PROJECT GRAPHIC ORGANIZER & Research Paper -- SPARTACUS EXAMPLE
A) What is the question I want to answer?
In what ways is the movie SPARTACUS historically accurate and inaccurate?
B) What information do I need in order to do this?
1) Spartacus is born a slave and worked in salt mines (inaccurate)
2) Spartacus was sent to a gladiator school and received training in fighting with many different kinds of weapons (accurate)
3) Spartacus led a slave revolt in the gladiator school (accurate)
4) Spartacus formed an army of gladiators and slaves (accurate)
5) the Roman government was split between leaders who supported the patricians and the army and wanted and leaders who supported the plebeians and the republic (accurate)
6) Spartacus made a deal with eastern pirates to rent 500 ships to get the slaves out of Italy (accurate)
7) Spartacus got weapons, and raised money, by raiding Roman towns and farms (accurate)
8) the first Roman army sent to fight Spartacus was defeated when he surprised them with a night attack, and Spartacus took only one prisoner, killing most of the Roman soldiers (accurate)
9) Spartacus fell in love with a slave girl named Varinia and had a son (inaccurate or unknown)
10) Some Romans wanted to let the slaves leave Italy because of all the damage they were doing, but others wanted to smash the slave army (inaccurate or unknown)
11) Spartacus is defeated by three Roman armies in his last battle, even though as usual he fought with tactics the Romans did not expect (partly accurate and partly inaccurate)
12) after the slave army defeat, Spartacus and 6,000 slaves were crucified, but his wife and son escaped. (partly accurate and partly inaccurate or unknown)
STEP #2: RESEARCH PAPER
(introductory paragraphs and two sample supporting paragraphs, using the movie SPARTACUS):
Introductory paragraph and thesis statement:
The 1963 movie “Spartacus” portrays a slave revolt against
the Roman Republic in 72 B.C. and the role the revolt had in
pushing Rome on the road to the end of its republican form of
government. It follows the gladiator Spartacus as he is trained
to become a gladiator, leads a revolt, forms an army and,
finally, meets his death after defeat by Roman forces. The film
also details the struggle in the Roman Senate between those
favoring more power for the common people in Rome and
those seeking a more centralized government to protect the
security of Rome. The movie SPARTACUS is historically
accurate in some ways, inaccurate at times, and at
times makes educated guesses.
Supporting paragraph 1:
The movie opens with Spartacus as a young man toiling in
the salt mines of North Africa, a brutal existence. It explains
that he had been born a slave and that his life might have
ended in the salt mines had he not been purchased by the
owner of a gladiator school and transported to Italy to be
trained to fight as a gladiator. In fact, the evidence indicates
that Spartacus had been born a free man, and may
have actually served in the Roman army before, for unknown
reasons, being enslaved and trained as a gladiator. There is no
evidence that he had worked in the salt mines of North Africa.
Supporting paragraph 2:
A considerable amount of time is spent in the film detailing
Spartacus’ training as a gladiator. It shows him being taught
to fight with a variety of weapons, such as the Roman gladius
(short sword) and the trident. Historical research indicates
that the film was quite accurate in this regard, as gladiator
contests were meant to simulate real battles for the
amusement of Roman audiences, and training in several
styles of fighting was part of the process.