The Rise of Christianity: The First Christians

Students learn about the life and death of Jesus and the historical spread of Christianity, including the missionary work of St. Paul. Map study and a timeline ground their learning in chronology and geography as they explain the successful spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire. Finally, they interpret well-known universal sayings of Jesus.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.

Here are the teacher pack items for The Rise of Christianity: The First Christians:

Lesson Planning Ideas: The World’s Religions
Suggestions on handling discussions about religion in a classroom setting
Attributions

Engage

Overview

In this experience, students learn about the life and death of Jesus and the historical spread of Christianity, including the missionary work of St. Paul. Map study and a timeline ground their learning in chronology and geography as they explain the successful spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire. Finally, they interpret well-known universal sayings of Jesus.

Objectives

Describe the origin, beliefs, traditions and customs of Christianity.
Identify key figures in early Christianity.
Describe the social and political impact of the Christian Church.
Explain the significance of the Church in the late Roman Empire.

In this experience, you will learn about the birth and early growth of a religion that has been important for more than 2,000 years: Christianity.

Objectives

Describe the origin, beliefs, traditions and customs of Christianity.
Identify key figures in early Christianity.
Describe the social and political impact of the Christian Church.
Explain the significance of the Church in the late Roman Empire.

Many photos and paintings of famous Christians

Photos of Christian Culture and Christian Leaders

What words and phrases come to mind when you think of the word Christianity?

Write words or brief phrases about Christianity. They might include Christian customs, Christian holidays, and famous Christians. To post more than one, separate them with commas, like this: Rome, Paris

Post your answer

Discuss student responses, which will probably cover a wide range. Words for the cloud might include, but are not limited to, Jesus, St. Paul, St. Peter, pope, Bible, church, Christmas, and Easter.

Invite students to briefly describe the meanings of words they posted.

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.

The Complete List of Learning Experiences in Ancient Rome Unit.