Ancient Greece Inquiry Unit

Part 1 - The Big Question

• “How have the ancient Greeks influenced and contributed to modern society?”
• Grade 8 Social Studies
• Goals
o Students should understand what characteristics help identify specific cultures
and societies. Government system, arts, philosophies, and everyday lifestyles
of various class groups are all examples of characteristics that may vary
between cultures or societies.
o Students should be able to make connections between ancient Greece and
today’s society.
o Students should understand the various issues that are pervasive over time:
war, peace, class struggle, accomplishments in science, medicine, and the arts.
o I want students to understand that history is not segmented into centuries.
Time is only a measuring tool. I want them to understand the concept of
cause and effect and that lots of history overlaps.
o History is subjective and stories are then subject to the biases of the group that
writes them.

Part 2 – Subtopics and Focus Questions

(Sections: Economic Life, Social Life, Political Life)

Economic Life- People need food and water to survive. They also need homes for shelter and
clothing to protect them. People also need to maintain good health and care for their families.
Meeting basic physical needs is part of economic life. Most economic needs are met from the
environment. What did the Greeks use in order to survive?

Food & Resources - What food did the ancient Greeks eat? How was it prepared?
Were all foods and resources from Greece or were they imported? If so, where did
they come from?
Slavery – Why were there so many slaves in ancient Greece? What were a slave’s duties? Were
slaves just men, or were women and children included?

Homes – What were homes made of? Was there a difference between the houses of rich and poor
townspeople, and the houses of those who lived in the country? How did they furnish their
homes? What rooms in the home were important to the Greeks? Were there any special designs
in the house that helped protect the people from the climate?

Clothing – What outfits did ancient Greeks wear? How did their clothing function in relation to
their role/job? Were they as concerned with fashion as our society? Was there make-up or
jewelry? If so, what were they made of? How were clothes made and what were were they made
of?

Work – What jobs did Greeks have? What tasks did workers have to do at these jobs? What was
the end product from their work? Did it make a difference whether a person was a slave, poor or
rich person? Do any of these professions still exist?

Technology & Medicine – What tools did the ancient Greeks invent? Did any of these tools
advance/evolve over time? Did the ancient Greeks have doctors? Were there any important
Greek people in medicine? What tools or ingredients did doctors use to make people better?

Political Life – How did the Greeks govern their people? Were there other types of government
in Greece? Did all city-states govern differently or the same?

Government Structure - How did the ancient Greeks setup their government? Who was in
charge? How were decisions made? What made their system of government note-worthy? How
does the Government of Canada resemble that of ancient Greece?

Rhetoric (persuasive language) – Why was being able to persuade people a highly valued skill in
ancient Greece? Where was rhetoric most commonly used ancient Greek society? Are there any
parallels to today? (political debate)

Sparta and Athens - Sparta and Athens were both Greek city-states, but they had a
heated rivalry. Compare these two societies and determine what made them different.
 What did their government structure look like? Was there a difference in their
militaries? What were the roles and responsibilities of the people? What values did
each city hold important? Why do you think these cities didn’t like each other?

Military - What major military campaigns helped ancient Greece distinguish itself as
a civilization? Were Greek city-states always on the same side? Were these wars won
or lost? When did these wars occur and with whom were they fought?

Social Life – What did the Greek people value in their culture? What were their beliefs? How
did they divide people in their societies?

Education and Philosophy - Who were the significant philosophers and scientists
ancient Greece? What were their significant discoveries?

Class Structure – What roles did men, women, children, and slaves play in ancient
Greek society? Where did they work? What rights did they have?

Religion - What spiritual beliefs did the ancient Greeks have? Who did they believe in? How did
they show their spirituality? (statues, temples, sacrifices, prayers)

The Olympics - For what reasons were the Olympics introduced? What events were
held? Are any of those sports still played today? How do they differ today from
ancient Greece?

Literature/Mythology - What kind of stories did the Greeks read? Were all stories
written or did they have another way to communicate stories? What stories do we still
know?

Art - What kind of art did they have in ancient Greece? What purpose did art have?

