compare a Roman Myth to an ancient Babylonian Myth.  There is also a Greek version of the tale.  All the Myths explain the occurrence of the seasons.  Use this activity to jump into reading more Myths once they've been introduced.

Ancient Romans: Master Builders -  Links to videos and activities about various structures of Ancient Rome, why they were built and video about how they were built and Roman building technoloy.

Ancient Romans: Greek Admirers - This lesson is mostly about the Myths of Ancient Rome and how many of those Myths and the art of the Romans reflected Greek sensibilities.  After this lesson, it can be a lot of fun to have kids write their own myths as a follow up.  They might write an explanation as to why children's teeth fall out, or where hiccups come from, or some other such topic that is really close to their hearts as children.  Whatever they right, it will probably be a lot of fun.

Ancient Romans: Artists - 5 different art projects inspired by the Romans.

Roman Neighbors - a listing of resources about the various enemies of Rome.

A Visit to an Antiquities Collection - Photographic Scavenger Hunt for items from Ancient Greece, Rome, Etrusca and Byzantium.

A Final Lesson Idea Suggestion:

Listen to "The Story of Rome and Julius Caesar" a track or two at a time - Complete lessons along the way.  The album is narrated by Jim Weiss and is a great way to introduce this pivotal part of World History.  After each track, have the kids respond to that part of the story with discussion, artwork and writing prompts that pertain to the story of the events leading up to Caesar's assassination and the rise of Caesar Augustus.  Make sure to talk about the story as one perspective and compare it to how someone on Caesar's enemies side might have told the story - for older kids that can provide a good writing activity idea.  Fold the album in amongst other lessons - especially if you have younger kids - and take it one piece of the story at a time.

Great Books and Print Resources:

DK publishing's Eyewitness Series
has books about Ancient China, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome that are all wonderfully dense with visual information accompanied by concise bits of text.  They are clearly designed to speak to the more visual generation.  These visual encyclopedias also come with a CD for your computer packed with clip art, photos and more.


Understanding Roman Myths - Robin Johnson
This is a standard non-fiction book with insets, images and text beautifully balanced to tell the story of Rome through its myths.  The way history is interspersed with myth and "Links to Today" is a nice touch that adds interest and ties all the information together in a modern way and adds an engaging touch.


A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient World - Dr. Anne Millard
This book is a humorous take on a travel guide as though the modern boy or girl might actually travel back to ancient Egypt, Greece or Rome.  With tourist tips and information about everything from what clothes to buy as soon as you can find the first market so you'll fit in, to party etiquette and what to eat and what to avoid this book really will give kids a pretty good picture of what it might be like if they were to travel back in time and visit any of these ancient cultures.  The book as a whole is probably best used with 4th grade kids and up (humor really is aimed at upper elementary), but one could pick and choose amongst the pages to offer a few highlights up for a younger child as well.


A Pocket Dictionary of Roman Emperors - Paul Roberts
This pocket dictionary (that isn't quite small enough for MOST pockets, but is quite small) really does provide a quick look and easy reference about the highlights (and low lights) of each of the Roman Emperors.  The book is organized chronologically but has a quick guide if you need to do an alphabetical search as well make it super easy to use.  Descriptions are brief, but cover the basics.  I warn you, this book is quite blunt and the author didn't seem to hold back at all when it comes to some of the horrors inflicted on the people by emperors like Caligula, Nero and Commodus.


National Geographic Investigates: Ancient Rome - Zilah Dekker 
Alice and I read this whole book in one day (which is pretty amazing in terms of a six-year-old's attention span - I usually break up non-fiction books that are written for an older audience into chapters or sections).  She liked it and found if very interesting.  I guess the sub-topics changed often enough and the pictures were engaging enough that it maintained her interest all on its own (she DOES LOVE history).


The Roman World from Iron Age Europe to the Fall of the Roman Empire - Tony Allan
This book is a great one to use as a reference for a time-line for the Italian Peninsula  BEFORE Rome became more than a city state AND to learn a little something about how Rome's expansion changed the Roman citizen and how they changed the conquered.


Step Into. . . The Roman Empire - Philip Steele
This is a book full of more wonderful craft ideas to use in your study of Rome (like building an aqueduct model or a model of a Roman Villa).  We got our recipe for the honeyed dates for our feast from this book.


The Roman Mysteries:  http://www.romanmysteries.com/
Alice was hooked right away!  The language in this Historical Fiction series is simple enough for a child with an 8+ vocabulary to understand what is happening and enjoy reading the books.  The main characters include four children that offer up a variety of viewpoints from differing cultures that would have existed in Ancient Rome.  One is an upper-middle class girl (daughter of a ship's captain), one is Son of a Jewish Doctor, one is a slave from Afric and the fourth a mute beggar.  The four kids have adventures together while solving mysteries that take place in ancient Roman cities such as Rome, Ostia, and Pompeii.  We've only read the first book so far, but I'm told all the books do a great job depicting the Ancient Roman lifestyle and events in Roman History along the way. 


