Click Here to View the K-12 Social Studies Standards Adrressed in this Unit of Instruction
Unit Objectives:
1. Students will learn about the cultures of Ancient Greece (2000-300 B.C.).
2. Students will learn about the Mycenaean, Spartan and Athenian cultures.
3. Students will understand the significance of Mythology in the development of Greek civilization.
4. Students will understand the significance of Greek contributions to Western civilization.
Grade Level: 6
Timeline: Five days of in class instruction, and five hours of outside work by students
Materials: Computers with Internet access and MS Office, an LCD projector, Handouts, 3"x 5" note cards and 8.5 by 14 inch sheets of paper.
Lesson One:
Objectives: Students will be able to:
1.Identify the different periods in the History of Ancient Greece.
2. Draw a timeline dividing Ancient Greek history into its major periods.
Materials: Computers with Internet access, MS Office and an LCD projector
Process: Students will be shown a PowerPoint presentation titled Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts. After viewing the presentation, students will be shown how to access the presentation from their desktops. They will be assigned the task of drawing a timeline dividing the history of Ancient Greece into its different periods, Mycenaean, Dark, Archaic Classic or Golden and Hellenistic.
Assessment: Students will each present a timeline of ancient Greece Starting with the Mycenaean Age and ending with the Hellenistic Age.
Lesson Two:
Materials: Computers with Internet access, an LCD projector and sheets with excerpts of the Iliad printed on them
Objectives: Students will be able to:
1. Examine the Iliad for historical themes such as ideals, beliefs, conflict and conflict resolution
2. Identify the Iliad as a source of Mycenaean traditions, religion and culture
3. Examine the family life of the Mycenaeans and their culture as seen in the Iliad
Process: Students will learn about the Trojan War and the Mycenaean Age by reading excerpts from the Iliad. After a brief summary of the poem, students will be assigned parts, and will read their parts aloud in class. After the readings, the class will discuss what later Greeks and we learned about the Mycenaeans from the Iliad. This discussion will continue through the rest of the class.
Assessment: Students will begin a small webquest research project on Greek Mythology and its effect on the development of the Greeks. They will then write a one-page paper due at the end of the unit.
Lesson Three:
Materials: Computers with Internet access
Objectives: Students will be able to:
1. Explain the different causes of the Persian, and Peloponnesian wars and the wars Alexander the Great
2. Describe the impact of various technological developments on the Greeks ability to fight the Persians
3. Examine the historical theme of conflict and conflict resolution.
Process: Students will learn about the important wars in Greek History. In groups of two to three individuals, students will use the Internet to research various historical sources on the important wars in ancient Greek history, both real and mythic. Students will spend 25 minutes on this activity. The rest of class time will be devoted to adding details learned in their research to their timelines.
Assessment: Students will complete individual handouts on the terms within their small groups.
Lesson Four:
Materials: Computers with Internet access
Objectives: Students will be able to:
1. Examine the historical themes of ideals, beliefs and institutions.
2. Understand how the world came to be the way it is.
3. Describe ways in which Greek communities influenced each other and other nations.
Process: Students will compare the Spartan culture to the Athenian one, during the Golden Age. They will then do research to determine which contributed more to Western civilization
Assessment: Students will write which culture was superior and state, which one they believe, contributed more to Western civilization. The students will then write a one-paragraph explanation of the reasoning behind their statement.
Lesson Five:
Materials: Computer using MSWord, Handouts, 3"x 5" note cards and 8.5 by 14-inch sheets of paper.
Objectives: Students will be able to:
1. Identify the important contributions of each individual.
2. Formulate questions of a very specific nature.
3. Understand the significance of Greek contributions to Western civilization.
Process: Students will study the Hellenistic period by reading from handouts provided by the teacher. Continuing the process of adding details to the timeline as the unit has progressed
Assessment: Each student will have a 3”x 5” note card taped to his or her back with the name of an historical personality from Ancient Greece written on it (e.g. Agamemnon, Socrates or Philip of Macedon). The student will not know the name of this person. Their goal is to try to identify "who they are" by asking questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no" answer. Some simple rules to follow are: no more than two questions at a time can be asked of any one person, the student must figure out who he/she is within 20 questions. Everyone who does this is a winner but the person who figures out who he/she is in the least number of questions is the grand winner. It might help if each student started with a paper numbered from 1 to 20. After each question, a number is erased (or checked) off. To prevent wild guesses, a penalty of three numbers should be given. When everyone has completed the activity a sheet with all of the personalities on it can be assigned for each student to make a general statement about..
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