Lesson Plan 1: Byzantine Empire

Subject: World History & Geography to 1500

Grade: 9th

VA S.O.L. (s): The student will demonstrate knowledge of the Byzantine Empire and Russia from
about 300 to 1000 A.D. (C.E.) by
a) Explaining the establishment of Constantinople as the capital of the Eastern Roman
Empire
b) Identifying Justinian and his contributions, including the codification of Roman law, and
describing the expansion of the Byzantine Empire and economy.
d) explaining disputes that led to the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the
Greek Orthodox Church.

Instructional Goals & Key Concepts

● The students will be be able to explain how the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire was
changed to Constantinople to provide political, economic, and military advantages.
● Students will be able to identify the contributions of the Byzantine Empire.
● Students will be able to explain the division between the Western and Eastern Churches.

Essential Questions:
● Why was Constantinople established as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire?
● What was the influence of Justinian’s codification of Roman law on the Byzantine Empire
and later legal codes?
● What was Justinian’s influence on the expansion of the Byzantine Empire and its economy?
● What factors produced the division within the Christian Church?

Lesson:
1. Bellringer (5 minutes-10 minutes)
a. Country Research Project - Turkey
i. Students will research different aspects of modern day Turkey including fun
facts about Istanbul. This gives student the perspective of change throughout
history.
2. Review Byzantine Mini-Walkthru (5-10 minutes)
a. Review and introduction to the Byzantine Empire that students completed the day
before.
3. Watch a short “Istanbul not Constantinople” video Tiny Tunes (3 minutes)
a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqJXxHi6RwQ
4. Byzantine Empire Prezi (15-20 minutes)
a. During this presentation, students will be given guided notes.
5. Hagia Sophia short video (5 min 30 seconds)
 a. This video will reemphasize the importance of the Hagia Sophia and how it has
changed over time.
b. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRPp3jzv1Tw
6. Report Card Activity or Top Ten Accomplishments Activity (25 minutes)
a. Students will have the option to complete a Report Card Activity or a Top Ten
Accomplishments Activity.
i. Report Card Activity - Students will be given the opportunity to grade
Emperor Justinian or Empress Theodora in four different subject areas such
as Government, Military, Art & Architecture, etc. The students will have to
research online and find historical facts to support their grade that they give
to the ruler.
ii. Top Ten Activity - Students will have the opportunity to compile a list of 10
achievements of the Byzantine Empire which include people, inventions,
events, and/or ideas. Students will rank them from the most important to
the least important. They will research the top ten achievements and
support why they made the top ten list.
 Top Ten

Your Task: Create a list contributions and achievements from the Byzantine Civilization and then rank
them.

Instructions:
1.​ ​Create a list of 10 achievements, people, inventions, events and/or ideas from a civilization.
2.​ ​Rewrite your list in order of importance with your top item being the most important down to
ten being the least important.
3.​ ​For each item write one sentence explaining why you ranked it where you did. (That would be
10 total sentences.) These can either be part of your ranking list or in a separate section at the
bottom of your list.

Example