Materials

• A large wall or floor map of the world
• Dry-erase markers
• Map handout of ancient Rome (Attachment A)
• Map handout of present-day Rome (Attachment B)
• Crayons or colored pencils
• 9" x 12" pieces of colored construction paper (1 per student)

Instructional Activities

1. As a review, have students locate the seven continents and four oceans, the United States’ lakes and mountain ranges, Egypt, the Nile River, China, Greece, and the Mediterranean Sea on a map.
   
   
2. Use a large wall or floor map of the world, and have students locate the continent of Europe, the country of Italy, and the city of present-day Rome. If you have a laminated or dry-erase map, students may circle these with a dry-erase marker. Explain to the students that Rome today is actually a city in Italy located on the continent of Europe. That city is also next to a river called the Tiber River. However, ancient Rome (long ago) was a country (and empire) that encompassed a lot of land around the Mediterranean Sea. The ancient Roman Empire was actually located on three continents—Europe, Africa, Asia.
   
   
3. Give students the map of ancient Rome. Have them color in the land area of ancient Rome (Attachment A) with a brown or green crayon (representing land) and the Mediterranean Sea with a blue crayon (representing water). Have the students color in present-day Rome on the present-day Rome map (Attachment B) and compare the two land areas.
   
   
4. Have students begin making a review booklet of ancient Rome by designing a cover out of construction paper and placing the map of ancient Rome as page one. Have students save the booklet as a study guide for their test.