Gifts from the Gods - Ancient Words & Wisdom From Greek and Roman Mythology

This book, written by Lise Lunge-Larsen and Illustrated by Gareth Hinds is a great read and a wonderful way to expand your child's vocabulary while introducing them to a little etimology.  It acted as a wonderful review of Greek Mythology while introducing Alice to the idea of "borrowed ideas" and the concept that "imitation is the finest form of flattery".  I'm so glad I checked it out!
 

Roman Myths - David West and Ross Watton
This Graphic Mythology Book is a great way to present the information to a young reader lacking the confidence to read more sophisticated versions of these stories.  The three myths included in this book are a few that are NOT also Greek Myths, so even if you did a study of the Ancient Greeks, you won't find duplication here (not that duplication is always a bad thing).  The three myths covered are "The Wanderings of Aeneas", "Romulus and Remus" and "Horatius and the Bridge".

Mythology Fandex 

I LOVE these things.  They are so visual and jammed with great tidbits of information while presenting the information in such a way that is unique enough to grab a kid's interest.  Neither book, nor flashcard, I think you'll like them too.  This particular one is about the myths and legends of the Greeks and Romans.  It is not all-inclusive, but works as a GREAT introduction and review later.

Other Useful Media:

Movies And Audio:

Because I try to include information about resources for older children as well, I often include movies I viewed that might be good for an older child that I DID NOT view with Alice for different reasons.  Please make sure always to review any material BEFORE viewing or listening with your own kids to be sure it is appropriate for your objectives and children.  Thanks.

Roman City - PBS movie hosted by David Macauly

Treasure Seekers - In the Shadow of Ancient Rome

History Channel - History of the Roman Colosseum and Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire (series)

The Story of Rome and Julius Caesar - Jim Weiss gives a re-telling of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar but adds quite a bit of well-told background information before hand (The Story of Rome) to help kids understand what it is that is going on at the beginning of Julius Caesar. 

Secrets of the Dead - Lost Ships of Rome

National Geographic's: When Rome Ruled

Colloseum: A Gladiator's Story - This was a fabulous story or dramatization of the the life of one particular gladiator.  The movie mixed the story-telling drama and visualization of cinema with documentary seamlessly.  Although it has violence (it is about Ancient Rome and a gladiator after-all) there was a lot less violence than I might have predicted and I am quite impressed with the whole picture - including the acting (part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4).  While this does use historical fiction, the tale of the fight itself is a true one making it all that more interesting.

Pompeii: The Last Day - This movie was actually packaged WITH A Gladiator's Story and the DVD gave Pompeii: The Last Day title billing.  However, although it was good, I found the acting within it and the story used to create the dramatic portion of this documentary far less engaging than that of the Gladiator.  Having said that, it was still well done and a wonderful source of information if you choose NOT to use any of the many books available out there about the subject.  Unless you are specifically studying Pompeii, I'd skip it in favor of other, better and more child-appropriate resources (also listed here).

Online Information, Links Pages, Games and Animated Resources:

PBS Rome Lesson Plans and Videos

Rome Exposed

Questia

SPQR Online

Arabic Numerals to Roman Numerals: http://www.aaastudy.com/g1_28wx1.htm
Roman Numerals to Arabic Numerals: http://www.aaastudy.com/g1_28xx1.htm

Animated Map of Ancient Civilizations and their Changing Boundaries  Watch on Biggest Screen Possible and be prepared to point to things you'd like to highlight and make sure your kids see.

Animated Map of the Rise and Fall of empires through history Appropriately set to "Eye of the Tiger"

History Channel "Interactive"

I'm still learning how to use it, but do the download at www.googleearth.com/rome and enjoy the AMAZING features that come with google's latest innovation.  The views of Ancient Rome and unbelievably detailed.

This slightly quirky and give-you-a-chuckle-host, Hart Davis, takes you through a whole bunch of lessons (episodes) about the amazing things the Romans did as they particularly pertain to Great Britain.  Although it doesn't neccessarily focus on Rome itself much, it does really give an impression about the accomplishements of the Romans as well as their daily living.  I didn't view every episode, but had no qualms about showing any of the episodes I did see to Alice.  What a GREAT SERIES!  Thanks again BBC.

BBC's WONDERFUL Game for the primary grades about Ancient Rome

Online Free Unit Study (for classrooms but adaptable) http://www.ckcolorado.org/units/3rd_grade/3_AncientRome.pdf

Here is a video that might an interesting "food for thought" kind of discussion inspiration for you and your teenagers.  It is fast, includes sarcasm and a quick, cartoon animation of legs and arms at the edges of bedcovers representing Cleopatra and Caesar so it really is going to beyond your elementary student's ability to grasp.  Check it out and see what you think.

If you enjoy using a Felt Board with your Students here is a way to make "Greek and Roman" Warriors

Byzantine Empire - Rome Divided - Constantine

Things the Romans Left Behind Video 

Worst Jobs in History Roman

Please Enjoy!