Byzantine Empire Lesson Plans

Students review the "Byzantine Map Practice" handout (included with the lesson). They discuss notes on the growth and expansion of the Byzantine Empire. Students summarize the differences between the Byzantine and Western European Christian churches. They write paragraphs summarizing the differences between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church.

Students study idol worship in the Byzantine Empire and the separation it cause between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. In this Byzantine Empire lesson, students study pictograph transparencies and take a pop quiz over them. Students discuss the eight century Byzantine Empire. Students create their own pictographs.

Eighth graders describe, analyze, and evaluate the history of the Byzantine Empire and Russia from about 300 to 1000 A.D. They emphasis the preservation of Greek and Roman traditions. Students analyze the Byzantine art and architecture.

Students investigate the role of the Byzantine Empire in Russian History by conducting research from a variety of internet resources. They find a picture of the Hagia Sophia and sketch it according to its realism and identify its architectural features.

Ninth graders understand the state of the world around the year 1000 AD as it pertains to the Byzantine Empire. They analyze and discuss the characteristics of the Byzantine Empire.

Students investigate the concept of the Byzantine Empire by preparing them for an assessment. The lesson includes a review strategy that includes the use of charts and class notes. A differentiation of the lesson includes the option of students keeping their own glossary.

Students study icon worship as one source of division between the early Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of the Byzantine Empire. They discuss where the class presents diverse points of view regarding symbolic nature.

Students identify the worship of icons as a division between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. In this instructional activity on the Byzantine Empire, the teacher provides a simulation showing a basic division in students. The teacher connects this experience to the concept that some people worshiped idols and others did not causing a division in the Byzantine Empire.

Students review prior learning of the western Roman Empire. They discuss the site of Constantinople and its situation. Students complete a handout "Byzantine Map Practice." Students tell two reasons Constantinople was an ideal location for a capital.

Young scholars view a display of the classnotes from a previous session and discuss prior learning. Students analyze the information about the Byzantine contributions. Young scholars create a mosaic. They complete a teacher selected reading or other reinforcement activity.