Strategies
• Decipher the metaphors in Aesop’s Fables.
 • Use a map of the Mediterranean and Asia to show where ancient Greece got its
imports. Compare similarities and differences to where Winnipeg’s imports come
from based on a world map. Discussion about how we often take for granted the
variety of food we have and environmental accounting (the amount of energy it takes
to grow, transport, market, and sell, use, and dispose of products).
• Do a lesson on persuasive writing. Students must convince a “council” with their
speech on a topic to be determined by class consensus.
• The movie “300” glorifies the Spartans as valiant and noble warriors, but what would
we think of them today if they were still around doing the same practices. Eg.
Infanticide, slavery, non-emotional, militaristic etc.
• Have the students keep an “assignment portfolio” where they will be asked to do
mini-assignments from various lessons. It will serve as an ongoing assessment
method.

Part 3 - Objectives

Knowledge
Citizenship
8-KC-001 Describe the social organization of ancient Greece.

8-KC-003 Compare criteria for citizenship and participation in government in ancient Greece
and in contemporary Canada.

Identity, Culture, and Community

8-KI-015 Compare and contrast life in Sparta and Athens.

8-KI-016 Describe the importance of Greek myths in ancient Greek culture.

Historical Connections
8-KH-031 Identify people, events, and ideas in ancient Greece

8-KH-032 Identify ways in which today’s world has been influenced by the ideas of ancient
Greece.

Power and Authority

8-KP-046 Identify factors that influenced the rise and decline of ancient Greece.
8-KP-048 Describe the nature of war and territorial expansion in ancient Greece.

Global Interdependence
8-KG-039 Identify defining characteristics of the ancient Greeks.

Economic and Resources

8-KE-056 Describe technologies and achievements in ancient Greece.
8-KE-055 Describe the influence of trade on the exchange of ideas.

Values
8-VC-001 Appreciate the contributions of ancient Greece to modern concepts of citizenship and
democracy.
8-VI-005 Appreciate the enduring qualities of the arts, architecture, science, and ideas of ancient
Greece.
8-VI-006 Respect others’ ways of life and beliefs.
8-VH-011 Appreciate stories, legends, and myths of ancient societies as important ways to learn
about the past.
8-VP-016 Appreciate the benefits of citizenship within a democracy.

Skills
8-S-100 Collaborate with others to establish and carry out group goals and responsibilities.
8-S-104 Negotiate constructively with others to build consensus and solve problems.
8-S-105 Recognize bias and discrimination and propose solutions.
8-S-102 Make decisions that reflect fairness and equality in their interactions with others.

8-S-200 Select information from a variety of oral, visual, material, print, or electronic sources.
8-S-202 Interpret primary and secondary information sources for research.
8-S-204 Create timelines and other visual organizers to sequence and represent historical
periods, figures, relationships, or chronological events.
8-S-205 Construct maps that include a title, legend, compass rose, scale, and latitude and
longitude.

8-S-300 Plan topics, goals, and methods for historical inquiry and research.
8-S-301 Consider the context of events, accounts,
ideas, and interpretations.
8-S-302 Draw conclusions based on research and evidence.
8-S-303 Evaluate personal assumptions based on new information and ideas.
8-S-304 Distinguish fact from opinion and interpretation.
8-S-305 Observe and analyze material and visual evidence for research.
8-S-306 Assess the validity of information sources.
8-S-307 Compare differing accounts of historical events.
8-S-309 Interpret information and ideas in a variety of media.
8-S-310 Recognize that interpretations of history are subject to change as new information is
uncovered or acknowledged.

8-S-401 Use language that is respectful of human diversity.

8-S-402 Persuasively express differing viewpoints regarding an issue.
 8-S-403 Present information and ideas orally, visually, concretely, or electronically.
8-S-404 Elicit and clarify questions and ideas in discussions.
8-S-405 Articulate their beliefs and perspectives on issues.

