Ancient Greece

Content

2016 HSS Framework CH. 10, Grade 6 - World History and Geography: Ancient Civilizations pp. 156-161

History-Social Science Content Standards, pp. 25

Common Core Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies pp. 79-89

Learning Activities

Geography of Greece:

Inquiry: How did the environment of the Greek peninsula and islands, the Anatolian coast, and the surrounding seas affect the development of Greek societies?

Literacy:

Video "Geography of Ancient Greece by Instructomania"
Read from secondary source, Ancient Civilizations "Geography and the Early Greeks"
Video "Geography and Early Greece"

Learning Target: Students will learn about the geography of Greece through videos, slides, and text. Students will label a map, answer comprehensive questions, and develop a claim with evidence and reasons in response to a prompt.

Success Criteria:

I can locate bodies of water and city-states of ancient Greece.
I can explain (using evidence and reasoning) how Greece's geography influenced Greek society.

Evidence of Learning:

Labeled Map of Ancient Greece
Constructed Response to the "Inquiry Question" above. Use this scoring rubric.

6 Ancient Greece

Inquiry

How did the environment of the Greek peninsula and islands, the Anatolian coast, and the surrounding seas affect the development of Greek societies?
What were the differences in point of view and perspective between the Persians and the Greeks, and between Athenians and Spartans?
What were the political forms adopted by Greek urban societies? What were the achievements and limitations of Athenian democracy?
How did Greek thought (a cultural package of mythology, humanistic art, emphasis on reason and intellectual development, and historical, scientific and literary forms) support individuals, states, and societies?
How did Greek trade, travel, and colonies, followed by the conquests of Alexander the Great and the spread of Hellenistic culture, affect increasing connections among regions in Afroeurasia?

Citizenship - Structured Academic Controversy

Struggles for Justice: Love, War, and Honor in Ancient Greece

Content: This lesson, designed for the Struggles for Justice 2015 institute, using textual analysis of the Illiad and writing frames (6.4).

Inquiry: What does the Iliad reveal about ancient Greek beliefs concerning war, love, and honor?

Download Lesson:

Love, War, and Honor in the Iliad (NCSS 2017).docx

Essential Question 3: What were the political forms adopted by Greek urban societies? What were the achievements and limitations of Athenian democracy?

Supporting Question: Was ancient Athens truly democratic?

HSS Standard: 6.4.2. Trace the transition from tyranny and oligarchy to early democratic forms of government and back to dictatorship in ancient Greece, including the significance of the invention of the idea of citizenship (e.g., from Pericles’ Funeral Oration). 6.4.3. State the key differences between Athenian, or direct, democracy and representative democracy.

Purpose: Students will ...

Distinguish among four types of government: monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy.
Describe how democracy emerged in Greece during the late 500s B.C.E.
In a Structured Academic Controversy (SAC), students consider whether or not ancient Athens was truly democratic.

CCSS Outcomes - Literacy:

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of of primary and secondary sources.
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Present claims and findings (e.g., argument, narrative, informative, response to literature presentations), sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details and nonverbal elements to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

Engage:

Anticipatory Guide - Athenian Democracy
Experiential Exercise - Tracing the Development of Democracy in Ancient Greece (refer to the PPT )

Task One - Tracing the Development of Democracy in Ancient Greece

Wrap Up for Tracing the Development of Democracy in Ancient Greece
Complete the Development of Democracy in Ancient Greece Flowchart

Athenian Democracy.ppt

Task Two - The Greek City-State and Democracy

The Greek City-State and Democracy (27 min. video on Safari Montage - may show in chapter segments)
The Greek City-State and Democracy Quiz

Task Three - Holt p. 262-267 "Government in Athens"

Task Four - Athenian Democracy (SHEG) (materials can be downloaded from SHEG or located below)

You will work in teams to discuss whether or not ancient Athens was truly democratic. Your goals for today should include looking at all the issues, seeing both sides, and finding common ground to answer, "Was ancient Athens truly democratic?" Team A will argue "Yes" and Team B will argue "No"

- 1. With your teammate, read the documents in the Athenian Democracy document set. Find four pieces of evidence that support your side. (30 min.)
  2. Team A - both partners must present! Team B writes down Team A's arguments and repeats them back to Team A. (10 min.)
  3. Team B - both partners must present! Team A writes down Team B's arguments and repeats them back to Team B. (10 min.)
  4. Everyone can abandon their positions. Groups of 4 attempt to develop a consensus. SEE PPT Presentation

Extending Understanding:

Prompt: "Was ancient Athens truly democratic?"

Coming to Consensus: Groups of 4 (each made up of Teams A and B) outline the group's agreement. The agreement should address evidence and arguments from both sides (see "Coming to Consensus" from SHEG "Reading Like a Historian").

Citizenship: Students learn the skills of democracy—critical thinking, public deliberation, community-building, and collective action—by practicing them throughout this Inquiry Design Model. Then, students compare Athenian direct democracy with American representative democracy and present Venn Diagrams on posters and/or some other media (use this resource: Direct and Representative Democracy - comparison).