hist.g6.s
Grade 6 Spring — The Classical World and Late Antiquity to ~500 CE: Late Rome and Byzantium, Han China, Mauryan and Gupta India, Sasanian Persia, Aksum and Early Ghana, Classical Maya and Teotihuacan — Whose 'Fall'? Whose Golden Age? Whose Living Descendants?
Overview
Grade 6 Spring extends G6-Fall (Ancient Civilizations to 476 CE) into the Classical World and Late Antiquity, ~200 BCE through ~500 CE — a 700-year window the textbook tradition has often called the 'fall of Rome' or worse the 'Dark Ages,' but which the World History Association, Peter Brown, Averil Cameron, and the descendant-culture scholars at the center of this unit show was simultaneously: the Indian Mathematical Golden Age under the Gupta Empire (Aryabhata 499 CE, decimal place value, zero as a numeral, π estimation, foundational positional algebra); the Classical Maya florescence (250-900 CE, Tikal Stela 31, Long Count calendar, Palenque, Calakmul, Copán); the rise of Aksum on the Red Sea (Ezana stele c. 350 CE Christianization simultaneous with Constantine's Rome); the Sasanian Persian Empire (224-651 CE) at imperial peak under Shapur I, Shapur II, and Khosrow I Anushiruwan with Zoroastrian state religion and the Letter of Tansar; the Han Dynasty consolidating Confucian imperial bureaucracy (206 BCE - 220 CE) and opening the Silk Road via Zhang Qian's expeditions 138-115 BCE; and the Late Roman / Early Byzantine continuity-and-transformation through Diocletian (r. 284-305 CE), Constantine (r. 306-337 CE), Theodosius (r. 379-395 CE), Justinian (r. 527-565 CE), and the construction of Hagia Sophia (537 CE). The unit's compelling question — 'Whose classical world? Whose golden age? Whose living descendants?' — refuses any single-narrative framing.
The same 200-500 CE century the European tradition called 'late' or 'falling' was the Maya 'Classical Period,' the Indian 'Golden Age,' and the rise of Aksum. The unit centers a SIMULTANEOUS-CIVILIZATIONS Matrix (MG-19) placing 6 civilizations on one timeline so students see directly that 'world history' and 'Mediterranean history' are not synonyms.
The unit opens (Lessons 1-2) with the SIMULTANEOUS-CIVILIZATIONS framing — Lesson 1 unpacks the question 'Whose golden age?' and recites the THREE PROMISES (Living-Descendant + Humanity-FIRST + Resilience-FIRST) carried from G6-Fall; Lesson 2 establishes the MG-19 SIMULTANEOUS-CIVILIZATIONS Matrix placing Late Rome, Byzantium, Han China, Mauryan India, Gupta India, Sasanian Persia, Aksum, Classical Maya / Olmec antecedent, and Teotihuacan on one timeline.
The Late Rome and Early Byzantine arc (Lessons 3-7) extends G6-Fall's Roman content forward through Diocletian's tetrarchy and bureaucratic expansion (Lesson 3, with Diocletian's Price Edict as primary source); Constantine's Edict of Milan and Christianization (Lesson 4); Theodosius's establishment of Nicene Christianity as state religion 380 CE and the end of polytheist state cults (Lesson 5); the founding of Constantinople 330 CE and the Eastern Roman / Byzantine continuation (Lesson 6, with Justinian's Code as primary source); and the Justinianic plague 541-549 CE + Hagia Sophia 537 CE (Lesson 7, trauma-informed protocol active).
The Indian arc (Lessons 8-11) extends backward from G6-Spring's Late Antique starting point into Mauryan empire under Ashoka (Lesson 8, with Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts as primary source); the Gupta Mathematical Golden Age with Aryabhata 499 CE and the decimal place-value-with-zero (Lesson 9, primary source: Aryabhatiya Ganitapada chapter); the Gupta literary-cultural golden age with Kālidāsa and Sanskrit drama (Lesson 10); and the comparative-religions deep dive — Hinduism (Vedic-to-Hindu development, Bhagavad Gita), Buddhism (Buddha, Dhammapada, Ashoka's role in Buddhism's spread, Buddhism along the Silk Road into China during Han Dynasty), Jainism, Zoroastrianism (Lesson 11, the unit's primary comparative-religions integration lesson).
The Han China arc (Lessons 12-15) covers Qin unification under Shi Huangdi (Lesson 12, brief carry-forward from G6-Fall); Han imperial bureaucracy and the Confucian state under Wu of Han (Lesson 13, primary source: Sima Qian's Shiji + Ban Gu/Ban Zhao's Han Shu); Confucian state ideology and Ban Zhao's Lessons for Women (Lesson 14, with critical Wineburg-sourcing); Han innovations including paper invention c. 105 CE Cai Lun, the seismoscope, the wheelbarrow, the compass-precursor, and the silk-loom (Lesson 15, trauma-informed for corvée-labor honest treatment).
The Sasanian Persia arc (Lessons 16-17) covers Sasanian rise 224 CE, Shapur I's capture of Roman Emperor Valerian 260 CE (primary source: Naqsh-e Rostam trilingual rock inscription in Lesson 16), and Khosrow I Anushiruwan's reforms (Lesson 17, primary source: Letter of Tansar) — refusing the Romano-centric framing in which Sasanian Persia is merely 'Rome's eastern rival.' The sub-Saharan Africa and Mesoamerica arc (Lessons 18-19) covers Aksum and early Ghana / Wagadou (Lesson 19, primary source: Ezana stele c. 350 CE trilingual inscription); and Classical Maya and Teotihuacan (Lesson 18, primary source: Tikal Stela 31 + Olmec La Venta colossal-head antecedent + Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun) — both with explicit refusal of 'vanished/collapsed/lost' framing and present-tense protocol for modern Maya nations (over 30 living Maya languages with ~7 million speakers today across Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador) and modern Ethiopian / Eritrean / pan-African communities.
The trade and exchange arc (Lesson 20) integrates the Silk Road (overland), the Indian Ocean maritime trade network, and the trans-Saharan trade network as the unit's economic-systems integration — refusing the framing that classical civilizations existed in isolation. The 'fall of Rome' critically examined and the SIMULTANEITY ARGUMENT (Lesson 21) returns to the unit's central question via multi-scholar analysis (Heather + Ward-Perkins + Goffart + Geary from G6-Fall extended with new Cameron + Brown 'Late Antiquity not Dark Ages' framing).