Part 4 – Resources

Online
www.ancientgreece.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/
http://www.ancient-greece.org/resources/slides.html -just images
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ancientgreece/index.shtml
many more available on Google

Books (available in class)

Textbook
Early Civilizations by Pat Waters
People in the Past by Haydn Middleton (series)
• Ancient Greek Jobs
 • Homes
• Women
• War and Weapons
Greek Life by John Guy
The World of Ancient Greece by Robert Hull (series)
• Everyday Life
• Religion & the Gods
• Trade & Warfare
The Best Book of Ancient Greece by Belinda Weber
How Would You Survive as an Ancient Greek? By Fiona Macdonald
Discovering the World of Ancient Greeks by Zofia Archibald
The Atlas of the Classical World: Ancient Greece & Ancient Rome by Piero Bardi
Ancient Greece by Anne Pearson
Ancient Greece by Loverance and Wood
Exploring the Past: Ancient Greece by Neil Grant
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Greece by Anton Powell
Eyewitness Books: Mythology by Neil Philip
Art and Religion in Ancient Greece by Melanie Ann Apel
Home Life in Ancient Greece by Melanie Ann Apel
Ancient Greece: Facts, Stories, Activities by Robert Nicholson
The Greek News: The Greatest Newspaper in Civilization by Anton Powell & Philip Steele
Clothes and Crafts in Ancient Greece by Philip Steele
Rich and Poor in Ancient Greece by Stewart Ross
The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki
The Olympians: Great Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece by Leonard, Everett, & Fisher
D’Aularies’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire’s

Movies
“300”
“Alexander”
“Troy”
Disney’s “Hercules”

Part 5 - Assessment

Project Portfolio
Assessment OF Learning.
• Students will have a portfolio (duotang or folder) where they will store mini-
assignments done in class. These mini-assignments will be useful in their
culminating project. Drawings, maps, facts, issues, opinions, and even questions are
examples of some things the portfolio will hold. I believe this will motivate students
to do their work since their efforts will have a positive end result. The portfolio also
allows me to monitor student progress, as well as give me a chance to reflect on each
students work to determine how they learn best.

Inquiry Board
Assessment OF Learning.
 • This board will be a place where inquiry questions and answers will be placed. The
questions are posted on the board, and answers will be formulated from student work
on each of the topics. This will allow me to monitor class progress and make sure that
all the most important material is covered. If the students omit a key concept, I can
add it to the information before it is posted. This allows students to constantly add-to
or revise previous answers if they find new information that leads to greater
understanding of a concept. As well, this gives students specific resources to look at
when researching their final project.

6 Hats of Thinking
Assessment AS learning.
• Put up colored posters that outline the 6 different thinking hats so students can refer
to the posters to know what traits they need to emulate. This will be used as a class
discussion tool. This will promote students to think differently when called upon and
get them to work on their metacognitive skills. After I use this strategy I will have
students write a reflection about their thinking hat. They will answer questions I give
them to guide them through the reflection process.
• Questions:
o Was thinking this way easy or a challenge? Why?
o What situations have you been in where you have thought this way?
o What situations do you think this type of thinking would be best suited?

Resources – These are just some websites that have quality information. You can also use
books from the public library.
• Use any of the books that I have made available in class.

www.ancientgreece.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/
http://www.ancient-greece.org/resources/slides.html -just images
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ancientgreece/index.shtml

A copy of this can be found at: http://mrbschmidt.blogspot.com/

 Part 6 - Lesson Plans

Lesson 1: Introduction to Culture and History

1) Introduce myself to the class and go over a list of my expectations over the unit.
2) Introduce student to the concept of an Inquiry Unit and how it relates to ancient Greece.
3) Introduce the Big Question: How has ancient Greece influenced and contributed to
modern society?
You’ll be graded on:
a. Participation, homework checks.
b. Portfolio: all assignments will go into your “Ancient Greece Portfolio”
c. Your final project
4) Ask if there are any questions, anything needing clarification.
5) Mini-assignment: The Rac
While I am reading the story answer these questions.
a. What do you think the rac represents in our culture?
b. What does this story tell us about how we view other cultures?
6) Have a discussion based on what students have recorded. Ask guiding questions to help
with the discovery of an answer that relates to how cultures vary and what may seem odd
to one culture is normal to another.
7) Talk about ancient Greece. Get students to look through the books about ancient Greece
that I have provided or their textbook.
8) Get the students to write down, and then hand in:
a. 3 things you know about ancient Greece.
b. 3 things you found in the books that you want to know more about or interest you.
9) Tell students that they should start thinking about things that interest them so that when it
comes time to choose a topic for their projects, they will already have a basic
understanding of the issue.

