LESSON 1: Geography Ancient Greece

Academic Standard:

V. GEOGRAPHY

B. Maps and Globes: The student will use maps and globes to demonstrate specific and increasingly complex geographic knowledge.

1. Students will use political and thematic maps to locate major physical and cultural regions of the world and ancient civilizations studied.

a. Locate continents and oceans, use legends to decode symbols, use map scale to measure distances, understand elevation and relief, locate places using latitude and longitude

Prior Knowledge:

- Students should know the cardinal directions and the names of major continents as a reference for the lesson.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- The students will locate various city-states, oceans, and seas from ancient Greece and compose a map on bulletin board with these places.

Materials:

- Bulletin Board with enlarged blank outline of Greece and neighboring seas and other lands.

- Paper slips with places written on them (Greece, Athens, Sparta, Olympia, Troy, Persia,

Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea)

- Stapler

- Google Earth Latitude/Longitude Finder

- Computers

Anticipatory Set:

a.“Good Morning! I want you all to take a look at our new bulletin board. I have put up there a large picture of an area on earth. I have not filled in any names for anything, but can anyone take a guess at where this is?”

- Allow time for students to answer

b.“Well I am not going to tell you because today we are going to use a pretty cool tool to find out a major city on this map that will hopefully lead you to where on Earth this place is. We are going to use Google Earth and the map features of latitude and longitude to figure it out!”

Procedure:

a.“How many of you have heard of latitude and longitude? What is latitude and longitude?”

- Answer: Latitude are the lines on the globe that run horizontally. Longitude are lines that run vertically.

b.“If latitude are lines that run horizontally and you can remember latitude like ‘ladder-tude’ because they look like rungs of a ladder. What is the most well known line of latitude?”

- Answer: The Equator

c.“Great! Latitude and longitude are said in degrees followed by minutes then seconds. Since the Equator divides the Earth into North and South, it sits at 0°. What is the most famous line of longitude?”

- Answer: The Prime Meridian

d.“The Prime Meridian is 0° longitude and divides Earth into west and east. The Prime Meridian runs through Greenwich, England and this was determined in an international conference in 1884”

e.“As said before, lines of latitude and longitude are divided into degrees, minutes, and seconds. We are going to use a tool on Google Earth to type in latitude and longitude to find places to label on our map. Let’s go to the website: http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html. Once there, you can play around with the map for a little bit by dragging the map to location you want, zooming in, and then placing a marker and double clicking to find the latitude and longitude lines.”

- Allow students few minutes to explore the Google Earth map

f.“Okay, attention back up front. If you scroll down on the website, you notice there are places to type in certain latitude/longitude lines and it will take you to that place. It’s not time to see what part of the Earth we are going to be studying. In the bottom left box, I want you to use 37°59’N and 23°44’E. What major city is located on or near this coordinate? Once you hit find, you may need to zoom out a few times to see the city names”

- Students should type in coordinates and see that its on or near present day Athina, Greece.

g.“Great work! The city Athina is the correct location. If you zoom out some more, what country is Athina in?”

- Answer: Greece

h.“Awesome! Athina is in Greece and Greece is the place on our bulletin board. There is one catch though. Athina is what the city is called today, but in the time period we are going to study, it was called Athens! We are going to learn about ancient Greece and all the amazing things that happened. But first, we have some important places to fill in on our map. We already know where Athens is, so can someone go and staple the name Athens in the correct spot on the map please.”

- Student should look at the Google Earth image and staple Athens onto the map in a fairly accurate position.

i.“Now that your computers are still up, I want you to get in small groups and each group will be given a place to label on the map.”

- Make enough groups so that the following places can be located and stapled on map: Sparta, Olympia, Troy, Mount Olympus, Persia, Aegean Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.

Closure:

a.“You all did a great job putting together our map today and you even learned something about latitude and longitude. We will continue to add to our map as we take our journey through ancient Greece. Keep in mind that some of the places have different names or may not even exist today, but they were very real many years ago.”

b.“Next class, I hope you are ready to take a ride as we will be visiting and learning little bit about a few of the places of ancient Greece.”

Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed by answering questions throughout the lesson.

- Students will be assessed as they locate and staple their groups location on the bulletin board.

Resources:

- Google Earth website: http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html

- General Information on Latitude and Longitude found at: http://geography.about.com/cs/latitudelongitude/a/latlong.htm

Accommodations:

- If there is a special needs student who may not be able to navigate the Google Earth website, they should work with a partner to help them.

Modifications:

- If some students already know what country is on the bulletin board, have another latitude and longitude coordinate for them to locate that can still be found on the bulletin board.

Extension:

- Students can write down Google Earth website used in class and find the latitude and longitude of the other locations on the bulletin board.

Self Reflection:

- Was there enough time for everything?

- Was the concept of latitude and longitude described well enough?

- Was Google Earth easy for students to navigate?

LESSON 2: Trip to Sparta

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

C. Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC - 600 ADThe student will describe classical civilizations in Europe and the West.

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics, and philosophy.

a. Architecture, sculpture, myths, dramas; free/slave labor; Greek democracy; religion and mythology

Prior Knowledge:

- Students should know the difference between BC and AD.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- Students will complete a vacation itinerary (study guide) on Sparta.

- Students compose a flag that represents Athens.