The capstone (Lesson 22) is a dual-strand Foxfire 3-copy distribution: each child contributes 2-3 pages to a 44-page bound Classical World and Late Antiquity Inquiry Exhibit storybook (one copy for self, one for school library, one for a descendant-community partner) AND each child writes and mails a 5-paragraph civic-action letter to a UNESCO World Heritage Centre official, museum director, or national antiquities ministry on a contemporary world-heritage issue (repatriation of looted Maya stelae, Aksum stele restitution from Italy, Persepolis preservation funding, Mahabalipuram or Sanchi tourism stewardship, Mogao Caves preservation, Hagia Sophia stewardship, Tikal park funding, or similar). The THREE PROMISES (MG-8 Living-Descendant + MG-9 Humanity-FIRST + MG-10 Resilience-FIRST) carry forward from G6-Fall and are recited daily. The MG-7 Source Card carries forward from G6-Fall with its full 6-question routine (Wineburg's 4 questions + the NMAI-extended Living-Descendant fifth + the WHA whose-translations-and-silences sixth). The I-STILL-WONDER chart MG-22 carries student wonderings across the term as the bridge into G7-Fall (Medieval World: Byzantium continuation, Islamic Golden Age, Tang/Song China, West Africa, Mesoamerica).
Essential questions
- Whose classical world? Whose golden age? Whose living descendants? — How does our chronology change when we refuse the Eurocentric 'fall of Rome' single-narrative and instead place the 200-500 CE period in genuine WORLD perspective?
- Why is the same 200-500 CE century called 'late' in Roman history textbooks and 'Golden Age' in Indian history textbooks? — Who chose the labels, and what work do the labels do?
- How did Late Antique civilizations transform rather than 'fall'? — What continued, what changed, and what new forms emerged from Roman, Han, Mauryan-Gupta, Sasanian, Aksumite, and Classical Maya civilizations between 200 and 500 CE?
- What does it mean that the decimal place value and the use of zero as a numeral — innovations that make modern mathematics possible — came from Gupta India, not from Greece or Rome? What story does the standard Eurocentric history textbook hide?
- How did Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, indigenous Mesoamerican religion, and African traditional religions interact with empires in this period — and which religious traditions are still living today?
- How did the Silk Road (overland Eurasia), the Indian Ocean trade network, and the trans-Saharan trade network connect civilizations that the textbook tradition treats as separate?
- Why is the Classical Maya political system called 'collapsed' but Maya peoples and Mayan languages and Maya cultural continuity ARE today across Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador? What is the difference between a political system ending and a people 'vanishing'?
- Compare an empire (Rome, Han, Sasanian, Gupta), a city-state (Athens carried-forward from G6-Fall, Classical Maya divine kingships at Tikal/Palenque/Calakmul), and a kingdom (Aksum, early Ghana) — what governs which form emerges?
- Who decides what counts as 'classical'? What is at stake in calling Athens and Rome 'the' classical world rather than Maya, Gupta, Han, or Aksum?
- How can today's living descendants of the civilizations we study — modern Italian, Greek, Levantine-Christian / Coptic / Armenian / Syrian / Jewish, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, South-Asian diaspora, Iranian, Parsi, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Sudanese, Ghanaian, pan-African diaspora, Chinese, Taiwanese, East-Asian diaspora, Maya (30+ living nations across 5 modern countries), and Italian-American diaspora communities — be honored in our classroom history-making?
Enduring understandings
- Periodization is a choice. 'Late Antiquity' and 'Dark Ages' are NAMES for the same 700-year window — and choosing one or the other shapes what students think happened. We name what we mean: 200-500 CE was Late Antiquity AND the Indian Mathematical Golden Age AND the Classical Maya florescence AND the rise of Aksum AND the Han-Roman-Sasanian world-system at peak interconnection.
- Civilizations do not 'vanish.' Political systems transform; peoples and languages and cultures continue. The Maya did not collapse — the Classical Maya political system transformed, and over 7 million Maya people across 30+ Mayan languages ARE today.
- Empires are not all the same. Roman, Han, Sasanian, Mauryan, Gupta empires share features (centralized bureaucracy, standing army, taxation, infrastructure, ideology) AND differ structurally — students can name and compare 4-5 differences across our 6 civilizations using MG-5 comparative matrix.
- Religions are living, not historical. Hinduism is not 'ancient.' Buddhism is not 'classical.' Judaism is not 'biblical.' Christianity is not 'Roman.' Zoroastrianism is not 'Sasanian.' All are living traditions today with practicing communities; the unit's account of religion is dual-framed (academic-historical AND living-tradition) throughout.
- Mathematics is a human inheritance from many cultures. The decimal place value and the use of zero as a numeral come from Gupta India (Aryabhata 499 CE, Brahmagupta 628 CE successor). The Maya independently developed positional notation including zero in the Long Count calendar by ~36 BCE Stela 2 at Chiapa de Corzo. Modern global mathematics rests on Indian and Maya foundations, not only on Greek geometry.
- Trade networks moved people, things, religions, and ideas at scale before any 'globalization' label existed. The Silk Road (overland Eurasia), Indian Ocean (maritime South Asia / Southeast Asia / East Africa), and trans-Saharan (sub-Saharan West Africa to Mediterranean North Africa) networks pre-date any European 'age of exploration.'
- Sources have politics. Who wrote, who translated, who edited, who silenced — every question matters. The MG-7 Source Card's six questions (Wineburg's four + NMAI Living-Descendant fifth + WHA whose-translations-and-silences sixth) are the unit's signature thinking move.
- Comparative governance reveals choice. Direct democracy with citizenship-exclusions (Athens, carried forward), Roman Republic mixed-constitution (carried forward), Roman Imperial principate, Han Confucian bureaucracy, Sasanian Zoroastrian-monarchy, Mauryan dhamma-monarchy, Maya divine kingship — each is a CHOICE among possible answers to 'how should people be governed?' Modern democratic governance inherits from MANY of these answers, not only Athens and Rome.
Visual reference library 22 assets
MG-1
Illustration
Dignified sepia-and-gold-leaf palette 20-portrait medallion montage suitable for 24x36 poster print: Diocletian (Rome r. 284-305 CE), Constantine the Great (Rome r. 306-337 CE), Hypatia of Alexandria (Late Roman scholar c. 350-415 CE — carries from G6-Fall closing portrait into G6-Spring opener), Theodosius I (Rome r. 379-395 CE), Justinian I (Byzantine r. 527-565 CE), Theodora (Byzantine empress c. 500-548 CE), Ashoka the Great (Mauryan India r. c. 268-232 BCE), Chandragupta II (Gupta India r. c. 380-415 CE), Aryabhata (Gupta India mathematician 476-550 CE), Kālidāsa (Gupta India Sanskrit poet c. 4th-5th century CE), Wu of Han / Han Wudi (China r. 141-87 BCE), Sima Qian (Han historian c. 145-86 BCE), Ban Zhao (Han historian c. 45-117 CE), Shapur I (Sasanian Persia r. 240-270 CE), Khosrow I Anushiruwan (Sasanian Persia r. 531-579 CE), Ezana of Aksum (r. c. 320-360 CE), Siyaj K'ak' (Classical Maya Tikal c. 378 CE), K'inich Janaab Pakal I / Pakal the Great (Classical Maya Palenque r. 615-683 CE — life dates extend slightly past unit endpoint but legacy plotted), Lady K'abel (Classical Maya El Perú-Waka' c. 672-692 CE), and one anonymous Classical-Maya stela carver representing the unnamed working-class artisans. Each medallion labeled with name + civilization + life-dates + 'present-tense living descendants' marker showing each civilization's modern descendant community. Style: dignified, scholarly, Penn Museum / Smithsonian educator aesthetic; sepia base with selective gold-leaf accents on imperial-purple borders. 24x36 print resolution.
