Competing to Build the Greatest Ancient Empire
Grade 6 · History · 45 minutes
Objective
Students will analyze the characteristics of successful ancient civilizations by comparing their achievements and challenges.
Materials
- chart paper
- markers
- index cards
- tape
- rulers
- colored pencils
Hook
Teams receive mystery clues about different ancient empires written on index cards. They must guess which civilization they represent based on achievements like pyramids, roads, or writing systems.
Main Activity
Teams compete in the Empire Building Challenge where each group designs their own ancient civilization on chart paper. They must include government, religion, technology, trade, and military sections with drawings and explanations. Teams earn points by presenting each section to judges (other teams) who score them on creativity and historical accuracy. Bonus points are awarded for explaining how their civilization would handle common ancient problems like food shortages, invasions, or natural disasters. The empire with the most points wins the Ancient World Championship.
Discussion Questions
- What made some ancient civilizations more successful than others?
- How did geography affect the development of different empires?
- Which ancient civilization achievement do you think was most important and why?
- What challenges did all ancient civilizations face regardless of their location?
- How do the problems ancient civilizations faced compare to challenges countries have today?
Exit Ticket
Write three characteristics your ideal ancient civilization would need to survive for 500 years.
Differentiation
Support: Provide sentence starters and a checklist of required civilization components with visual examples for each section.
Extension: Challenge students to research and add a timeline showing how their civilization would evolve over 300 years, including major events and changes.