Materials:

- PowerPoint

- Trip Itinerary (Study Guide)

- Paper

- Markers

Anticipatory Set:

(Prior to class, desks should be arranged to look like inside of an airplane)

a.“Good morning! You are all just in time to board the flight to ancient Greece. Our final destination is Athens, but we have a few transfer flights along the way in Sparta and Troy.”

b.“Here is a brief vacation itinerary for you to fill out as we take our trip. So everyone take your seats and buckle up as we head for our first stop, Troy.”

Procedure:

a.(Begin PowerPoint) “Our first stop is the city of Sparta. Can anyone tell me what they know about ancient Sparta?” (Slide 2)

- Allow students to discuss what they may know about Sparta.

b.“Today we are going to get a brief look into some aspects of Sparta’s culture in ancient Greece. The first thing we need to talk about is Spartan government (Slide 3). The government consisted of 2 kings who sort of kept each other in line and not get too powerful, then below them were cabinet of 5 ‘ephors’ who looked over the laws and customs. Then there were the elders that consisted of 30 men over 60 and acted as a legislative branch meaning they vote on and pass new laws.”

c.(Slide 4) “Sparta had 3 main classes: upper, middle, and lower. The upper class were the people in government and military, middle class was called ‘Perioikoi’ which were people of neighboring cities that are free but do not have same rights as actual citizens, and the lower class called ‘helots’ are the slaves acquired through battles.”

d.“(Slide 5) Next, the most important part of Spartan culture was military. Throughout history, the Spartans will be involved in many battles and they took pride in their warriors and fighting skills. This directly affected the way boys and girls are raised in Spartan culture. (Slide 6)”

e.“Boys are inspected at birth and left to die if too weak. At age 7 they leave home and go to school to train to be best warrior. They endure very harsh treatment all to ensure they will be good enough. They are taught some reading and writing skills but main focus on military skills.”

f.“Girls go through a similar process that is a little less harsh. They too learn combat skills but also do gymnastics and other athletics to keep their bodies in top shape for their main objective is to give birth to boys who will be good warriors. Girls in Spartan culture did have more rights than other city-states at the time. More respect given to them. How would you have liked to be a boy or girl in Sparta?”

- Allow time for students to discuss their answers

g.(Slide 7) The final aspect of Sparta we are going to look at is art and architecture. Many people are unfamiliar with Spartan art and architecture because of the strong emphasis on war, but they had a few monuments and temples that were important to them because they worshipped many gods, and poetry, music, and dance were also very important.”

h.“We have all this information on Sparta and in most places around the world a city or country has its own flag to symbolize what the city or country is all about. Taking the information you learned today and that you put on your itinerary, I want you to draw and color what you think the Spartan flag would look like. Please make it appropriate so no blood. This map and other projects and assignments in later lessons will all be put together in a final Ancient Greece portfolio that you will turn in on last day.”

- Students should use the remaining time to make a flag they think best suits ancient Sparta.

- Students should then share their flags and turn them in so they can be hung up in the room. They will be later added to students portfolio.

Closure:

a.“We are running out of time for today, so it looks like you are going to have to stay in Sparta for the night. I just took you on a brief tour of Spartan culture, but since you are staying the night here, why don’t you tour something from ancient Sparta on your own and come back next class and share what you found.”

b.“Keep in mind, that when you are looking up things about Sparta, that some of the stories you read are myths but others are actual parts of history. I can’t wait to hear what else you find in Sparta for next class. Then we will leave Sparta and head to Athens!”

Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed by answering questions from the study guide.

- Students should hand in their flag they designed for Sparta.

Resources:

- Information on Sparta: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GREECE/SPARTA.HTM

- Pictures found on Google Images

Accommodations:

- If there is a blind student in the classroom, instead of just showing the pictures on the powerpoint, the teacher and/or students should describe what they see in detail and possibly use other senses to get that student involved.

Modifications:

- For special needs students, have a word bank for the study guide so that students know to look for certain words in PowerPoint to fill in blanks.

Extension Activity:

- Students can research and bring back one more piece of information not discussed in class about Sparta to share with the class.

Self Reflection:

- Did students like the airplane idea?

- Was more information needed for them in order to create good flag?

LESSON 3: Trip to Athens

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

C. Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC - 600 ADThe student will describe classical civilizations in Europe and the West.

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics, and philosophy.

a. Architecture, sculpture, myths, dramas; free/slave labor; Greek democracy; religion and mythology

Prior Knowledge:

- Students will now have knowledge about ancient Sparta to relate to todays lesson.

Objectives/Learning Goals:

- Students will fill out vacation itinerary (study guide) for Athens.

- Students will compose a flag that represents Athens.

Materials:

- PowerPoint

- Vacation Itinerary (study guide)

- Paper

- Markers

Anticipatory Set:

(Seating should still be in “airplane” format)

a.“Good morning everyone! I’m curious to hear what you have learned either yesterday from class or from some small research last night about Sparta. Can a few people tell me some things they learned?

- Students can either answer with points discussed in last lesson or new information they learned outside of class.

b.“We are now getting ready to head for Athens the capital of Greece. You should notice some similarities and differences between Sparta and Athens as we tour Athens.