MG-2
Diagram
MG-2 carried forward from G6-Fall but extended at 36x12 inches: zoomed-in view of the 200 BCE - 700 CE band only, with horizontal time axis showing 100-year tick marks. Eight horizontal civilization bands stacked vertically: Late Roman Empire (200 BCE - 476 CE Western, then continues thinner as 'Western successor kingdoms' to 700 CE) / Byzantine Empire (330 CE founding of Constantinople onward as continuous band) / Mauryan India (322-185 BCE) / Gupta India (320-550 CE) shown in BRIGHT GOLD as the Indian Mathematical Golden Age / Han Dynasty China (206 BCE - 220 CE) / Sasanian Persia (224-651 CE) / Aksumite Empire (c. 100-940 CE) / Classical Maya (250-900 CE) shown in BRIGHT GOLD as the Classical Maya florescence — overlapping with Late Rome. Key vertical reference lines: 313 CE Edict of Milan / 330 CE Founding of Constantinople / 350 CE Ezana stele / 378 CE Tikal Stela 31 records foreign-arrival event / 380 CE Theodosian establishment of Christianity / 476 CE Fall of Western Roman Empire / 499 CE Aryabhatiya / 527 CE Justinian's accession / 537 CE Hagia Sophia completion / 541 CE Justinianic Plague begins. Caption banner across top: 'The SAME century: Late Rome AND Gupta Golden Age AND Classical Maya AND Aksum.' Clean educational style, full-color, 36x12 inch print resolution.
MG-3
Map
Two-panel map 24x18 inches total: Left panel (16x18) shows Afro-Eurasia with Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea coastlines; civilizations color-coded at c. 400 CE extent: Late Roman Empire (deep red, split East/West Theodosian division), Sasanian Persia (royal purple), Gupta India (gold), Han Dynasty China (jade green, with note 'Han collapsed 220 CE — but Sui/Tang continuity by 581 CE'), Aksumite Empire (deep umber). Right panel (8x18) shows Mesoamerica with Yucatán + Guatemalan highlands + central Mexican plateau; Classical Maya core sites marked (Tikal, Palenque, Calakmul, Copán, Yaxchilán, Caracol, Naranjo, El Perú-Waka'); Teotihuacan marked on central Mexican plateau; Olmec antecedent sites (San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, La Venta) marked as faded. Both panels: scale bars in km; modern country outlines in faint gray for orientation; Silk Road / Indian Ocean / trans-Saharan trade routes overlaid as dashed arrows. Style: educational atlas, clean, full color.
MG-4
Map
24x18 inch trade-network map of Afro-Eurasia showing three trade networks at the period of maximum interconnection ~100-600 CE: (1) SILK ROAD overland — from Chang'an (Han capital) through Dunhuang and the Tarim Basin through Central Asian oasis cities (Samarkand, Bukhara, Merv) to Ctesiphon (Sasanian capital) and onward to Antioch, with a southern branch via the Karakoram to Gupta India and a northern steppe route shown in dashed line. Trade goods labeled: silk westward / glass + horses + religions (Buddhism eastward, later Christianity eastward) bidirectional. (2) INDIAN OCEAN maritime — monsoon-driven seasonal trade between East African coast (Aksumite Adulis), South Arabia (Muziris), South India (Muziris on Malabar coast, Pattanam excavations), Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia (Funan), and Han China (via Strait of Malacca to Guangzhou); Roman trade with India documented via Periplus of the Erythraean Sea c. 50 CE noted in legend; trade goods: spices + pepper + cotton + ivory + pearls + Roman gold coins (Roman coin hoards found in South India). (3) TRANS-SAHARAN trade — caravans across the Sahara linking Mediterranean North Africa (Carthage, Alexandria) with sub-Saharan West Africa (early Ghana / Wagadou region — proto-state by 300 CE, full kingdom by 700 CE per Connah); trade goods: salt southbound / gold northbound; camel domestication note (camels enabled trans-Saharan trade by ~300 CE per Bulliet). Style: clean educational atlas with route lines color-coded by network; modern country outlines in faint gray.
MG-5
Chart
11x17 inch landscape chart with 8 civilizations as rows (Late Rome / Byzantine / Han China / Mauryan India / Gupta India / Sasanian Persia / Aksum / Classical Maya + Teotihuacan) and 6 strand-columns (Chronology / Government / Economy / Geography / Culture-and-Religion / Sources-We-Have). Each cell is a 2-3-line bullet summary populated across the 22 lessons. Reverse side has a blank version for student fill-in. Style: clean educational, full color. The 8-row design replaces the G6-Fall 6-row design. Color-coding: each civilization assigned a tradition-respectful color (Gupta gold, Aksum umber, Maya jade, etc.).
MG-6
Diagram
18x24 inch concept map with central hub node 'Classical World and Late Antiquity 200 BCE - 500 CE — Whose Golden Age?' radiating to 8 first-ring civilization nodes (Late Rome, Byzantine Continuation, Han China, Mauryan India, Gupta India, Sasanian Persia, Aksum + Early Ghana, Classical Maya + Teotihuacan), each with second-ring sub-nodes (4-6 key concepts per civilization) and third-ring primary-source nodes (the actual translated source used in the corresponding lesson). Cross-civilization links shown as dashed lines: Silk Road connecting Han to Sasanian to Late Rome; Indian Ocean trade connecting Gupta India to Aksum to Han; Buddhism connecting Mauryan India to Han China; Christianity connecting Late Rome to Aksum to Byzantine; numerals (decimal place value with zero) connecting Gupta India to later Arab world (G7-Fall preview). Style: clean educational, full color, 18x24 print resolution.