Lesson 2: Intro to Economic, Political, and Social Life

Basic Needs Lesson

1) Explain to students that there are many different aspects that one must cover to
understand any culture. The unit lessons will be divided into three main categories:
Economic Life, Social Life, and Political life.
a. Economic covers: food, homes, clothing, health, occupations, technology and
trade.
b. Social covers: social structure, family, language, education, religion, arts, and
sports/recreation.
c. Political covers: political structure, government and citizenship, legal system,
defense and war.
2) To begin to understand how people lived in ancient times, we should understand what
people’s basic needs are and how basic needs are pervasive through time.
3) Economic Life: People have to meet their physical needs if they are to survive. Many
needs are met by interacting with the environment to make a living. What are people’s
basic needs?
4) Divide students into groups of 5 or 6.
5) Ask students to imagine they are going on a camping trip in the wilderness. They will
have to carry everything they will need for one week. Students will need to talk with their
group members to plan what they will take for one week.
6) Read the following scenario:
a. Imagine you and your group members are going to go on a canoe trip in the
Whiteshell. While canoeing on the beautiful water without a care in the world,
you all stare at the sky and admire how great Social Studies really is. As each of
you is about to express your epiphany for your love of Social Studies…SMASH.
A GIANT MUTANT OCTOPUS DESTROYS YOUR CANOES! You and your
group go flying into the water. Luckily everyone survived, but a few of you
suffered minor injuries of a broken arm, and a sprained ankle. Once you’re safely
ashore, you find a hut that has all the survival gear you will need. Your group will
have to make a week long trip in order to reach human contact. The terrain is
rocky with many trees and lakes. What will you take in order to survive.
Conditions:
i. You have to stay healthy and take care of your injured classmates.
ii. You can’t carry enough food for more than 3 days.
iii. Each person can carry: 1 “big item”, 5 “medium items”, 10 “small items”.
b. Chart what you will take on the large poster paper provided.
N

M
 S

7) After students have compiled a chart in their groups, they will go up and share what they
have decided on a large chart on the whiteboard.
8) I will then lead them in a discussion about which things help in meeting basic needs and
find out what categories these fall under.
9) I will lead them to the answer that basic needs fall under: food, shelter, and health.
10) Then I will go on to talk about other things that helped the Greeks live, including:
slavery, occupations, and technology.
11) Recap and finish class.

Lesson 3: Economic Life: More than just basic needs (6 Topics) 2 classes

1st class:
1) Recap: Yesterday we talked about basic needs? What are they? (Wait for answers) These
are the basic needs, there are other things ancient Greeks had that weren’t necessary for
survival, but were important for a better quality of life. – Slavery, occupations, and
technology.
2) In order to learn more about the Economic life of the ancient Greeks we are going to
break off into groups and research each topic more carefully. Topics: Jobs, Slavery,
Technology and Medicine, Food, Clothing, Homes.
3) Each person needs to contribute and become an “expert” so they can share their
information with others next class.
4) Students will be in groups of 6 and collectively research from the books I have provided.
They will need to create a summary of their findings. Questions are provided.
5) Students are also able to draw visual representations of what they learned so all students
can have something to do, as well, it will help with the follow-up class when they present
their findings to other groups.
2nd class:
1) Quick recap of what we did last class.
2) Have students organize themselves back into their groups.

3) When students get back into groups they will have to finish their group topic summaries
and prepare their own topic summary to share with other students during the Jigsaw
 Puzzle group exercise

4) Jigsaw Puzzle Group Strategy

5) Each student per group will be numbered by me, 1-5.

6) After each group (6 groups in total) has a number for each member they will break off to
recreate groups according to their number. So all the one’s at one table, and all the two’s
at another, and so on. Each student will be given a Topic Summary Sheet to record
findings in their new groups.

7) At these tables, each student will have to share their Topic Summary about their specific
topic on ancient Greece. While each student shares information on their topic, the others
are recording the important information they are hearing. Each person in the groups
presents their topic, and each student gets their notes through an interactive process.

8) Get students back to their desks. Handout self-evaluation forms.

9) Students are being assessed for learning by handing in their completed topic summaries.
A rubric is provided in class. Students are using assessment as learning when they fill out
their self-evaluation form. This will get students to reflect on their work, effort, and group
contribution while exercising metacognitive skills.