(Slide 8)”

c.(Slide 9) “Let’s first take a look at the government. Athens was one of the first places to have a democracy. Democracy is when the people have the power to vote and make decisions, much like our government here in the United States today. Unlike today, only male citizens could vote in Athens and this did not include slaves.”

d.“Military was not as important in Athens. In Athens, the main focus of education was to increase ones intellectual ability. This is why many great historical contributions in science, math, and architecture came from ancient Greece. However, men were required to serve 2 years in the military.”

e.(Slide 10) “I did not mention religion when we visited Sparta, but they followed the same religious practices that Athens did which is called Polytheism. This means that they worshipped many gods some of which you may have heard of like Zeus, Apollo, and Athena. The Parthenon is a religious temple in Athens to honor the goddess Athena. If you look at the Parthenon, what do you notice?”

- Answers: It is very big. Has a lot of poles. Made of stone.

f.“This brings us to our next stop on tour of Athens which deals with architecture. (Slide 11). Greek architecture is known for its large and elaborate columns. There are three different kinds, all of which changed as the time went on to get more and more artistic. These columns can be seen used in buildings all over the world today.”

g.“Finally, the last stop on the tour of Athens is the theater, the main source of entertainment (Slide 12). As you can see, the theater is somewhat different than our theaters today, but this structure was made for great acoustics meaning you could be sitting way at the top and still hear the plays just fine. The main types of plays included tragedies and comedies which we will learn more about later.”

h.“Just like we did for Sparta last lesson, the city of Athens needs a flag. Using the information you learned today, draw and color a flag for Athens. These will be put in portfolio later.”

- Allow time for students to make a flag and share with the class.

- Flags should be turned in to be hung up in the room with the Sparta flags.

Closure:

a.“As we return home, I want you to share what you learned or filled out on your study guide with the person sitting net to you. Compare answers and even ask each other questions about the similarities and differences between Sparta and Athens.”

- Allow time for students to discuss with a partner

- Students should hang on to study guide to put in portfolio.

b.“What are some similarities and differences you talked about with your partner?”

- Answers could include: different governments, different education, both have same religion, both in Greece, different education and philosophies.

b.“Today we took a trip to ancient Greece and stopped at two very important places so that you could get some background knowledge on Greek culture before we dive into the wars, mythology, and dramas surrounding these cultures.”

Assessment:

- Students will hand in completed study guide to be graded on completion.

- Students will hand in completed Athens flag.

Resources:

Information on Athens: http://www.laconia.org/sparti_h_1.htm

Pictures found on Google Images

Accommodations:

- If there is a blind student in the classroom, instead of just showing the pictures on the powerpoint, the teacher and/or students should describe what they see in detail and possibly use other senses to get that student involved.

Modifications:

- For special needs students, have a word bank for the study guide so that students know to look for certain words in PowerPoint to fill in blanks.

Extension:

- Students can do research outside of class on Athens and share with the class the next day.

- Students can draw or color something that represents ancient Greece to hang up in the room.

Self Reflection:

- Did students take lesson seriously?

- How well did they understand the material?

- What needs to be added?

LESSON 4: Greek Mythology

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

C. Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC - 600 ADThe student will describe classical civilizations in Europe and the West.

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics, and philosophy.

1. Architecture, sculpture, myths, dramas; free/slave labor; Greek democracy; religion and mythology

Prior Knowledge:

- Students should have some knowledge on how to navigate the Internet for research.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- Students will gain knowledge on the Greek hero Hercules to give them background information on Greek mythology.

- Students will research a character from Greek mythology and begin to make a poster for their character.

Materials:

- YouTube clip from Disney’s Hercules

- Computers

- Library

Anticipatory Set:

a.“Good morning! Let’s take a moment to look at this Disney clip. (Show YouTube video of Disney’s Hercules) What movie is this? Who is the movie about?”

- Answer: The movie is Hercules and it is about him.

b.“Hercules or the Greek name Heracles is a Greek/Roman hero. Today we are going to learn a little bit about Greek gods and heros and you all are going to investigate one on your own to present to the class.”

Procedure:

a.“Going back to the clip, Hercules was a hero. Can anyone take a guess as to what the difference between god and hero is?”

- Answer: God is immortal and hero is part man part god.

b.“Hercules was the son of the Greek god Zeus and mortal woman making him not completely immortal. Hera, Zeus’s wife, was angry that he had a child with a mortal woman and wanted to kill Hercules by putting 2 snakes in his crib. The next day, the snakes were found dead because baby Hercules had strangled them. This was the beginning of the tale of Hercules.”

c.“Like gods, heros have many defining characteristics. Hercules was most famous for his extraordinary strength and courage. In stories of Hercules, the goddess Hera was determined to make Hercules miserable and it is said that she drove him cray and made him kill his own wife and children. Hercules felt so bad for what he had done, that he wanted to do anything to make it up to the gods, so the god Apollo put forth 12 tasks for him to do before he would be forgiven. Some of the tasks included brining home the skin of a great lion that had been terrorizing the hills of Nemea, kill the hydra which was a 9 headed serpent that lived in the water, and the hardest task of call was to capture the beast Cerberus who guarded the Underworld. Hercules succeeded at all of the tasks.”

d.“From these tasks and helping the people in battles, Hercules was worshipped almost like a god. He was known for wearing the skin of a lion and wielding a large wooden club.”

e.“The tale of Hercules was told all of the time. It seems like he was an amazing hero that lived an interesting life. No one really knows if there was a man really like Hercules that had many of the same characteristics, but the stories are well known.”

f.“He is just one hero of Greek mythology, so your task is to research a Greek god, goddess, or hero and put a poster together to share with the class. Some things you need to include on your poster and in your presentation are: Greek name, picture, powers/responsibilities, family ties (other gods), symbols related to your character (tools, animals, cities, etc.).”

g.“Here is a list of some gods/goddess’s, hero’s, or creatures from Greek mythology that you can choose from: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hermes, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Medusa, Achilles, Chimera, Hades.

h.(Go to computer lab/library)

- Students choose a different Greek god/goddess, hero, or creature and research information on that character.