MG-7
Interactive
Physical / non-image
8.5x11 inch laminated double-sided card. FRONT: 'MG-7 Ancient-and-Classical Source Card' header; 6 numbered questions: (1) SOURCING — Who created this source? When? Where? Why? (Wineburg Move 1); (2) CONTEXTUALIZATION — What was happening at the time and place this source was created? What had just happened? What was about to happen? (Wineburg Move 2); (3) CORROBORATION — Does another source from the same time and place agree or disagree? Is the creator a partisan? (Wineburg Move 3); (4) CLOSE READING — What does the source literally say in its words? What does it leave unsaid? (Wineburg Move 4); (5) LIVING DESCENDANTS — Who today is a living descendant of the people who created or were addressed by this source? How do they treat this source as a living heritage? (NMAI Essential Understanding 5 extended); (6) WHOSE TRANSLATION? WHOSE SILENCES? — Who translated this source into English and when? What perspective is MISSING from this source (e.g., the slave perspective on Diocletian's edicts, the dasi/dasa perspective on Ashoka's edicts)? (WHA / SHEG move). BACK: scaffolded sentence frames for each question; a short-form version (4 Wineburg-only questions) for students still building source-analysis stamina.
MG-8
Illustration
16x24 inch classroom poster, lavender-purple background with gold serif text: 'WE PROMISE: We treat every civilization we study with present-tense living-descendant awareness. The Maya did not vanish — over 7 million Maya across 30+ Mayan languages ARE today, across Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. Aksum did not disappear — modern Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo communities ARE today, with unbroken Christian tradition since 350 CE. The Sasanian world did not end — modern Iranian Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Indian Parsi communities ARE today. The Gupta world did not fade — over 1.4 billion Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Nepalese, Bhutanese, and South Asian diaspora communities ARE today. Late Rome did not fall completely — modern Italians and Italian diaspora communities ARE today, and Byzantine continuation became Eastern Mediterranean continuity. The Han world did not vanish — over 1.4 billion Chinese, Taiwanese, and diaspora communities ARE today. We say IS, not WAS, when we can. We refuse the framing that civilizations 'lost' or 'vanished' or 'collapsed' when descendant communities continued and continue today.' Frame: simple wood, classroom-display-ready.
MG-9
Illustration
16x24 inch classroom poster, warm-amber background with deep-bronze serif text: 'WE PROMISE: Every person we study — emperor or enslaved, scribe or farmer, scholar or stonemason, named or anonymous — was first a human being. We say their names when we have them. We honor the anonymous when we don't. We refuse to reduce any person to a footnote, a statistic, or a chattel.' Includes silhouetted procession of named-and-anonymous figures across the bottom: emperor figure, enslaved figure carrying a stone block, scribe figure with bronze stylus, mother figure with child, farmer figure with sickle, monk figure with scroll. Frame: simple wood, classroom-display-ready.
MG-10
Illustration
16x24 inch classroom poster, deep-evergreen background with silver-gold serif text: 'WE PROMISE: When we study difficult content — persecution, plague, slavery, conquest, displacement — we name it honestly AND we open and close with resilience. Before naming the difficulty, we name the people's strength, art, family, religion, music, language, mathematics, science, and continuation. After naming the difficulty, we return to resilience. We never end a lesson on devastation alone.' Includes border motifs: olive branch (Late Roman), lotus (Gupta), bamboo (Han), pomegranate (Sasanian), Ge'ez cross (Aksum), ceiba tree (Maya). Frame: simple wood, classroom-display-ready.
MG-11
Diagram
24x10 inch landscape timeline diagram of the Christianization of the Roman Empire: horizontal time axis 200 CE to 450 CE with key events marked: (1) c. 30-100 CE Apostolic age — Jesus, Paul's letters, Gospels composed; (2) 64 CE Nero's persecution; (3) c. 100-300 CE Christianity spreads as one Mediterranean religion among many; (4) 250 CE Decian persecution; (5) 303 CE Diocletian's Great Persecution; (6) 312 CE Battle of Milvian Bridge — Constantine's victory + reported vision; (7) 313 CE Edict of Milan — toleration of Christianity; (8) 325 CE Council of Nicaea — Nicene Creed formulated; (9) 337 CE Constantine baptized on deathbed; (10) 361-363 CE Julian 'the Apostate' restores polytheism briefly; (11) 380 CE Theodosius's Edict of Thessalonica — Nicene Christianity established as state religion; (12) 391 CE Theodosius bans polytheist sacrifices; (13) 415 CE death of Hypatia of Alexandria in Christian-pagan-Jewish urban conflict. Visual cue: Christianity band starts thin (~10% of empire c. 300 CE) and widens to dominant (~85% c. 450 CE per Stark/Hopkins demographic estimates). Parallel band: polytheist state cults shown declining. Vertical gridlines every 25 years. Style: clean educational, full-color, 24x10 print resolution.
MG-12
Chart
8.5x11 inch educator handout: top half shows photograph of the surviving inscribed stone fragment from Aphrodisias (now in the British Museum and other collections); bottom half shows 12 selected price-and-wage entries from Elsa Rose Graser 1940 translation revised by Siegfried Lauffer 1971: e.g., 'maximum price for 1 modius (~8.62 L) of wheat: 100 denarii; maximum daily wage for unskilled rural laborer: 25 denarii including food; maximum daily wage for skilled mason: 50 denarii; maximum daily wage for school-teacher of reading: 50 denarii per student per month; maximum daily wage for elementary tutor: 200 denarii per student per month'; etc. Bottom edge: 'Source: Diocletian Edictum de Pretiis Rerum Venalium 301 CE. Translation: Graser 1940 / Lauffer 1971.' MG-7 Source Card prompts printed on reverse for source-card written response.
MG-13
Chart
8.5x11 inch educator handout: top quarter shows photograph of one of the rock-cut Ashokan edicts (e.g., the Girnar inscription site in Gujarat); next three quarters show three selected edicts in N.A. Nikam and Richard McKeon 1959 translation: (1) ROCK EDICT II — 'Everywhere in the dominions of his Majesty the King... two kinds of medical treatment have been provided — medical treatment for men and medical treatment for animals' (the world's earliest known imperial declaration of veterinary care + universal human medical care); (2) ROCK EDICT XIII — 'When His Majesty the King had been consecrated eight years the (country of the) Kalingas was conquered. One hundred and fifty thousand persons were carried away thence as captives, one hundred thousand were there slain... His Majesty feels remorse on account of the conquest of the Kalingas' (the famous Kalinga-remorse edict — one of the earliest extant royal-conscience declarations); (3) PILLAR EDICT VII — 'His Majesty thus speaks: I have caused this Edict of Dhamma to be written. Let it endure as long as my sons and great-grandsons shall reign... for the welfare and happiness of the world.' Bottom edge: 'Source: Ashoka Major Rock Edicts c. 268-232 BCE. Translation: Nikam and McKeon 1959.' MG-7 Source Card prompts printed on reverse.