Lesson 4: Trade

5 minutes Definitions

Trade: the act of buying goods or services

Import: to purchase and bring in a product from elsewhere

Surplus: more of a product than is needed for daily life

Export: to sell or trade a product to another place

Natural Resources: materials found in an environment that help people meet their needs.
15-20 minutes Discussion Questions and Notes

We talked about what things are necessary for people meet their needs, like tools, food, water,
and shelter.

Q: Where do goods and resources come from?

(time for student answers)

Goods and resources, which a country produces, are greatly due to what they can take from
the environment.

Eg. Meat was not plentiful in ancient Greece because it was expensive to raise animals for food.
There was not enough grain grown for all the people’s needs. The small amount of good land
was used for crops, not pasture.

Think about this statement:

Greece is a country on the Mediterranean Sea that is very hot and dry, and covered in mountains.
Because of the mountains there is only so much good land available for growing crops on.

Q: Based on their environment, what resources did the Greeks have available to them?
- What’s inside mountains?
- What’s in the sea?
- What did they do with the good land they had?
(time for student answers, use more guiding questions if they are having trouble)

Fish, animals, and birds were used as food for ancient Greeks. The good land was used to
grow crops of grain, olives, and other various fruits and vegetables. The poor land was used
as a food source for goats and other animals. Silver, lead, iron, and copper were mined in
the rocky areas.

Take 1 minute to read the definitions again and think about how trade might be dependent on the
environment of the country. Think about why a country would need to export or import goods.

Q: Why did the ancient Greeks trade goods and resources?

 - To get something they didn’t have (imports)
- To make money on something they had plenty of (exports)

So what did they need to import and from where?

Remainder of class Mapping assignment.

Ancient Greece Import Map Assignment

Maps for this assignment are on pages 4, 6, 10, 108 of the Historical Atlas of the World.

1) Use the atlases from class to find the following places (column 1) and draw an outline of the
country as it exists today (use the map on page 108 to find out what the country looks like
today).

2) After you outline it, you should label the name of the country or region and the imports
(column 2) that went to Greece.

3) Then, you must draw the trade route which you think the goods took on their way to Greece
(remember, the fastest way to transport goods is over water).

Places Imports

Egypt Grain, Papyrus, Linen

Spain (Iberia) Silver, Iron
Great Britain Tin, Iron
Carthage Wool Products
Italy Wood, Grain
Cyprus Copper, Wood
Phoenicia Dates, Ointment, Flour
Sardinia Pigs, Hides, Cheese

Also label and color: Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, and Greece.

Color the country or region with GREEN. The water with BLUE. Trade Routes in RED.
Evaluation

Color Neatly coloured in. Pencil crayon. Proper colours. /3

Accuracy Borders are close to what they look like in the present day. Labels are neat and
clear. Proper spelling. Name of country and imports. /12

Neatness Colors in proper places. Trade routes are clear and are cluttered together.
Attention to detail. Name. Room number. /5

TOTAL /20 marks

Lesson 5: Political Structure

1)Put students into groups and give them a handout that outlines the basics of government
structure. Get them to record ideas on the following questions:
a. Why is government important for a civilization?
b. What does a government need to do to manage a country?
c. Why does a country need to have laws?
d. What laws do you think a country need to make?
2) Have the groups share their ideas. With the class, develop a chart that lists the
responsibilities of government.
3) Explain that not all countries have the same type of government. Demonstrate and discuss
examples of different government structures and how they differ.
4) Which of these forms resembles Canada’s government most accurately?
5) Discuss how democracy is just one of the legacies the ancient Greeks have left us. Get
students to brainstorm what democracy means. I will record the brainstorming on the
whiteboard.
6) Get students to read handouts of photocopied resources from various books on Athenian
and their textbook “Athenian Democracy” on pg. 77.
7) Discuss the differences between Athenian democracy and the democracy we have in
Canada.
8) Have students record brief definitions of: assembly, quorum, vote, and citizens. (All
within ancient Greek context of course).
9) Finish class by talking about how much of what was accomplished in ancient Greece was
 due to political movement and the ability to persuade people. This will serve as a way to
plant the idea of Rhetoric, which will be the next lesson.