- A few people may end up doing the same, but all from list should be taken.

Closure:

a.“It’s time to wrap up in the computer lab. For next lesson, please at least have a picture of your character colored to put on a construction paper. You will be given at least 10-15 minutes to do some final research and complete your small poster. Then, you will teach the class about what you found out about your character.”

b.“These mythological characters where very important in Greek culture because it was part of their religion. They believed in these gods and I am very interested in finding out more about these characters from you all next class.”

Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed as they do research on their character from Greek mythology.

Resources:

Hercules YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRCteeZTrjE&feature=related

Hercules information: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/bio.html

Accommodations:

- A student with ADHD may have trouble staying focused on the research, so the teacher could make a checklist for the student to go through as they research keeping them focused on one task at a time.

Modifications:

- If a student already has a lot of prior knowledge on some other important character in Greek mythology that was not listed, they may make a poster on that particular character.

Extension:

- Students could dress up like the god/goddess they are researching.

Self Reflection:

- Did the students have enough time to research?

- What prior knowledge did the students have on myths?LESSON 5: Greek Mythology (Continued)

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

C. Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC - 600 ADThe student will describe classical civilizations in Europe and the West.

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics, and philosophy.

1. Architecture, sculpture, myths, dramas; free/slave labor; Greek democracy; religion and mythology

Prior Knowledge:

- Students should have done research on their character before class.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- Students will complete their posters on their Greek mythological character.

- Students will present their posters to the class.

Materials:

- Computers

- Construction paper

- Markers

- Rubric

Anticipatory Set:

a.“Good morning class! So today we are going to finish up our research on Greek mythological characters and you all will present your posters to the class. You should have come to class with a picture either drawn or printed out of your character as a starting point. I have put together a poster on Hercules so that you can see what I am looking for as a final product.”

(Show class poster of Hercules)

Procedure:

a.“Okay, know that you see exactly what I’m looking for, you have 15 minutes to finish your research and put your posters together. I will let you know when you have around 5 minutes left to put information you found on construction paper. Any questions before you finish up research?”

- Allow students 15 minutes to complete research and posters.

- With about 5 min left, students should be working on completing posters.

b.“Okay everyone, it’s not time to present your findings. I will be grading you on your posters and the way in which you present the material. The rubric will be put in your portfolio along with a picture I will take of you and your poster.”

- Each student should present their posters and the posters/presentation will be graded using rubric.

- Take a picture of each student with their poster to be put in portfolio.

Closure:

a.“Great work on your presentations! As you can see, these characters are quite complex, but the Greek’s worshipped these gods. These gods can be seen in stories of war that actually happened, but the Greeks put the gods in the stories to play roles in the wars and try to explain what happened. So, even though the wars are very real, the gods in the stories are not, but the Greeks believed that they were real.”

Assessment:

- Students will be formally assessed on their posters and presentations (Rubric Attached)

Resources:

n/a

Accommodations:

- For special needs students or students who may have a bad fear of speaking in front of the class, they can stay after and give the presentation to the teacher or write a short paper on what they would have said. Their posters should still contain all information.

Modifications:

- If a student was ill the previous day when presentation and poster were assigned, they are allowed an extra day to finish and give their presentation at the beginning of the next lesson.

Extension:

- Students can take their posters to a 4th or 5th grade classroom and teach them about their character.

Self Reflection:

- Did the students have enough prep time for presentations?

- Did all students have time to present?

- After seeing the posters, are there any directions that need to be clarified for next time lesson is used so that posters/presentations have all aspects wanted?LESSON 6: Trojan Horse

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

B. World Civilizations and Religions, 1000 BC - 500 ADThe student will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization and its influence throughout Eurasia, Africa and the Mediterranean.

1. Students will analyze the influence of geography on Greek economic, social, and political development, and compare the social and political structure of the Greek city-states with other contemporary civilizations.

a. Mediterranean Sea, mountain barriers, coastal colonies, Black Sea, Trojan War, role of slavery, significance of citizenship, democracy, Solon, Lycurgus

Prior Knowledge:

- Students should have knowledge on Athens and Greek mythology from previous lessons.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- Students will take on roles in a play of the Trojan War.

- Students will be able to summarize scenes 1-4.

Materials:

- Abbreviated Trojan War play

- Story Map

Anticipatory Set:

a.“When I say the name ‘Homer’ what comes to mind?”

- Answers vary

b.“Okay, what comes to mind when I say Achilles?”

- Answers vary: god, Achilles tendon, warrior

c.“Well, today we are not going to talk about Homer Simpson, but a blind poet named Homer who wrote two very famous stories back in ancient Greece called The Iliad and The Odyssey. These stories have some facts such as people and battles, but also contain some fiction because some of the characters are the Greek gods which we talked about last lesson.”

