Summary: The Letters Of Sidonius

The Utilization of The Letters of Sidonius in a Secondary Classroom

Ninth grade tackles global history in the world of secondary education. Early in the year students are asked to examine the characteristics of the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras as well as more complex societies and civilizations like Mesopotamia. As the school year surges on, students and teachers happen upon the rise and fall of the Roman Empire in the third unit of the New York State Common Core entitled 9.3 Classical Civilizations: Expansion, Achievement, Decline. Along with its study of the Roman Empire, this unit also dives into Greek and Mayan civilizations. Unit 9.3 harps on the geographical factors that either hindered or encouraged expansion, the systems of beliefs, laws, government and social hierarchy, cultural achievements, as well as the conflicts endured by all three civilizations. With the pace of a high school curriculum and the richness of all of these topics it would be extraordinarily difficult to balance
The letters of Sidonius Apollinarius would serve as a consistent reference tool that can be referred to throughout the entirety of the unit: during the introduction to the Roman Empire, a description of the average Roman Senator’s life, as well as the