Lesson 6: Rhetoric/Persuasive Language

1)Lecture: Talk about how the Greeks needed to use language persuasively in order for them
to pass certain motions or laws. (Vast majority of the class has seen the movie “300”).
2)Show the clip from the movie where the Queen addresses the council to go to war (1:29:16
1:31:14).
3)Discuss that the movie portrays how politicians in ancient Greece (Sparta and Athens)
needed to be able to speak persuasively in order to make important decisions.
4)Students must make their own persuasive speeches on a topic to be determined in class.
5)They must make a speech that is maximum 2 minutes to convince the other students (the
council) of their idea.
6)Council will cast a ballot, one box for “yay” another for “nay”, which represents the pots
and clay tablets councils used to vote, whether to approve of the motion. Next two classes
will be used to give speeches.
7)Give students a handout that gives them pointers as to how to write an effective speech.
8)Use remainder of class to determine a topic (something to do with Winnipeg) and to work
on speeches.

Lesson 7: Sparta and Athens

1)Introduce topic of Athens and Sparta. This lesson will cover the political structure and
social structure of each society. This lesson will be useful in connecting material from
Political Life and Social Life.
2)Teach students about the various elements of Athens and Sparta: Government Structure,
Societal Values, Social Responsibilities of men, women, and slaves, and Education using fill
in the blank notes.
3)Notes – underline denotes a blank space where information will be filled in.

Athens and Sparta were both great city-states in the ancient Greek civilization. While Athens was a city-
state that valued individual freedom, learning, and tolerance; Sparta valued loyalty, discipline, and obedience.
Athens

In Athens, the system of government was called a democracy. This comes from the Greek word
“demokratia” which means, “rule by the people”. In order for the city to be run by the people, citizens would vote to
decide important issues. This included decisions to go to war, judge criminals, and make laws. To be a citizen in
Athens you had to be born in Athens. Women could be citizens but they couldn’t vote. Slaves and foreigners were
not allowed to be citizens. There were about 40,000 full citizens in Athens at any given time.

Athenians thought education was about mind and body. So while every citizen was trained as a soldier,
there was also emphasis on learning about science and medicine. Many great men in ancient Greece helped make
way for modern practices such as biology, mathematics, geography, and philosophy.

Even though not all people in Athens were citizens and could not vote, they had an important role in
society. Women were supposed to stay inside the home, where they would supervise the slaves, maintain food
supplies, and take care of the children.
Slaves were the basis of the Athenian economy. Slaves worked as farmers, tradesmen, and servants in
homes. Slave did not receive any money for their duties, but their owners did give them their basic needs. Since
slaves did so many different duties, they would sometimes be referred to as “living tools”.

In the Athenian military the most important members were called hoplites. To be a hoplite, on had to be a
citizen. They had to provide their own armour and equipment, which usually meant they were middle and upper
class men. Groups of hoplites fought in units called phalanxes. The phalanx was a line of hoplites that held their
shields side by side to form a wall of shields. In between their shields, spears would stick out attack and fend off
enemies.

Sparta

In Sparta the system of government was much different than Athens. Spartan government was run by a
select group of men. There was a council of 30 men called the Gerousia, which included the two kings of Sparta.
Spartan citizens would vote on matters like the Athenians, except the Gerousia had the right to override a “crooked
decision”. There were far fewer citizens in Sparta compared to Athens because the men had to be direct descendants
of the first settlers of Sparta. Because of this, there were never more than about 6,000-7,000 citizens.

In Sparta education meant one thing: military training. At the age of seven all Spartan boys were taken from
their families to start training at the barracks. Their education focused on toughness, fitness, and discipline. Girls in
Sparta would also be given rigorous physical education so they could produce strong babies who would become
strong soldiers.

Spartan society was set up so that the people in control would stay in control, which is why they had such a
large military. Women were given many more freedoms than Athenian women. They were allowed to leave the
home, own land, participate in sports, and even express their views on current affairs. The main responsibility of a
Spartan women was to produce strong babies.
Slaves in Sparta were called helots and were given no rights. They did all the work in Sparta like farming
and working the trades. Slaves in Sparta were treated much more poorly than in Athens.

The Spartans kept themselves very isolated from the outside world and thought change was a bad thing. To
keep this from happening they formed a very strong military to keep foreigners out. Spartan hoplites were very
strong and courageous men who were widely known as fearless warriors.