Procedure:

a.“Today, we are going to focus on the Iliad which is about the Trojan War. It is uncertain whether the Trojan War actually occurred and it wasn’t until 1870 that a scientist discovered the remains of where the city of Troy was described to be.”

b.“All that we have to base our knowledge on of past events in Troy come from tales such as the Iliad written by Homer. The Iliad is over 600 pages long and you may read it later in college, but today we are going to focus on some of the main characters and events from the Iliad so you can get general overview of the Trojan War. Keep in mind, the events from the tale may be based on historical events, but can not be taken as an exact fact.”

c.“Today, we are going to read an abbreviated play about the Trojan War and you are going to be the actors. I have tags for main characters who will stand in front of the room and read their parts. Those of you that do not get a main role, will be the Greeks which have group parts in the play. Before we begin, I will hand out a worksheet that has each of the characters names on it and their role in ancient Greece.”

- Go over the characters pronouncing the names and reading their role in ancient Greece.

d.“There is a Story Map which you will fill out after the play is done. A Story Map is a way to summarize events of a story so pay close attention to what is happening in the play. This will also be put in portfolio. Today we will read scenes 1-4 and then finish the play next class”

e.- Assign students roles to read during the play and go through scenes 1-4. The students from each scene should go up to the front of the room to read their parts.

Closure:

a.“After the first 4 scenes, what can you tell me is happening? What predictions do you have for the end of the play? Who do you think will win the war and why?”

- Allow time for student responses.

b.“Those are all great answers. I guess we will have to see what happens next lesson. Good work today with the play!”

Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed as on their cooperation with the play and by answering questions about scenes 1-4.

Resources:

Abbreviated Play: http://www.d155.org/PR/faculty/zomparelli/documents/REVISEDTrojanWarAbbreviatedPlay.pdf

Accommodations:

- If a student has reading difficulties, they should just have the role of “Greeks” which is a group part.

Modifications:

- Weather permitting, take students outside to do the play so they can get into it and possibly act.

Extension:

- Can make the play a type of formal assessment for them to act out.

Self Reflection:

- Did the students understand the events in the play?

- What prior knowledge did the students have of the Trojan War?

- Is there more background needed?LESSON 7: Trojan War (Continued)

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

B. World Civilizations and Religions, 1000 BC - 500 ADThe student will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization and its influence throughout Eurasia, Africa and the Mediterranean.

1. Students will analyze the influence of geography on Greek economic, social, and political development, and compare the social and political structure of the Greek city-states with other contemporary civilizations.

a. Mediterranean Sea, mountain barriers, coastal colonies, Black Sea, Trojan War, role of slavery, significance of citizenship, democracy, Solon, Lycurgus

Prior Knowledge:

- Students should know what happened in scenes 1-4 of the play.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- Students will continue to read the play about the Trojan War.

- Students will fill out a Story Map of the events from the play.

Materials:

- Abbreviated Play

- Story Map

- Trojan Horse template

- Scissors

- Markers

- Tape or glue

- Straws

Anticipatory Set:

a.“Alright actors and actresses, before we continue with the rest of the play, can someone summarize the events that have already happened?”

- Call on a few students to summarize the play so far.

b.“Excellent! I think we are ready to continue. Would the people playing the roles in scene 5 go up to the front so we can begin.”

- The students should continue reading through the play.

Procedure:

a.“Wow, what an amazing story! What did you find most interesting in the last scenes we just went through? Did you think that the Greeks were going to win after all those years?”

b.“Now that the play is over, turn your worksheets to the other side and in small groups, fill out the Story Map. You will need to put in the setting, theme, opening scene, conflict/problem, climax, falling action and resolution.”

- Allow time for students to work in groups to fill out Story Maps.

c.“Now I want each group to share what they put for one part of the Map and if other groups have something different, raise your hands and tell the class what your group said. As we do this, I am going to write down our groups final answers and I will put up an enlarged Story Map of the Trojan War on a bulletin board in the room so that you can always look to that and remember what happened.”

- Groups should share answers and the teacher should write down the groups answers to later transfer onto a larger version for the classroom.

- Students should hang on to Story Map to later put in portfolio.

d.“What part of the story did you find most interesting? The most famous scene from Homer’s Iliad is with the Trojan Horse. Odysseus came up with the idea to trick the Trojans into thinking it was a gift when really they were hiding inside the horse and ended up burning the city of Troy and winning the war.”

e.“Since the Trojan horse is so famous, we are going to make miniature versions of this horse out of paper. I have printed out copies of the layout and I have glue, scissors, and straws for you to use. First you should color the pieces, then cut them out, and then follow the directions to make it.”

- Show students the finished product and allow time for them to create the horse.

Closure

a.“Let’s say that never happened, but the Greeks needed some other plan to trick the Trojans to defeat them. What are some ideas you have that the Greeks could have done to defeat the Trojans?”

- Allow students time to think and answer the question.

b.“Those are all very clever ideas as was the idea of making the Trojan Horse. Today we learned about a great myth in ancient Greek history. The city of Troy has now been located and appears to have been burnt down. This leads some historians to think that events from the Iliad could have possibly occurred in the past, but we will never know for sure. What we do know is that Homer’s tales of the Iliad and Odyssey have been told for many years and will continue to be told in the future.”

Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed on the cooperation during the play and answering questions.

- Students will complete a Story Map in groups and report to class.

Resources:

Abbreviated Play: http://www.d155.org/PR/faculty/zomparelli/documents/REVISEDTrojanWarAbbreviatedPlay.pdf

Trojan Horse Template: http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/greece/m-trojan.htm

Accommodations:

- For special needs students, have the Trojan Horse pieces already cut out and assist them when needed in putting it together.

Modifications:

- For a student who may have been gone the previous lesson, have one or two students summarize the events that occurred in scenes 1-4 and help them with the character worksheet.

Extension:

- Students can dress up and act out the play.

Self Reflection:

- After the play, did students have a better understanding of the Trojan War?

- Was their enough time for all activities?

LESSON 8: Greek Olympics

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

C. Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC - 600 ADThe student will describe classical civilizations in Europe and the West.

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics, and philosophy.

a. Architecture, sculpture, myths, dramas; free/slave labor; Greek democracy; religion and mythology

Prior Knowledge:

- Students should have general knowledge on what Greek city-states (polis) are.

- Students may have knowledge of the current Olympic games.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- Students will gain knowledge of the ancient Olympic games.

- Students will be put in groups (teams) to prepare for the games.

Materials:

- Pictures of artwork depicting ancient Olympics

- Pieces of paper with the city-states Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Argos, and Megara on them (5 or 6 of each)

- Handout the describes each city-state and the athletes

Anticipatory Set:

a.“Good Morning! Before you all get settled into your seats, I want you to come up to the board and look at the pictures taped on the board silently. Make observations and ask yourself what the pictures may represent, what location is this, and who are the people in the pictures.”

- Students should silently look through the pictures for a few minutes.

b.“Okay, please return to your seats. What did you observe?”

- Answers vary

c.“These pictures of ancient Greek artworks show some of the aspects of the Greek Olympic games which is the origin for our current Olympic games. You may have noticed in the pictures some athletes wrestling, throwing disc, holding a javelin, running, and a place where they were held. Today we are going to learn a little bit about the original Olympic games because without the Greeks, we may never have had the Olympics!”

Procedure:

a.“No one knows for sure exactly how long the Olympics have been going on, but Homer had written accounts of it as early as 776 BC. They were done in order to honor the god Zeus. The first Olympics were only one day long and had one event, which was called ‘stade’ which was a footrace the length of the stadium generally 170 meters. Also, only Greek speaking free men could compete in the Olympics.”

b.“Later, more events were added and lasted four or five days long. Some events added included: 3 more running events of 370 meters, a 3 mile, and a hoplite race in which men ran in armor. Other events then later added were boxing, wrestling, javelin, long jump, discus, and chariot racing. A combination event called the pentathlon was when one athlete would compete in five events. Also included as events were singing and some artwork for judging.”

c.“After all of these events were added, the games now took 5 days, two days for religious ceremonies to worship and give sacrifices to the gods and 3 days for competition. The winners of the events were given olive branches and received much praise.”

d.“What similarities and differences do you notice between modern and ancient Olympics?”

- Answers may include: both have races, both every 4 years, ceremonies in both, modern Olympics allow women, modern has more events etc.

e.“Great answers! As you can see, we took a lot from ancient Olympics but things have changed. One thing that is the same is that Olympics are a very important event to many different cultures. In ancient Greece, countries who may have been at war would pause the war so that both sides could send representatives to the Olympic games because all city-states wanted to say that their city was the best and having the best athletes would prove that.”

f.“I think that in order for us to truly appreciate the Greek Olympics, we need to have our own! I have written the names of 5 city-states on pieces of paper. One at a time you will come up and randomly draw a piece of paper out of a hat and that is what city-state you will represent.”

- One at a time students should come and draw a piece of paper and go to a designated spot in the room.

g.“These are your Olympic teams. The teams are representing Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Argos, and Megara. We have talked a little bit about Athens and Sparta, but the other polis’s we have not. I have printed out a sheet that talks a little bit about the people of each city-state and how an Olympic athlete from each place acted or thought. Will one person from each group read their section aloud to the class so that everyone knows a little bit about each place.”

- A member from each group should read their description aloud.

h.“As you can see, all groups were a little different depending on how children were raised. If we were to write the same type of information about America today, what would it say?”

- Answers vary

Closure:

a.“Great answers. Now each city-state had its own flag and pledge so be thinking about that because tomorrow you will design your flag and come up with a pledge or song to represent your polis.”

b.“Today we learned about ancient Olympics and some ways in which they are different today. The next two days we are going to have our own Olympic experience to conclude our unit on ancient Greece so come ready for some fun and friendly competition the next few days.”

Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed by answering questions.

Resources:

Idea for Olympics and the city-state handout: http://ancienthistory.mrdonn.org/GreekOlympics.html

Pictures from Google Images

Accommodations:

- For visual learners, have a video clip of ancient Olympics to reinforce the information taught in the lesson.

Modifications:

- If students are known to not work well together, the teacher can already have the groups made before class.

Extension:

- Students can come up with their own modified Olympic game based off of the original Greek Olympics and share their idea with the class.

Self Reflection:

- Did students remain interested throughout the lecture?

