Topic: Ancient Greece – Revision

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

I. Ancient civilizations. Pupil:

2) locates civilization of ancient Greece in time and space;

3) characterizes the structure of society and the belief system in Greece, explains the difference between polytheism and monotheism;

4) locates in time and knows various systems of governance and organization of society in peripheral Athens;

5) characterizes the most important achievements of the material and spiritual culture of the ancient world in various fields: philosophy, science, law, architecture, art, literature.

General aim of education

Students integrate and organize the most important information about ancient Greece

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to characterize the social structure and belief system of ancient Greece;

• to define various systems of governance and organization of the society of ancient Greece;

• to list the most important achievements of Greek culture.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students recall knowledge from previous lessons..

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher asks students what do we owe to the ancient Greeks. What achievements, inventions and knowledge? Asking the questions, the teacher remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions. Students should mention many areas of life, such as theater, philosophy, democracy, Olympic games, mathematical theorems, etc. Then the teacher asks pupils to tell how their contemporary counterparts / descendants differ from the original, eg modern Olympic games consist of many disciplines, both men and women compete for prizes, and no one announces the so‑called „holy peace”.

Realization

1. The teacher asks students to perform ** Task 1 **. Then explains the concept of colonization. Then, referring to the map, he asks students why the Greeks have colonized sometimes even very distant areas. What motivated them to do it? He tells students to recall what natural conditions prevail in Greece and what are its consequences.

2. Then the teacher asks the students to recall the characteristics of the Greek * polis *. Students should mention the acropolis - hill as the central place where the most important sacred and public buildings were located, and explain why cities were built this way. Students look at Ephesus plan and follow ** Task 2 **.

3. Referring to the building, the teacher introduces students to the subject of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Showing that most of them are associated with the ancient Greeks. Students carry out ** Task 3 **. The teacher explains to students the uniqueness of the buildings, not only for the ancient but also for the present. As an addition, the teachcer can tell students about Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.

4. The teacher emphasizes that the ancient Greeks were not only famous for their architecture and art. They are also the creators of philosophy and their reflections on the surrounding world, ideas, ethics or countries have influenced and continue to influence science. Then he lists the most eminent representatives of Greek philosophy. Students carry ** Task 4 ** and then discuss it with the teacher.

5. The teacher begins the discussion referring to the task in the introduction. Which of the achievements of the ancient Greeks, according to students, deserves special recognition? What invention, achievement or idea is the most important and why?.

6. Then the teacher explains to students the idea of Athenian democracy. This idea will probably be among the students' proposals. He explains who could be considered a citizen and why only men decided about the fate of the policy. Students perform ** Exercise 1 **.

Summary

1. Summing up the lesson, the teacher repeats the most important bits of information about ancient Greece.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: The ancient Greeks had a huge impact on the development of mathematics. Look for information on some of the outstanding Greek mathematicians and their inventions / theorems. Check which of them you are learning at school these days.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Ancient Greece – Revision

The history of Ancient Greece started in the 2nd century BC, when the tribes of Ionians, Achaeans and Dorians arrived in that area. The first great Greek civilisations were the Minoan civilisation which developed on the island of Crete and the Mycenaean civilization. They came to their end about the 12th century BC, when they gave way to a period which historians call the Dark Ages.

In the history of Ancient Greece, two city‑states polis occupy an important place. Those were Ancient Athens and Sparta. Despite the differences in customs, the form of government or education between their inhabitants, all Hellenes shared the sense of community and the common culture, religion and language.

Situated in the Southern part of the Peloponnese, Sparta was distinguished by a distinct model of government and education, which was different than that of the other polis. The model citizen was a capable soldier who could defend his polis at any time. The basic army unit was heavy infantry whose soldiers were called hoplites. They fought in the phalanx formation and were invincible on battlefields for decades. Spartans considered themselves equals, which they expressed in the form of compulsory military service for every man and participation in votes during assemblies.

Athens was the other important Greek polis. It was first ruled by kings and the privileged, and richest class – the oligarchy. Over the course of time, as a result of the reforms and internal transformations introduced by Solon, Peisistratos and Cleisthenes in the 6th and the 5th century BC, democracy emerged there, allowing all men who were citizens of Athens to have an impact on the fate of that city‑state. Athens witnessed the pinnacle of its development during the reign of Pericles in the 5th century BC.

The life of Greeks was inextricably linked to the faith in Twelve Olympian Gods. They influenced every aspect of the Ancients’ lives and were present in virtually their every field. Zeus – the lord of the sky and the earth was the most important god. The other important gods included Poseidon – the lord of seas and oceans, Hades -- the lord of the underworld, Hera, the wife of Zeus – the protectress of married couples and the family, and Athena – the patroness of wisdom and learning.

The religion and the gods had an influence on many areas of the lives of Ancient Greeks, including sport. They believed that a healthy and beautiful body, combined with good deeds, constitutes the fullness of humanity, given by the gods. Sport was an important element of education and civic life. In the majority of Greek polis, there were special buildings – gymnasions, where men could not only practice sports but also train their bodies and minds. Sport competitions called the Olympic Games also emerged in Ancient Greece. The first of those were held in Olympia in 776 BC.

Greek myths became an inspiration for numerous poets and artists whose works extolled the stories and adventures of gods. A theatre performance was one of the forms in which myths were presented. Theatre emerged from public ceremonies held in honour of Dionysus, the god of grapevine. Popular comedies and tragedies, which brought up religious, social and educational issues, developed from those ceremonies. The most eminent authors of Greek tragedies were Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.