4) After the notes we will create a T-Chart comparing and contrasting the categories of:
Government Structure, Societal Values, Social Responsibilities of men, women, and slaves, and
Education. The purpose of this is so students can put what they’ve learned into their own words.
Also, the material covered gives them a background for the next lesson on the Persian Wars.

Lesson 8: War and Defense: The Persian Wars

This lesson was an experimental lesson for me. It was not necessarily a student discovery kind of
lesson, but it was a good use of ICT and had the students captivated.

Students will be viewing a presentation that I created on the Internet called a VoiceThread.
During the presentation I will periodically stop to clarify any missed concepts or misspellings of
names and places.
The presentation is also available on my blog: http://mrbschmidt.blogspot.com, as well as the
guiding questions, so absent students will not fall behind.

Lesson 9: Thinkers and Innovators

Acquire
Students will use electronic sources to research information about the lives and contributions of
various historical figures from ancient Greece. The Greeks being researched have made
contributions to arts and literature, philosophy, mathematics, and political leadership.
Students will keep jot notes while researching.

Apply
Students will use jot notes to write a paragraph summarizing information about each individual
based on the question outlined on the assignment handout.
Each paragraph will be marked out of five based on written response to focus questions listed in
the assignment handout.

Assignment Handout:

Important People in Ancient Greece

Your task:
Using the internet as a research tool, you will gather information about each Greek and write a
brief summary of their significance and contributions.

For each person listed below, you need to find the following information:
1. Who are they? (1 mark)
2. When did they live?
3. What contributions did they make to Greek life? (2 marks)
4. What impact do they have on life today, long after their death? (1 mark)

The people:
Sophocles
Homer
Aristotle
Plato
Socrates
Archimedes
Pericles

Websites: You may use the following internet site in your research, or find site of your own.
www.ancientgreece.com
www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee?GREECE/PLATO.HTM
www.infoplease.com/biography/var/homer.html
www.philosophypages.com/ph/aris.htm
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-mathmatics/
www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/aristotle.html
www.historyforkids.org
www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html

Summaries must be IN YOUR OWN WORDS

Total /35 marks

Lesson 10: Religion

1)Lead students with discussion of the role that religious beliefs and values play in the lives
of people in a culture. How does religion influence people’s lives? Record answers on the
whiteboard. Characteristics such as: codes of behaviour, celebrations, art, buildings, religious
leaders.
Questions to guide answers:
a. Codes of behaviour: What writings are there that try to get people to act in a
certain way? Eg. The golden rule, ten commandments, Shariah
b. Celebrations: What things to people do to commemorate special and meaningful
events? Eg. Easter, Yom Kippur, Ramadan. Diwali
c. Art: How do people express their faith through mediums? How can you
artistically show your faith? Eg. Paintings, statues
d. Buildings: Where do people gather? What’s special about these places?
e. Leaders: Who are the people who help members with their faith or speak
publicly? Eg. Pastors, Priests, Imams, Gurus, Rabbis, Prophets, theologians

2)Get students to write down some of the things in their life that might apply to these
categories. If students have no set religious beliefs tell them to write down some values that
they apply to their life.
3)Get students to copy down questions about how ancient Greek religion covered these
characteristics.
a. Codes of Behavior: What writings or teaching did the ancient Greeks have to help
guide their lives? What actions did they take to please the gods? Oral stories,
sacrifices
b. Celebrations: What events or actions did the Greeks partake in to celebrate their
faith or the gods? What happened at these events? Olympics, Festivals
c. Art: What kind of art was made to show their beliefs? Did they paint or make
statues? Statue of Zeus, Statue of Athena, Pottery, Drama
d. Buildings: What places were special to the ancient Greeks and their religious
practices? The Parthenon, Temple at Delphi
e. Leaders: Did the Greeks have priests or other leaders? What did they call their
prophet who lived at the Temple in Delphi? Priests, Oracle
4)Get students to look at textbook pages 82 & 83, or other books available in class to find
answers to these questions.
5)With the class construct a Venn Diagram on the whiteboard to compare their answers from
their religious beliefs to those that they found in ancient Greece.
6)With remaining time introduce topic of ancient Greek gods and goddesses. Students
already have a good idea of many of the gods. Talk about how there are more than just the 12
Olympians that most are familiar with. Explain the titans and other minor gods.