- What supplementary material can be added to make things more interesting?LESSON 9: Greek Olympics

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

C. Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC - 600 ADThe student will describe classical civilizations in Europe and the West.

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics, and philosophy.

a. Architecture, sculpture, myths, dramas; free/slave labor; Greek democracy; religion and mythology

Prior Knowledge:

- Students will know the history of ancient Greek Olympic games.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- Students will work as teams to make a team flag and pledge.

- Students will practice the events in preparation for the ceremony in next lesson.

Materials:

- Construction Paper

- Markers

- Tongue twisters

- Tennis Balls

- Velcro mats (12” x 12”)

- Box full of random objects from room

- Basket

- Tape

Anticipatory Set:

a.“Good morning Greek citizens! I hope you are were thinking hard about what you want your flag, colors, and pledge/song to be. You will create your flag out of large construction paper and write up your pledge on a blank piece of paper.”

- (Give students 5-10 minutes to create the flag and hang it on a designated spot on the wall.)

Procedure:

a.“In ancient Olympics and modern day Olympics, athletes arrive days before it starts to practice. Today we are going to treat it as if you all have just arrived in Olympia and you will practice the games I have planned for you.”

b.“Obviously we will not be throw javelins, boxing, or even running today, but I have some other games that we will substitute in and you will be able to practice today. As said yesterday, the Olympics were for athletes and artists so the events will need both creativity and skill.”

c.“The events you will compete in are tongue twisters, sticky ball, ‘boxing’, ball in basket, and A-Z. I will first explain each game and then you will have 5 minutes at each station to practice before we come back together and wrap up the day.”

d.“Tongue twisters is just what it sounds to be. I will have tongue twisters in a box and one person from each group will come up and draw a tongue twister. I will time them as they say it correctly 3 times in a row. If they do not say it correctly, the time keeps going until they have completed the tongue twister accurately. The person with the shortest time wins the round and gets a blue ribbon to place under their flag, the second place gets a red ribbon, third receives a yellow ribbon, fourth will get a green ribbon, and fifth will get a orange ribbon.”

e.“Sticky ball is when you stand at a designated line and throw a tennis ball at a Velcro circle. Everyone gets to compete and if you get the ball on the mat then its 1 point. The team with the most points gets blue ribbon, second place gets red ribbon, and so on.”

f.“’Boxing’ is when I will have many items at random in a box. One person selected by the team will look in the box for 20 seconds and then the box will be covered up. Then the student has one minute to write down as many objects as they can remember. The team with most gets first and so on.”

g.“Ball in basket is just like it sounds. There will be three lines representing 1, 2, or 3 points and each player from the team gets one shot to throw a ball into a small basket. Scores will be totaled for the team and first place gets blue ribbon and so on.”

h.“A-Z is for the whole team. Teams will be given a piece of paper with letters A-Z on it. A category will be given and you must fill in order things that start with each letter of the alphabet. For example, if I gave the category of food, you could write ‘apple, banana, cheese, etc.’. There will be multiple rounds for this event to eliminate teams with lower number until we are down to first place.”

i.“Those are all of the events. The first place winners of the whole Olympics will receive a blue olive branch pin because in ancient Greece, the olive branch was given to the winners and symbolizes peace and good will. The second place team will receive a red olive branch and so forth.”

j.“It’s now time for you to practice at each event. I will give you 5 minutes and tell you to rotate after the 5 minutes is up. Keep in mind who you may want to represent you in boxing and tongue twisters and it cannot be the same person for both events. The other events require everyone to participate.”

- Students should practice the activities and the teacher should time them for 5 minutes and then rotate. For A-Z, have a short list of categories that will not be used in the actual event for them to practice with such as (food and colors)

Closure:

a.“Okay Greeks, its time to pick everything up and put it back at the spot for the events tomorrow. Tomorrows class will go as follows: we will have an opening ceremony as you enter the room, so before you enter, you should line up silently in the hall in your teams in alphabetical order. I will welcome each team and you will silently march in holding your flag and go to your designated spot in room and march silently in place as all other teams march in. Once all team have marched in you may sit down with your team. Then the games will begin!”

b.“You have each chosen a team color which should be on your flag. For the Olympics, make sure you wear as much of your team color as you can. Be proud of your city-state! Get a good nights rest and I will see you all tomorrow for the games.”

Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed as they cooperate in groups to make team flag and practice events.

Resources:

Ancient Greek Olympics Activities: http://ancienthistory.mrdonn.org/GreekOlympics.html

Accommodations:

- If there is a deaf student, make sure that a translator is present so that they can still fully participate in the group activities.

Modifications:

- If while observing the students when they are practicing the events and an event seems either too difficult or too hard, have a back-up event that can take its place such as having a Pictionary game which would be an artistic event.

Extension:

- Students can come up with a team song from the radio that is appropriate for school and share reasons they chose the song.

Self Reflection:

- Which event/s need to be modified based on difficulty?

- Are the students working well together in their teams?

- Are the students taking the practice times seriously?

LESSON 10: Class Olympic Ceremony

Academic Standard:

III. WORLD HISTORY

C. Classical Civilizations and World Religions 1000 BC - 600 ADThe student will describe classical civilizations in Europe and the West.

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek civilization, including art, politics, and philosophy.

a. Architecture, sculpture, myths, dramas; free/slave labor; Greek democracy; religion and mythology

Prior Knowledge:

- Students should know the rules to each of the events that will be played during the lesson.

