Oklahoma Social Studies AWH.C.7.9
The Standard
Describe the Sack of Rome, fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the establishment of Germanic kingdoms (e.g., Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Franks, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms).
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students describe the sacks of Rome in 410 and 455 and the end of western imperial rule in 476. They locate Germanic kingdoms on a map and explain that the Eastern Roman Empire continued.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can name the Visigoths as the group that sacked Rome in 410 and the Vandals as the group that sacked it in 455. They can place the Ostrogoths in Italy, Visigoths in Iberia, Vandals in North Africa, Franks in Gaul, and Anglo-Saxons in Britain.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think the sack in 410 ended the entire Roman Empire. They may also treat Germanic groups as one army or assume Roman life vanished overnight.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Name what happened in 410, 455, and 476, then label the Franks and Vandals on a blank map.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a blank map and cards to place Visigoths in Iberia, Franks in Gaul, Vandals in North Africa, and Ostrogoths in Italy.
Ask students to write two sentences explaining why Rome's sack in 410 did not end the Western Roman Empire that year.
Run a card sort matching 410, 455, and 476 to the Visigoth sack, Vandal sack, and removal of the western emperor.
Hand out modern and historical maps; have students identify present-day countries that include former Frankish, Visigothic, and Vandal territory.
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Related Standards
- AWH.C.10.3.B
partial disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire and the rise of independent city-states in Italy and Germany
- AWH.C.9.5
Analyze the Latin West following the fall of the Roman Empire.
- AWH.C.9.5.B
Describe the rise of Frankish kings, including the roles of Charles Martel and Charlemagne, and the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire.
- AWH.C.9.5.C
Trace the rise of Anglo-Saxon England, the Danish invasions, and the influence of Alfred the Great.
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