The Romans used the first version of the modern western alphabet.
Subject Areas
Art and Culture
Archaeology
Visual Arts
Foreign Language
Greek
Latin
Other
History and Social Studies
World History - Ancient World
Literature and Language Arts
World
Time Required
Phoenician Lesson: 3 class periods, four class periods if both activities are used. Greek Lesson: 4 class periods; 5 or more periods if the extension activity is used. Roman lesson: 3 class periods Capstone Lesson: 2 class periods, three or more class periods if both activities are used.
The Romans developed the alphabet we still use today. In this lesson we will introduce
the Romans and ask how their alphabet got to us.
Guiding Questions:
Who were the Romans and where did they live?
Who uses the alphabet they developed?
Can we recognize all the letters the Romans used?
What are some reasons the Romans were important?
Learning Objectives:
After completing this lesson the students will be able to:
Show that the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans lived in the Mediterranean
area.
Say that the Romans had a big empire in this area.
Give some reasons why the alphabet was important for the Romans.
Say that the Romans developed the alphabet they are learning in school.
The alphabet the Romans developed
is everywhere in your classroom. Be sure to refer to upper case letters when
you show the connections between the previous alphabets and our alphabet. (Lower
case forms are a later invention.)
Be sure to have a large map of the Roman
Empire visible as you talk. This is exactly the same geographical area as
you have been showing in your last two lessons, but now all of it in is the
Roman Empire.
Historical Introduction
The Romans started out living in a city, just like the Greeks and Phoenicians.
But instead of staying separated from other cities, they extended their citizenship
to their neighbors and joined with them to make a league of cities in Italy. This
league became very powerful, and after winning many wars the Romans acquired the
large empire you see on the map. As you can see, both Greece and Phoenicia became
parts
of this empire.
But the Romans learned the Greek alphabet even before they acquired their
empire. They inherited not only the alphabet, but also many other cultural habits
and institutions from the Greeks, and in particular they adopted the Greek idea
of writing lots of books. The Romans wrote poems, speeches, plays, histories,
books of science, and books of thoughts about the world, all in Latin. From
the Romans we possess many interesting letters, handbooks on building and farming,
and descriptions of famous events, such as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in
79 AD.
The Romans needed the alphabet in order to administrate their large empire.
They wrote many laws and decrees, and sent letters to every corner of Europe,
Africa and the Near East. Since the Romans passed their language to the next
generations, the laws and literature of the Middle Ages were also written in
Latin. Latin was the language of government, learning, poetry, and science for
nearly 2,000 years, and because of this it had a very strong influence on the
languages that developed in modern times. Students can see this influence in
your classroom when they look at their books, because when they do that they
are seeing the letters the Romans invented.
Two Activities based on the Roman Alphabet:
Roman Alphabet Activity:
Show the Phoenician, Greek, and
Roman Alphabet page. Ask your students to look at the Roman alphabet on the
Phoenician, Greek and Roman alphabet page . Then ask them to say the English alphabet
out loud. What differences between the Roman alphabet and their alphabet can they
notice?
Most students will be able to notice that some letters are missing. The main
difference between the Roman alphabet and our alphabet is that in the old Roman
alphabet C and G were not distinguished, and neither were I
and J, and neither were U, V and W. So in other words, your
students won't see G, J, U or W in this alphabet. For all
practical purposes, the Roman alphabet is our alphabet, and it is about 2,500
years old.
Looking at Latin Activity:
Here is a Roman mosaic you can look at with your students,
who will be able to see that they know all the letters in the words and can even
learn to understand them.
Show them the Cave
Canem Mosaic. Great! Ask your students if they think the Roman dog looks
modern and realistic. Point out that the doggy is 2,000 years old! Tell them
that the first word, the word cave (pronounced cahway),
means "beware", or "be careful of". The second word, the word canem
(pronounced cahnem) is a form of the word that means dog. Perhaps some
of your students know the English adjective "canine" that comes from this same
Latin word for dog. So "Cave Canem" means "Beware of the Dog". Congratulate
your students on learning some Latin words. Point out that they know all the
letters, and so could start learning Latin any time: they wouldn't need to learn
a new alphabet, even though the words are so old.
Assessment
At the conclusions of the lesson, ask your students to show you the Roman Empire
on the map, and to show the areas of Greece and Phoenicia within it. They should
be able to explain some of the ways in which the Romans used the alphabet. Ask
them to tell you what language the Romans wrote with their alphabet (Latin).
Ask them if there are important differences between the Roman alphabet and our
alphabet. Perhaps they can remember some of the letters that were contributed
somewhat later on (G, J, and W).
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