Idaho Social Studies 9-12.WC.12
The Standard
Describe the causes and consequences of the establishment of the Roman Empire by the Julio-Claudians, including, but not limited to the role of Augustus Caesar.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Ancient Rome (c. 500 BC – 500 AD)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how civil wars helped Augustus gain power and establish rule by an emperor. They describe what changed for the Senate, the army, and the succession of rulers under the Julio-Claudians.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can connect Caesar's assassination and Augustus's victory at Actium to the end of the republic. They can explain that the Senate remained, but Augustus held the real power, and later emperors inherited his position.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may call Julius Caesar the first emperor or assume Augustus abolished the Senate. They may also think the empire began on one day, rather than through years of war and political change.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to write three linked sentences: What helped Augustus gain power? What changed in Rome's government? What happened when Tiberius succeeded him?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Cut and sort event cards for Caesar's assassination, Actium, Augustus's new powers, and Tiberius's succession into a cause-and-effect chain.
Ask students to write a senator's response to Augustus: Why accept his rule after years of civil war?
Play cause-or-consequence: teams sort cards labeled 'civil war,' 'army loyalty,' and 'Senate loses influence,' then defend their choices.
Use a local government chart to compare a mayor's powers with a city council's, then contrast that split with Augustus and the Senate.
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