MG-14
Chart
8.5x11 inch educator handout: top quarter shows photograph of a Sanskrit-manuscript folio of the Aryabhatiya (Bodleian Library or Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute manuscript); next three quarters show three selected Ganitapada verses in Walter Eugene Clark 1930 / Kripa Shankar Shukla 1976 translation: (1) GANITAPADA verse 2 — 'eka (1), dasha (10), shata (100), sahasra (1000), ayuta (10,000), niyuta (100,000), prayuta (1,000,000), koti (10,000,000)... places multiply by ten' (the recursive decimal-place-value statement); (2) GANITAPADA verse 10 — Aryabhata's π estimation: 'caturadhikam śatamaṣṭaguṇaṃ dvāṣaṣṭistathā sahasrāṇām | ayutadvayaviṣkambhasyāsanno vṛttapariṇāhaḥ — Add 4 to 100, multiply by 8, and then add 62,000. By this rule the circumference of a circle of diameter 20,000 can be approached.' This gives π ≈ 3.1416 — accurate to 4 decimal places, c. 499 CE; (3) note on positional zero: 'sthānaśaḥ — by place' — the locative-singular term Aryabhata uses to denote the place-value principle. Bottom edge: 'Source: Aryabhata Aryabhatiya 499 CE, Ganitapada chapter. Translation: Clark 1930 / Shukla 1976.' MG-7 Source Card prompts printed on reverse.
MG-15
Chart
8.5x11 inch double-sided protocol document carried forward from G6-Fall and updated for G6-Spring sensitive content. FRONT: 48-hour-advance caregiver letter template explaining that in Lesson [X — 4 / 7 / 10 / 15 / 19] the class will study sensitive content: Lesson 4 Diocletian's Christian persecution + post-Constantinian Christian counter-persecution of polytheists / Lesson 7 Justinianic Plague 541-549 CE with honest casualty content / Lesson 10 Indian caste-system origin with present-tense Dalit-perspective inclusion via Ambedkar's analysis / Lesson 15 Han Dynasty corvée labor + slavery / Lesson 19 Bantu-migration displacement narratives (with explicit framing that displacement-of-Khoisan by Bantu-language-speakers is itself contested and that Indigenous Khoisan-language-speakers ARE today across southern Africa). The letter explains the trauma-informed protocols: opt-out, counselor co-presence, Humanity-FIRST opening (MG-9), Resilience-FIRST opening AND close (MG-10), Compassion Circle close, family alternative reading. BACK: in-class protocol — Three Promises recited (MG-8 + MG-9 + MG-10), then Resilience-FIRST opening (each civilization's resilience and continuation named BEFORE the difficulty is named), then sensitive content with primary-source MG-7 source-card analysis, then Compassion Circle close (one word per student, no requirement to speak), then resilience-FIRST close (return to descendant-community present-tense).
MG-16
Diagram
11x17 inch educational diagram of Han Dynasty bureaucratic structure c. 100 BCE: top of hierarchy 'Son of Heaven / Emperor (Wu of Han pictured)'; second tier 'Three Excellencies' (Grand Councilor / Imperial Counselor / Grand Commandant); third tier 'Nine Ministers' overseeing functional ministries (Ministers of Ceremonies, Imperial Household, Coachman, Justice, Foreign Relations, Imperial Clan, Finance, Lesser Treasurer, Palace Attendants); fourth tier provincial commanderies (jun) and kingdoms; fifth tier county and prefecture; Confucian Imperial University (Taixue) shown as parallel institution training scholar-officials per Mark Edward Lewis 2007. Side panel: 'Imperial Examination System precursor — Han recommendation system (chaju)' showing how scholar-officials were recommended for office. Style: clean educational, full color, Chinese imperial-yellow color-coding, 11x17 print resolution.
MG-17
Chart
Physical / non-image
8.5x11 inch educator handout: top quarter shows photograph of the Naqsh-e Rostam rock-relief and the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht stone-cube inscription site in modern Fars Province, Iran; next three quarters show selected passages of Shapur I's Res Gestae Divi Saporis in three columns — Middle Persian (Pahlavi) original transliteration + Parthian transliteration + Greek transliteration — with English translation below per Huyse 1999 edition: (1) opening declaration of titles 'I am the Mazda-worshipping divine Shapur, king of kings of Iran and non-Iran, of the race of the gods'; (2) account of the three battles against Rome — defeat of Gordian III 244 CE, capture of Emperor Valerian 260 CE; (3) list of fire-temples founded and offerings established. Bottom edge: 'Source: Shapur I Res Gestae Divi Saporis (Naqsh-e Rostam / Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription) c. 260 CE. Trilingual: Middle Persian + Parthian + Greek. Translation: Huyse 1999.' MG-7 Source Card prompts printed on reverse — the multilingual translation question is the lesson's central move.
MG-18
Chart
Physical / non-image
8.5x11 inch educator handout: top quarter shows photograph of the Ezana Stele site at Aksum (Tigray Region, Ethiopia); next three quarters show selected passages of Ezana's trilingual inscription in three columns — Geʽez original transliteration + Sabaean transliteration + Greek transliteration — with English translation below per Munro-Hay 1991 and Bowersock 2013: (1) opening 'Ezana, king of Aksum and of Himyar and of Raydan and of Habashat and of Saba and of Salhen and of Tsiyamo and of Beja and of Kasu, king of kings'; (2) the conquest-of-Meroë (Kush) account; (3) the famous Christianization passage where the older polytheist invocation 'by the might of Ares' is REPLACED on later stelae by 'by the might of the Lord of Heaven' — the SAME stele tradition that originally invoked Aksum's traditional gods is restruck under Ezana's Christianization with explicit Trinitarian formula. Bottom edge: 'Source: Ezana of Aksum stele c. 350 CE. Trilingual: Geʽez + Sabaean + Greek. Translation: Munro-Hay 1991 / Bowersock 2013.' MG-7 Source Card prompts printed on reverse. Side note: 'Ezana's Christianization is SIMULTANEOUS with Constantine's — Aksum is the SECOND state in world history to adopt Christianity as a state religion (after the Kingdom of Armenia 301 CE, before the Roman Empire's full establishment under Theodosius 380 CE).'