Objective/Learning Goals:

- Students will work in groups and participate in the Greek Olympics.

- Students will write a reflection after the games are done of what they have learned about Ancient Greek Olympics.

Materials:

- Tape

- Ribbons (Blue, Red, Yellow, Green Orange)

- Tennis Balls

- Velcro Mats (12” x 12”)

- Tongue Twisters

- Box with random items from room

- Basket

- Paper for A-Z event

- Pencils

- Paper Olive Branch Pins (Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, Orange)

Anticipatory Set:

(Meet students in hall and remind them to line up with their teams in alphabetical order silently)

a.“Hail athletes from Argos, famous Greek musicians! (they enter room) Hail athletes from Athens, famous Greek scholars. (They enter room) Hail athletes from Corinth, famous Greek traders. (They enter room) Hail athletes from Megara, famous Greek colonizers! (they enter room) Hail athletes from Sparta, famous Greek warriors! (They enter room and al should be silently marching in their designated areas)

b.“Welcome athletes! In the past the Olympics were held to honor the Greek god Zeus, but today we honor all of ancient Greece! I can see that you are all holding your flags proud so will one person please post their flag on the designated bulletin board and you will put any ribbons you receive under your flag. Let the games begin!”

- A schedule of events should be posted on the board.

Procedure:

a.“Our first event is tongue twisters so please send up your representative to draw a random tongue twister and will need to say it 3 times correctly while being timed.”

- Each group should send a person to front and each takes a tongue twister. One at a time they are timed and judged by teacher. Their time is written down and color ribbons are awarded appropriately based on the times and ribbons are stapled under each groups flag.

b.“Out next event is the Sticky Ball. Everyone will participate in this event. One point will be given for each time a person gets a ball stuck on the mat. We will start with Argos and go in alphabetical order.”

- Keep track of points for the event and award the ribbons.

c.“The next event is boxing. Please send up a representative for the event. Remember you have 20 seconds to look in the box and than 1 minute to write down as many things as you can remember. In event of a tie, I will show the box another time for 10 seconds and the athletes will be given 30 more seconds and should write down more things they saw.”

- Time the event, check the sheets, complete a tie-breaker if necessary, and award the ribbons.

d.“Our next event is for the entire group and it’s the A-Z activity. This is an elimination type of event in which we will need to do a few rounds to declare a winner in case of ties.

- First category is things in nature. Second category is peoples names, and third category is cities.

e.“Our final event is ball in basket. Everyone will participate for their team. Remember there are lines furth and further away worth more points. Think strategy. Do you want to get 1 point shots that are easier or take a risk and throw for 2 or 3 point shots?”

- Teacher should monitor and award points for the teams. Ribbons given based on point value.

f.“Great job athletes! Please return to your groups area and we will check out the results. 5 points will be given for blue ribbons, 4 points for red, 3 points for yellow, 2 points for green, and 1 point for orange.”

- Tally the scores and write the final results on the board.

g.“Congratulations to all athletes who participated. You all were very good sports and were courteous to your competition.

Closure:

a.“You all have just sort of experienced an Olympic games. First, I would like you to get into your teams next to your flag so I can take a picture of you all dressed in your colors for the portfolio. The last thing I want you to do is take our a sheet of paper and write about what you have learned about ancient Greek Olympics from experiencing it and from what we have discussed the past few lessons. I will allow you 3-5 minutes to free write on this topic. Please hang onto this to put in portfolio which we will put together the next time we meet.”

- Give students time to write and have them hand in their papers when finished.

b.“Great job everyone! Now that the Olympics are over, we can be united as a class again. From now on, I want you to think of this class as one city-state and be proud of our class. Work together and work hard in helping everyone succeed so we can succeed as a class just as the Greek city-states took pride in their polis.”

Assessment:

- Students will be informally assessed on their cooperation and sportsmanship during the Olympics.

- Students will hand in their short essay on what they learned about the Olympics.

- Final unit assessment the students will put together their portfolio with all materials done, in correct order, at the beginning of the next class period.

Resources:

Ancient Greek Olympics Activities: http://ancienthistory.mrdonn.org/GreekOlympics.html

Accommodations:

- A child that may have physical disabilities that cause him/her to not be able to participate should be given a tag that says judge and they help the teacher time, judge, and sore the events.

Modifications:

- If groups end up having an uneven number, have a team meeting before the games begin and discuss with the class how to handle the situation where points are given per teammate score (ball in basket and sticky ball). Suggestion: A student drawn at random from a team that may be short a player will get to go twice at an event.

Extension:

- If lesson is done during the time of the current Olympics, students can keep track of the medal count for the countries and report the count in class each day on a chart.

Self Reflection:

- How well did the lesson go?

- Was there enough time for all the events?

- Did students work well as teams?

- Was there good sportsmanship between teams?

Final Assessment

Portfolio Rubric

Each assignment and activity done in class should be put in a folder in the correct order.

Vacation Itinerary:_____/10

Sparta Flag:_____/10

Athens Flag:_____/10

Poster/Presentation Rubric

And Picture_____/30

Story Map (Trojan War)_____/10

Greek Olympics

(Participation, cooperation,

picture, and reflection)_____/30

TOTAL_____/100