MG-19
Chart
24x18 inch landscape signature visualization for the unit: 8 civilization rows × 100-year-tick-mark columns from 200 BCE to 700 CE; each civilization's active period shown as a colored band with key dates marked. Critical visual claim: at the year 400 CE (vertical reference line in red), ALL 8 civilizations are ACTIVE AND THRIVING. Caption box: 'The story called "fall of Rome" hides 7 other simultaneous civilizations. At 400 CE: Late Roman Empire under Theodosius's sons / Byzantine Empire founded 70 years earlier / Han Dynasty (recently transitioned to Three Kingdoms 220 CE - 280 CE - Jin Dynasty 280 CE - 420 CE — Chinese civilization continues unbroken) / Gupta India under Chandragupta II at imperial peak / Sasanian Persia under Shapur II / Aksum Christianized 50 years earlier under Ezana / Classical Maya at Tikal-Calakmul peak / Teotihuacan at population peak (~125,000 — among the world's largest cities). This is the SIMULTANEITY ARGUMENT. There was no "Dark Age."' Style: clean educational, full color, dramatic visual impact, 24x18 print resolution. The MG-19 chart is the unit's signature visualization and is referenced in 14 of the 22 lessons.
MG-20
Diagram
11x17 inch educational diagram: top half shows the 5-place Maya Long Count notation (baktun.katun.tun.uinal.kin) with the famous date 9.16.4.10.8 (corresponding to 22 September 754 CE per GMT correlation) inscribed on Yaxchilán Lintel 24; explanation of the vigesimal (base-20) positional system with positional zero glyph shown (the 'shell' or 'half-moon' glyph that functions identically to the modern 0); side-by-side comparison of Maya zero glyph + Gupta zero numeral (śūnya, 'empty' or 'void' — earliest extant inscribed Indian zero at Gwalior c. 876 CE post-Aryabhata) + Babylonian placeholder (c. 300 BCE — placeholder only, not a true zero numeral). Critical visual claim caption: 'Two civilizations — Classical Maya and Gupta India — independently developed positional notation with zero. Greek and Roman mathematics did NOT have a zero numeral. The modern world's mathematics inherits from Gupta India (decimal place value, zero numeral via Arab transmission as 'Hindu-Arabic numerals') AND from Classical Maya (independent vigesimal positional system).' Bottom half shows three primary-source images: (1) Tikal Stela 31 hieroglyphic text excerpt; (2) Yaxchilán Lintel 24 with Long Count date; (3) Aryabhatiya Sanskrit manuscript folio. Style: clean educational, full color, 11x17 print resolution.
MG-21
Diagram
11x17 inch educational diagram with 7 religions as rows (Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism developed-from-Vedic, Judaism diaspora, Zoroastrianism, indigenous Mesoamerican / Classical Maya religion, African Traditional Religions including Aksumite pre-Christian + indigenous-African polytheism) × 6 question-columns (Founder or origin-tradition / Foundational text or oral-tradition / Geographic origin / 200-500 CE development arc / Modern living-descendant communities and approximate global adherents today / Lesson where introduced in this unit). Each cell is a 2-3-line summary. Critical framing: ALL 7 traditions ARE LIVING today; none is presented as 'ancient' or 'past-tense.' Side note: 'Religions are living traditions today. Hinduism: ~1.2 billion adherents today across South Asia and diaspora. Buddhism: ~520 million adherents today across East/Southeast Asia and diaspora. Christianity: ~2.4 billion adherents today. Judaism: ~15 million adherents today across global diaspora. Zoroastrianism: ~110,000-200,000 adherents today across Iran and Indian Parsi communities and diaspora. Indigenous Mesoamerican religion (often syncretized with Catholicism): living among Maya communities. African Traditional Religions: ~100 million practitioners today, plus diaspora forms (Vodou, Santería, Candomblé).' Style: clean educational, full color, dignified presentation. 11x17 print resolution.
MG-22
Interactive
Physical / non-image
36x48 inch wall-mounted classroom chart titled 'I-STILL-WONDER — Grade 6 Spring Classical World and Late Antiquity'; 22 vertical columns (one per lesson) plus a wide rightmost column titled 'WONDERINGS WE CARRY INTO GRADE 7 MEDIEVAL WORLD'; students post sticky notes (3M brand, 3x3 inch, multi-color) with their wonderings during or after each lesson; teacher reviews notes weekly and addresses recurring wonderings in spiral-review and weekly Friday closing-circle. At unit end (Lesson 22), the WONDERINGS WE CARRY column is photographed and the photograph + transcribed list is the explicit bridge into G7-Fall (Medieval World: Byzantium continuation under Heraclius, Islamic Golden Age 750-1258 CE, Tang/Song China continuing from Han, West Africa with Ghana / Mali / Songhai continuing from early Ghana / Wagadou, Mesoamerica with Postclassic Maya continuing from Classical Maya). Style: visible from across the classroom, classroom-display-ready, full color.
Lessons (22)
Skills (18)
- Analyze the sub-Saharan African civilizations contemporaneous with Late Antique Rome — the Kingdom of Aksum (c. 100-940 CE) with Ezana's Christianization c. 350 CE, the early Ghana / Wagadou proto-state (c. 300-1240 CE), and the broader Bantu-language-family migrations — per Christopher Ehret, Graham Connah, Stuart Munro-Hay, and Glen Bowersock scholarship G6
- Analyze the Byzantine Empire as Eastern Roman continuation (NOT 'Greek successor') — Justinian I (r. 527-565 CE), Theodora (c. 500-548 CE), Justinian's Code (Corpus Juris Civilis 529-534 CE), and Hagia Sophia (completed 537 CE) — per Judith Herrin and Anthony Kaldellis scholarship G6
- Capstone — Author a 44-page bound class Classical World and Late Antiquity Inquiry Exhibit storybook (Foxfire methodology, 3-copy distribution: self / school library / one descendant-community partner) covering all 8 civilizations + apply at least 3 primary sources from the unit, AND author a 5-paragraph Civic-Action Letter to a UNESCO World Heritage Centre official, museum director, or national antiquities ministry on a contemporary world-heritage issue G6
- Analyze the Classical Maya civilization (250-900 CE) — Tikal, Palenque, Calakmul, Copán, Yaxchilán, El Perú-Waka' — divine kingship, Long Count calendar with positional zero (Mayan vigesimal independently developed), hieroglyphic writing system FULLY DECIPHERED in the modern decipherment era — per David Stuart, Simon Martin, Nikolai Grube, Michael D. Coe, and Stephen Houston scholarship G6
- Analyze the comparative-religions arc 200 BCE - 500 CE — Buddhism's spread via Ashoka and the Silk Road, Vedic-to-Hindu development (Bhagavad Gita), Jewish diaspora after 70 CE, Christianity emergence, Zoroastrianism as Sasanian state religion, indigenous Mesoamerican religion, African Traditional Religions G6
- Analyze the Gupta Empire of India (c. 320-550 CE) as the INDIAN MATHEMATICAL GOLDEN AGE — Aryabhata 476-550 CE, decimal place value with zero as a numeral, π estimation, foundational positional algebra — refusing the Eurocentric chronology that calls the SAME century 'the Dark Ages' G6
- Analyze Han Dynasty China (206 BCE - 220 CE) — Qin antecedent under Shi Huangdi (221-206 BCE), Han imperial bureaucracy + Confucian state ideology under Wu of Han, scholar-official system precursor to imperial examinations, Sima Qian's Shiji historiography, Ban Gu and Ban Zhao Han Shu — per Mark Edward Lewis 2007 and Michael Loewe scholarship G6
- Analyze Han Dynasty innovations and the origins of the Silk Road via Zhang Qian's expeditions 138-115 BCE — paper, seismoscope, wheelbarrow, magnetic-compass precursor, silk loom — and the Silk Road's role in the FIRST documented Eurasian world-system per the Han Shu's account of Da Qin (Rome) G6
- Analyze the Late Roman Empire through Diocletian (r. 284-305 CE) and Constantine the Great (r. 306-337 CE) — Tetrarchy, bureaucratic expansion, the Edict of Milan 313 CE, and the founding of Constantinople 330 CE — per Peter Brown's Late Antiquity framework G6
- Analyze the Mauryan Empire of India (322-185 BCE) and the political-and-moral transformation of Emperor Ashoka the Great (r. c. 268-232 BCE) after the Kalinga War — per Romila Thapar and Nayanjot Lahiri scholarship G6
- Analyze the broader Mesoamerican classical-period civilizations — Olmec antecedent (c. 1200-400 BCE) and Teotihuacan (c. 100 BCE - 650 CE) — independently developed agricultural, mathematical, calendrical, and urban innovations contemporaneous with the Late Roman world G6
- Analyze the Sasanian Persian Empire (224-651 CE) — the LAST of the great pre-Islamic Iranian empires — Shapur I (r. 240-270 CE), Khosrow I Anushiruwan (r. 531-579 CE), Zoroastrian state religion, the Naqsh-e Rostam trilingual inscription, and the Roman-Sasanian world-system — per Touraj Daryaee scholarship G6
- Analyze the Theodosian establishment of Nicene Christianity as Roman state religion 380 CE — Edict of Thessalonica + ban on polytheist sacrifices 391 CE + the death of Hypatia of Alexandria 415 CE — per Ramsay MacMullen and Bart Ehrman scholarship G6
- Synthesize MG-7 6-Question Source Card analyses across 8 classical civilizations — applying Wineburg's 4 questions + NMAI 5th living-descendant move + WHA 6th whose-translations-and-silences move to Diocletian's Edict, Ashoka's Rock Edicts, Aryabhatiya, Sima Qian's Shiji, Ban Zhao's Lessons for Women, Shapur I's Naqsh-e Rostam inscription, Ezana's Stele, Tikal Stela 31, and Justinian's Code G6
- The 'fall of Rome' critically examined — the SIMULTANEITY ARGUMENT — analyzing why the SAME 200-500 CE period was called 'Late' in Roman history but 'Golden Age' in Indian history and 'Classical' in Maya history, with multi-scholar refutation of Gibbon single-cause narrative per Heather / Ward-Perkins / Goffart / Geary (carried from G6-Fall) extended with Cameron / Brown 'Late Antiquity not Dark Ages' framing G6
Assessments (2)
- Summative Endterm week 18 90 min covers 18 skills
- Formative Midterm week 9 60 min covers 6 skills
Standards alignment
Pedagogical anchors
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C3 Inquiry Arc — Dimension 1 (Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries)
Unit-opening compelling question 'Whose classical world? Whose golden age? Whose living descendants?' in Lesson 1 + supporting questions opening each civilization sub-arc in Lessons 3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 19
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C3 Inquiry Arc — Dimension 2 (Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools)
All 22 lessons apply CHR + CIV + CUL + GEO + ECO + HIS strand concepts; the 8-civilization comparative matrix in Lesson 22 is the integrative D2 product across G6-Fall + G6-Spring civilizations
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C3 Inquiry Arc — Dimension 3 (Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence)
MG-7 Ancient-and-Classical 6-Question Source Card (full Wineburg + NMAI-extended living-descendant move + WHA whose-translations-and-silences move) applied in Lessons 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
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C3 Inquiry Arc — Dimension 4 (Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action)
Lesson 22 capstone — bound 44-page Classical World and Late Antiquity Inquiry Exhibit storybook (Foxfire 3-copy distribution: self / school library / one descendant-community partner) + mailed civic-action letter to a UNESCO World Heritage Centre official, museum director, or national antiquities ministry on a contemporary world-heritage issue
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Wineburg Historical Thinking — full 4-move routine (Sourcing, Contextualization, Corroboration, Close Reading)
MG-7 Source Card questions 1-4; applied to Diocletian's Price Edict (Lesson 3), Ashoka's Rock Edicts (Lesson 8), Justinian's Code (Lesson 6), Aryabhatiya (Lesson 9), Maya Stela Long Count (Lesson 18), Han imperial-edict translations (Lesson 13)
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NMAI Essential Understandings — fifth Source-Card move ('Whose living descendants?')
MG-7 Source Card question 5 — extended from Indigenous Nations protocol generalized to ALL studied civilizations including Maya (modern Yucatec/Kʼicheʼ/Qʼeqchiʼ Maya nations ARE today), Aksumite (modern Eritrean/Ethiopian Tigrayan-Habesha communities ARE today), Gupta India (modern Indian communities), Sasanian Persia (modern Iranian/Zoroastrian communities), Late Roman (modern Italian + diaspora-Italian communities), Han (modern Chinese communities)
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World History Association multi-perspective scholarship — sixth Source-Card move ('Whose translations? Whose silences?')
MG-7 Source Card question 6 — Bulletin of the WHA + World History Connected — requires students to identify the translator/editor of every ancient source, and to name at least one perspective MISSING from the source (e.g., the slave perspective on Diocletian's edicts, the dasi/dasa perspective on Ashoka's edicts, the commoner perspective on Justinian's Code)
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Big History Project — David Christian 8-threshold framework adapted for G6
Reinforced from G6-Fall — Thresholds 6-8 (Agriculture, Civilizations, Industry) — G6-Spring lessons 1, 22 contextualize the Classical Period within Threshold 7 (continuation of Civilizations); explicit reference in MG-2 Deep-Time Strip extension showing the SIMULTANEITY argument (200-500 CE was Gupta golden age AND Maya classical AND Aksum AND Sasanian peak — not just 'fall of Rome')
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Document-Based Learning (DBL) — Stanford SHEG history routines
Every lesson 3-21 includes a sourcework block with at least one ancient or classical primary source (translated or in transliteration); 6 source types catalogued in MG-7 (law code / inscribed edict / monumental architecture / numismatic / literary text / archaeological artifact)
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Lemov Teach Like a Champion 3.0 — Cold Call + No Opt Out + Format Matters + Show Call
Every direct_instruction block includes a Cold Call check_for_understanding routine; No Opt Out applied when students say 'I don't know' on source-card questions; Show Call gallery routine for source-card written responses in Lessons 6, 11, 18, 21
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Peter Brown / Averil Cameron — Late Antiquity as continuity-and-transformation period (not 'fall')
PRIMARY anchor at G6-Spring — Lesson 5 (Diocletian + Constantine), Lesson 6 (Justinian / Byzantine), Lesson 21 (Fall of Western Empire re-examined) all explicitly refuse Gibbon single-cause and frame 200-500 CE as Brown/Cameron Late Antiquity — same period was Indian Mathematical Golden Age, Maya Classical, Aksum florescence
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World History Association multi-perspective protocol — refusing Eurocentric chronology
Compelling question 'Whose golden age?' returned to in EVERY lesson; explicit refusal of 'Dark Ages' / 'Fall of Rome' single-narrative framing in Lessons 1, 5, 9, 18, 21, 22; SIMULTANEOUS-CIVILIZATIONS Matrix MG-19 places 200-500 CE Maya/Gupta/Aksum/Sasanian/Late-Rome/Han/Byzantine on one timeline
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AP World History Themes — adapted for G6 (Humans and the Environment / Cultural Developments and Interactions / Governance / Economic Systems / Social Interactions and Organization / Technology and Innovation)
Each civilization sub-arc analyzed across the 6 AP World themes; MG-5 Comparative Matrix uses the AP themes as columns; capstone exhibit organized by theme
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Tribal-sovereignty present-tense protocol — generalized as Living-Descendant Promise MG-8 to all civilizations studied
Carries forward from G6-Fall; modern Italian + Iranian + Indian + Chinese + Eritrean/Ethiopian + Sudanese + Maya (Yucatec/Kʼicheʼ/Qʼeqchiʼ/Tzeltal/Tzotzil and dozens of other living Maya peoples) ARE today; refuses 'lost civilizations' framing where descendant communities exist; Maya specifically taught with explicit refusal of 'vanished/collapsed' single-narrative framing
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Trauma-informed pedagogy (Bath / SAMHSA / Adichie 'Danger of a Single Story')
MG-15 trauma-informed protocol MANDATORY for Lessons 4 (Diocletian's Christian persecution and post-Constantinian counter-persecution of polytheists), 7 (Justinian's Plague 541-549 CE death-toll content), 10 (Indian caste-system origin honest treatment), 15 (Han Dynasty corvée labor + slavery), 19 (Bantu-migration displacement narratives) — 48-hour caregiver letter + counselor co-presence option + opt-out + Humanity-FIRST + Resilience-FIRST opening + Compassion Circle close
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Place-Based Education (Sobel) extended to world-heritage stewardship
Every civilization unit ties to a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Tikal Maya / Aksum Ethiopia / Mahabalipuram + Sanchi India / Persepolis-and-Pasargadae Iran / Mogao Caves China / Ravenna Italy / Hagia Sophia Istanbul / Calakmul Mexico); capstone civic-action letter targets ONE such site's contemporary preservation/repatriation/funding issue
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Foxfire student-as-historian + 3-copy distribution methodology
Capstone Lesson 22 — 44-page bound Classical World and Late Antiquity Inquiry Exhibit storybook in 3 copies (self + school library + one descendant-community partner: Maya Cultural Council / Ethiopian Embassy Cultural Office / Sanchi Stupa Management / Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization educator network / Italian Ministry of Culture educator office / Han-China educator network via Confucius Institutes academic resources only) + mailed civic-action letter
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Banks Multicultural Education — Level 3-4 (Transformation and Social Action) for G6
Maya, Aksumite, Gupta, Sasanian, Han, Byzantine, Late Roman content presented in Level-4 own-voice-centered transformation framework; refuses additive 'world cultures sampler' Level-1 framing; civic-action letter is Level-4 Social Action move
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Graham & Perin Writing Next — argument-from-evidence in history (Toulmin-Lite C-E-W structure)
All source-card written responses use Claim-Evidence-Warrant; multi-scholar fall-of-Rome essay in Lesson 21 uses concession-pivot-refutation move from G6-Fall English
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UDL (Universal Design for Learning) — 3 networks (Engagement / Representation / Action & Expression)
Every lesson lists scaffolds for EL students + IEP/504 accommodations + extensions; primary-source translations available in EN + transliteration + audio reading for all ancient/classical sources; MG-7 Source Card available in scaffolded short-form for students still building source-analysis stamina
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Responsive Classroom — Morning Meeting + Hopes & Dreams + classroom contract
Three Promises (MG-8 Living-Descendant + MG-9 Humanity-FIRST + MG-10 Resilience-FIRST) recited daily as Responsive Classroom Morning Meeting opening throughout the term; explicit non-coerced opt-out for any individual student on any single day
Depth bar
Grade-6 expectations on SIX dimensions per task constraints —
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01
refuses the Eurocentric 'Dark Ages' / 'Fall of Rome' single-narrative frame in favor of the World History Association multi-perspective protocol naming the SAME 200-500 CE century as the Gupta Mathematical Golden Age (decimal place value, zero as a numeral via Aryabhata 499 CE, Brahmagupta 628 CE successor) and the Classical Maya florescence (Long Count, Tikal Stela 31, Palenque, Calakmul) and the rise of Aksum (Ezana stele c. 350 CE Christianization);
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02
applies a full Wineburg 4-question + NMAI 5th living-descendant move + WHA 6th whose-translations-and-silences move via MG-7 Source Card to ancient Sasanian, Maya, and Han sources typically reserved for Grades 8-12;
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03
names scholars from descendant cultures for EVERY civilization studied (Daryaee for Sasanian Persia, Thapar/Lahiri for India, Stuart/Coe/Martin for Maya, Lewis/Loewe for Han, Ehret/Connah for sub-Saharan, Cameron/Brown for Late Antiquity);
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04
introduces Late Antiquity as a Brown/Cameron-defined PERIOD of continuity-and-transformation (not 'fall') and the Byzantine Empire as the Eastern Roman continuation (not as 'Greek successor');
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05
capstone Foxfire 3-copy distribution Classical World and Late Antiquity Inquiry Exhibit storybook + civic-action letter on a contemporary world-heritage issue at typically Grade 8-10 depth;
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06
integrates the Indian mathematical-innovation thread (decimal place value, zero, Aryabhatiya 499 CE) cross-curricular with Math G6-Spring expressions and equations as the unit's argument that Eurocentric chronology hides the Indian Mathematical Golden Age